Australian State Upgrading Crash-Testing Facility

The government of New South Wales, a state in Australia, is spending A$1.6 million ($1.2 million) to upgrade the Australasian New Car Assessment Program’s Crashlab test facility.

The improvements will allow the assessment of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and other advanced driver-assistance systems.

Roads Minister Melinda Pavey says the upgrade will mean that to achieve a top ANCAP safety rating of five stars, an effective AEB or lane-support system will be required on all new vehicles.

“Expanding Crashlab’s capabilities to test new and emerging vehicle safety technologies will support ANCAP in its important role in encouraging the introduction of AEB and other life-saving technologies across the national vehicle fleet,” Pavey says in a statement.

“These upgrades will see NSW offer a world-class vehicle safety testing capability covering crash protection, and even more importantly, crash prevention.”

ANCAP Communications Director Rhianne Robson says the new spending is in addition to the recent upgrade of crash test equipment and new, more sophisticated dummies acquired for the broadened ANCAP safety-rating program that took effect Jan. 1.

“The independent assessment of autonomous vehicle safety technologies is a new and important element of the ANCAP safety regime this year, and this commitment from the NSW government will extend ANCAP’s capability in this area,” Robson says.

The New South Wales government is a founding member of ANCAP, an independent agency whose Crashlab facility tests cars and light-commercial vehicles in Australia and New Zealand.

ANCAP says 142 vehicles were destroyed in crash tests in 2016-17, and it cost A$388,000 ($309,730) on average to produce a single ANCAP safety rating. It says 92% of new vehicles sold in Australia now are ANCAP safety rated.