The winding road up to the Genting Highlands resort complex on the border between Selangor and Pahang is well known by Malaysians (and even Singaporeans). For drivers, it is a challenging drive and being able to drive up is ‘test’ of a car.
But for the families and friends of a group of tourists who travelled along that road recently, it will bring memories of a tragedy. They were involved in an accident when the van they were in crashed into the concrete divider, with 6 of the passengers being killed right away. A seventh person who was the co-driver, died later in hospital.
According to the police, the group was returning to Penang from Genting Highlands when the driver lost control of the van at a bend near Km 4.8 and it crashed into the divider. The impact was severe at the front and killed the driver, and caused serious injuries to the co-driver. It is not known how four of the passengers died and whether everyone had seatbelts on.
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With restrictions in many countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, event organisers have found it difficult to have the usual live events since there are social distancing requirements and invited guests may have concerns about being in a crowded environment. Nevertheless, the pandemic should not be allowed to impact our lives so greatly that annual events cannot be held at all, and the solution has been to have them online.
Many companies have been doing this and so has ASEAN NCAP for its 4th Grand Prix Awards announcement. ASEAN NCAP is the New Car Assessment Programme for Southeast Asian Countries, a regional organisation affiliated to Global NCAP which was initiated and established by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) in response to the UN’s Decade of Action for Road Safety.
In 2012, the City was among the very first cars tested by ASEAN NCAP at its crash-test facility in Melaka.
Aerial view of ASEAN NCAP’s facility in Melaka, one of the sites where crash tests are conducted.
The ASEAN NCAP Grand Prix Awards event recognizes and commemorates high achievers in car safety in the ASEAN region. The event was first held in 2014 in Sarawak, followed by the second in 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, and the third was held in Indonesia in 2018.
Two main awards
The 4th edition was initially planned in 2020 but due to COVID-19 pandemic, it had to be postponed to February 2021. There are two main awards given out – the Excellent Award and the Best Safety Performance Award – which have a number of categories each.
Under the Excellent Award, 12 winners were identified in which the award criteria were for the company/vehicle/organization/individual that contributed towards the improvement of vehicle safety in the ASEAN market.
Toyota Corolla Altis – one of the models which contributed to the carmaker receiving the most 5-star awards since 2019.
Latest Isuzu D-MAX recognised for Continuous Safety Improvement.
As for the Best Safety Performance Award, there were 4 categories and selection was based on the highest scoring points during the 2019-2020 assessments.
Top scores in occupant protection made the Honda Accord stand out for safety performance.
Commenting on the awards, ASEAN NCAP Secretary-General and Acting Chairman, Adjunct Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim (also MIROS Director-General) said: “Over the years, we saw great efforts have been put forward by vehicle manufacturers to ensure their vehicles are offered with the best safety features for the road-users. As such, the awards will provide them with a competitive edge against other models that do not offer such safety technologies albeit better passive safety technologies or advanced safety assist.”
Recognition for individuals and organizations
“Furthermore, as ASEAN NCAP has been in existence for 10 years now, we would like to recognize not only vehicle models but also organizations or individuals who have worked hand-in-hand with ASEAN NCAP and continuously strived to ensure the significance of vehicle safety. I look forward to work together with these important individuals and organizations as well future vehicle models under the new ASEAN NCAP assessment protocol for 2021-2025,” he added.
To know more about ASEAN NCAP and read the reports of the various models it has assessed, visit www.aseancap.org.
The New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) assessment protocol for 2021-2025, introduced in Indonesia last year, has four pillars of assessment. These are Adult Occupant Protection (AOP), Child Occupant Protection (COP), Safety Assist (SA) and Motorcyclist Safety (MS).
Under the SA domain, ASEAN NCAP will be assessing the effectiveness of Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) systems installed in vehicles. This new development mirrors the progression in assessment procedures and aspects that older organizations such as Euro NCAP.
What is AEB?
AEB is a braking system that is applied automatically by the vehicle in response to the detection of a likely collision in order to reduce the vehicle speed and potentially avoid such collision, or reduce the effects of the impact. Detection is by camera and radar and over the years, the ability to recognise different forms has improved, increasing its effectiveness.
The S80 was the first Volvo model to have AEB in 2007 and it was demonstrated using this procedure (above). In 2011, the S60 was the first model sold in Malaysia with AEB (below).
Available in Malaysia since 2011
The system began appearing in models from Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volvo in the early 2000s and thereafter began to spread throughout the industry. Initially, due to the cost of AEB, it was offered on high-end models but eventually, as costs came down, lower-priced models like the Ford Focus began to have it. Today, even cars like the Perodua Myvi have AEB. The first car with AEB in Malaysia was the Volvo S60 launched in 2011.
ASEAN NCAP will be assessing two types of AEB systems under the upcoming protocol – AEB City and AEB Inter-Urban. With the new protocol set to commence this coming January 2021, ASEAN NCAP is preparing to strengthen its capacity and capability in the area of testing the effectiveness of AEB systems. This is a significant milestone in ASEAN NCAP assessment as currently (under the 2017-2020 protocol), the assessed vehicle only receives points based on the availability of the system inside the vehicle.
