ANCAP wants to tackle the “closed door” scourge by awarding points to vehicles that provide features that warn drivers of passing cyclists.
The term closed door refers to a vehicle door opening wide in front of a cyclist, resulting in a collision.
According to the new test protocols 2023-25, ANCAP will evaluate the effectiveness of exit features.
These features provide alerts in the form of light in the mirror or door, or audible or tactile alerts. The exit feature of some vehicles may have an active assist feature whereby occupants cannot exit if a cyclist or vehicle is approaching.
The latter typically use a locking delay or a two-stage door handle.
The presence of an exit feature is worth 1.00 points out of a total of 9.00 points scored in the AEB/AEB Cyclists section of the Vulnerable Pedestrian Protection category.
To score enough points, this feature must actively prevent the occupants of the vehicle from opening the door. It must also remain active for one minute after the driver has parked, switched off the ignition and unbuckled his seat belt.
0.25 points are awarded for visual warning of the driver’s door, an additional 0.5 points for audible or tactile warnings plus active assist to prevent the door from being opened, and an additional 0.25 points for the presence of an exit warning feature on all other doors.
To evaluate this feature, ANCAP will have a dummy cyclist approach a parked vehicle from behind at 15km/h, with a distance of 1m between them and the vehicle.
The test was carried out on both sides of the vehicle, with the second obstructing vehicle parked 2 m away from the test vehicle. These tests will be conducted at the same facility that ANCAP uses to support active safety equipment.
For a vehicle to receive a five-star ANCAP rating in 2023, it needs to score a minimum of 70% in the Vulnerable Road User Protection category.
“Closing is a serious risk to cyclists, especially in cities and other built-up public areas,” said Carla Hoorweg, CEO of ANCAP.
“One of the ways we can help prevent these incidents is by encouraging in-car technology that reminds motorists and their passengers to check on cyclists before they get off and if there is a danger. For real, temporarily prevent them from opening the door until the cyclist has passed.
“Door technology is currently only available on a small number of models, but we can see that increase dramatically with this new requirement.”
ANCAP cites data from VicRoads, which shows there were 726 crashes involving cyclists between July 2014 and June 2019.
207 of these resulted in serious injury and one death.
Audi was the first to offer the exit warning feature in Australia, and Genesis, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Mazda and Mercedes-Benz also introduced similar technology.
Three Korean brands call the passive feature Safe Exit Warning, and the active assist feature Safe Exit Assist.
ANCAP’s new door test joins a long list of vulnerable pedestrian crash test situations it assesses, including vehicles hitting pedestrians, children and motorists. pedal from different angles.
The safety agency also evaluates reverse collisions between vehicles and pedestrians, as well as collisions when the vehicle is turning into another street.
ANCAP not only investigates the safety of cyclists, but the safety agency also assesses the impact on motorcyclists.
Test scenarios here include a vehicle hitting a motorcycle from behind, hitting it head-on, entering its lane, or turning sideways.
No ratings have been awarded by ANCAP under the new test protocols 2023-25.
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