Maruti’s Swift and Nissan’s Datsun GO get zero stars in safety rating

Swift of Maruti Suzuki and Datsun GO of Nissan on 3 November 2014 failed the crash tests and got zero stars in safety rating for their adult occupant protection.

The crash test of both the car was conducted at a speed of 64 km per hour under the Global New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) and zero star rating indicates high risk of life-threatening injuries.

In the test, Swift’s vehicle structure showed signs of collapsing in the crash and was rated as unstable. The car’s lack of standard-fit airbags meant that the driver’s head makes direct contact with the steering wheel.

However, both the companies got one star for child occupant protection.

Earlier in January 2014, Maruti Alto 800, Tata Nano, Ford Figo, Hyundai i10 and Volkswagen Polo had failed the same crash test.

All these cars received zero stars for adult protection ratings in a frontal impact at 64km per hour. The cars account for around 20 per cent of total new cars sold in India in 2013.

About New Car Assessment Program (NCAP)

New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) is a government car safety programme. It is tasked with evaluating new automobile designs for performance against various safety threats.

The objectives of the Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP) are for the promotion of public safety and public health, for the protection and preservation of human life and for the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment in particular by:

(a) promoting and conducting independent research and testing programmes that will assess the safety and environmental characteristics of motor vehicles and their comparative performance and disseminating the results to the public; and

(b) promoting the development of new car assessment programmes, by providing financial support and technical assistance, and facilitating international co-operation with and between such programmes.