How AEB works: Cameras and radar scan the road ahead and if a vehicle is detected, the system will warn the driver. If the driver does not act in time by braking or slowing down, the brakes will be activated automatically.
The assessments will cover the following:
Effectiveness of AEB City system in a car-to-car rear stationary scenario by driving the vehicle forward at a speed of 10 – 60 km/h towards another stationary vehicle.
Effectiveness of AEB Inter-Urban system in a car-to-car rear moving scenario by driving the vehicle forward at a speed of 30 – 60 km/h towards another vehicle that is travelling at constant speed.
Development testing
Recently, the organization conducted AEB development testing over two days at Bandar Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur where there is a discussed runway as it was formerly an airbase for the TUDM. This follows the first development test held in 2018 in which ASEAN NCAP tested the effectiveness of blind spot technology fitted in vehicles in order to detect the presence of motorcyclists riding at the blind spot zone of a moving vehicle.
Cameras at the top of the windscreen scan the road ahead to detect other vehicles.
“I am proud that ASEAN NCAP with the support from MIROS has successfully organized this development test in our effort to enhance our capacity and capability in AEB testing. This is part of our preparation to conduct such assessment for the new 2021-2025 protocol,” said Adjunct Prof. Ir. Dr. Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim, the new Director-General of MIROS (Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research). He is also Secretary-General and Acting Chairman of ASEAN NCAP.
“As other technologies such as AEB becomes more mature, it is timely that we perform the actual physical assessment of the system and elevate our current assessment from just rewarding points on its availability in the vehicle,” he added.
“As the new MIROS D-G, I would like to thank the manufacturers who are involved in providing their vehicles for this development test. We are grateful for their support and willingness to participate in this test to ensure that the systems equipped in their vehicles are at the best performance. Their commitment in safety is commendable and we hope other manufacturers will follow suit in the near future. With the requirement on the effectiveness of AEB fitment under the new ASEAN NCAP protocol, we are making safety a priority, not a luxury,” Adjunct Prof. Ir. Dr. Khairil Anwar stressed.
Besides PLUS Berhad, ASEAN NCAP – the New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries – was also a recipient of the 2019 Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards. The awards programme, which has been ongoing since 1987, recognises achievement and innovation which will improve road safety. They are given to businesses or organisations which have developed initiatives or products that have made an outstanding contribution to the safety of the world’s roads.
ASEAN NCAP’s representatives, Ir. Dr. Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim (second from right) and Yahaya Ahmad (second from left) received the award from Prince Michael of Kent in London recently.
The award for ASEAN NCAP is related to Vehicle Safety and recognises the aims to elevate vehicle safety standards, raise consumer awareness, and build a market for safety across South East Asia. ASEAN NCAP, hosted by the Malaysian Institute for Road Safety Research (MIROS), achieved a major legislative achievement: from March 1, 2020, all manufacturers selling vehicles in Malaysia will be required to display an ASEAN NCAP safety rating label for all passenger cars.
ASEAN NCAP has had its own crash test laboratory (referred to as PC3) since 2012 and has conducted some 100 tests which involve 90% of the models sold in the market. One in ten cars in the region now have been rated and 90% of the cars are rated 4 or the maximum of 5 stars.
ASEAN NCAP has its own crash test facility in Melaka and has tested some 100 models, especially popular ones like the Honda City (below)
Commenting on the award, MIROS Director-General and ASEAN NCAP Chairperson, Dr. Siti Zaharah Ishak said: “We are pleased and honoured to be recognised as one of the winners for this distinguished award. As an independent body assessing the safety performance of new vehicles in an emerging market like the South East Asian countries, ASEAN NCAP has made notable achievements in the vehicle safety area. One significant impact is that we are able to increase vehicle safety information to the consumers through the assessments that we conducted for new vehicles that are sold in the region.”
“Furthermore, through these assessments, we have successfully amplified the safety level of vehicles sold in the region such as having minimum double airbags as standard, seatbelt reminder systems and also electronic stability control as a standard fitment. This award marks a significant step in our journey towards reducing the high number fatalities due to road crashes in this region,” she said.
Thanks to the efforts of ASEAN NCAP, more safety equipment and features have become standard in models sold in ASEAN markets.
Other than performing assessments on new vehicles, ASEAN NCAP is also committed to work in areas that enhance the vehicle safety assessment such as positive engagement with relevant stakeholders. “I am confident this award will be a driving force for us to continue culminating in the reduction of vehicles with unsatisfactory safety levels in the South East Asia region,” added MIROS Director of Vehicle Safety and Biomechanics Research Centre and ASEAN NCAP Secretary-General, Adjunct Prof. Ir. Dr. Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim.
The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) and Child Passenger Safety Malaysia (CPSM) have raised several issues pertaining to the recently launched child restraint system (CRS) guidelines by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS).
The two organisations say the guidelines are confusing to the consumers with regard to a MIROS QR Code being present on approved childseats sold in Malaysia. Upon checking by FOMCA with the Road Transport Department (JPJ), it was found that a component type approval (CTA) by the JPJ is enough to show that a child safety seat is approved as per safety standard. This leads to the question of the necessity of the QR code.
Childseats permitted for use under the new law which comes into effect in 2020 must meet UN ECE regulations and have the labels shown on the left side. On the right is the MIROS QR code that is mentioned in the MIROS guidelines.
Parents hesitant about making purchases
There are currently no known child safety seats sold in Malaysia that come with the QR code and this is making parents hesitate about making purchases. “It is a counter-intuitive measure to introduce the QR code now when Malaysia is still at its early stage of introducing this new law and promoting the use of child safety seats,” a statement issued by CPSM said.
Nur Asyikin Aminuddin, a Senior Manager from FOMCA (above), deemed the guideline as misleading as it does not portray the views from stakeholders including independent bodies as well as the consumers. “MIROS, as a research body, is not a certification body. I hope that Standard Users will intervene with this issue as they are the national accreditation body,” she explained.
She added that JPJ and Ministry of Transport (MOT) should be the responsible bodies to endorse and make any guidelines and official announcement related to child safety seats. They should also publish the list of approved brands and models on their website that succeeded in getting the JPJ’s CTA and thus meet the required safety standards.
The MIROS collaboration with Lazada Malaysia
Another issue raised by FOMCA at a press conference yesterday was the collaboration of MIROS in the LAZADA Car Seat Assurance Program. FOMCA says that the collaboration is violating the Competition Act 2010 as it breached the rights of consumers, which is the right to choose. The program is restricting the market when it should be an open market. Crash-worthy child safety seats should be made available not only through one online platform.
The press conference was held after the graduation ceremony of 19 new certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPST) yesterday. This number brings the total CPSTs to 66 in Malaysia, with the majority of them from retailers and distributors. The certification program, which started in 2018, is an annual training program with Safekids Worldwide as the certification body and CPSM as the co-organiser.
Creating greater awareness of CRS
The aim for the program is to increase the number of skilled and knowledgeable persons who will become the resource centres in their communities to relay updated and correct information with regards to selection and usage of child restraint systems.
Malaysia is in dire need of more personnel certified by a proper certifying body to cater for the growing awareness among the public. With that being laid out, competency of the agency in conducting any certification such as the Child Occupancy Safety Advisor (COSA) program was also being asked as the proper channel should be directed at utilising readily available resources such as Safekids Malaysia which is also in partnership with Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
CPSM, in agreement with FOMCA’s concerns, are both supportive of the new law. However, MOT was urged to provide clear direction and roles for its agencies in order to execute the law efficiently.
The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) and Lazada Malaysia today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together to raise awareness on the importance of child restraint systems (CRS) in reducing road fatalities. As part of the initiatives under the MoU, Lazada Malaysia has launched its Car Seat Assurance programme – a curation of CRS products on LazMall – which currently offers over 40 product models from 6 local and international brands.
Prices range from RM100 to RM1,599 and Lazada gives assurance that each childseat bearing the Car Seat Assurance icon are sold by companies which have submitted to Lazada copies of UNR44 or UNR129 certificates (which are strict and comprehensive sets of child carseat safety regulations by the UN) as well as crash test reports. This product documentation has also been submitted to MIROS for further evaluation as part of an ongoing process to ensure that product safety is not compromised.
Compulsory use of child restraint systems, ie childseats, will come into effect from January 1, 2020. All childseats must meet the United Nations’ ECE R44/04 and ECE R129 specifications.
The Lazada Car Seat Assurance icon on the lower right corner is for products which are confirmed to meet the regulations that are based on UN standards. MIROS also reviews the documentation to ensure that product safety is not compromised.
“We are delighted to have Lazada on board to carry out this initiative which will contribute to the government’s objectives to reduce serious road traffic injuries and fatalities. Through the Lazada Car Seat Assurance programme, we hope to educate more parents on the importance of CRS use and choosing the appropriate CRS for their children which meets the requirements detailed in the Guidelines for Child Restraint System in Malaysia,” said Dr. Siti Zaharah Ishak, Director-General of MIROS.
“We also need to change the perception that regulation-compliant childseats are unaffordable and make it easier for Malaysians to purchase childseats from wherever they may be and accessible throughout Malaysia,” Dr. Siti added.
Visit www.miros.gov.my to download a free copy of the MIROS guidelines on childseats.
During the first 6 months of 2020 when the law is in effect, summonses will not be issued to motorists who do not place their small children in childseats. Enforcement officers will give warnings and advice instead. The firm decision to introduce the law comes from the fact that less than 30% of motorists have been found to provide childseats, while a MIROS study found that 31 out of 53 (58 per cent) children and infants died due to road accidents.
Yesterday marked the official launch of Vehicle Safety Week 2019 which is currently taking place at the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) PC3 crash testing centre in Melaka. To mark this momentous occasion, our very own deputy prime minister, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, was also there to unveil the official child restraint system guidelines called ‘Buku Garis Panduan Kerusi Keselamatan Kanak-kanak di Malaysia’. (more…)
