Stars Behind the Steering Wheel: Decoding Bharat NCAP

Key Highlights

Bharat NCAP brings star-based safety to Indian car buyers for the first time, protection you can measure.
But Stars Aren't Shields. 5 stars help, but they don't protect you at real-world crash speeds.
We're Still Testing for One Body Type. Current ratings ignore women, the elderly, and most of India's diversity.
Safe Cars Need Safe Roads. Without better design and enforcement, even 5-star cars can't save lives.
This is a start. Let's not mistake it for the solution.

From Assumptions to Measured Safety

In 2023 alone, India lost over 1.72 lakh lives in road crashes, an average of 20 people every single hour.

Yet for Ravi, a Delhi commuter, safety once meant just airbags and a sleek design. Like most buyers, he assumed that was enough.

The reality? Until recently, car buyers had no reliable way to know how their vehicles would actually perform in a crash.

That changed in October 2023, when the Government of India launched Bharat NCAP, the country's first official star-rating system for car safety.

Crash Tests: Engineering the Odds of Survival

Just as airplanes are tested for turbulence, cars are tested for crashes. Engineers deliberately stage collisions under controlled conditions to answer a simple question: When metal crumples, does life inside survive?

Structural Integrity: Does the cabin stay intact or collapse?

Dummy Injuries: Sensors on head, chest, and legs capture impact forces.

Safety Systems: Do airbags deploy? Do seat belts hold? Are child seats effective?

The outcome is distilled into a 0-5 star rating, a simple scorecard that tells families how much protection they can expect in a crash.

Bharat NCAP: India Finally Gets Its Scorecard

For years, Indian car buyers relied on glossy brochures or word-of-mouth when it came to safety. Bharat NCAP provides a common yardstick for safety.

Basic Info

Launched: October 2023
Applies to: Passenger vehicles under 3.5 tons, up to 8 seats

Tests Conducted

Frontal offset impact @ 64 km/h - Head-on collision simulation
Side impact @ 50 km/h - Side collision protection test
Pole side impact @ 29 km/h - Tree/pole collision test

Scoring Categories:

Adult Occupant Protection (AOP)

How well the car protects the driver and adult passengers.

Child Occupant Protection (COP)

Safety of children in car seats during a crash.

Safety Assist Systems (SAS)

Features that help prevent accidents or reduce harm.

Remember: More stars don't mean zero injury, but they shift the odds in your favour, so always drive cautiously!

A Missing Perspective: Who Makes the Crash Test Dummy?

Imagine testing safety for one type of body and assuming it protects everyone. That's exactly what AIS-197 does today.

Under AIS-197, frontal crash tests use two Hybrid-III 50th-percentile male dummies, an average male build (around 78 kg, 175 cm tall) plus standard child dummies. But women's anatomy, depending on bone density, posture, and injury patterns, differs significantly.

Women at Higher Risk

Up to 73% more likely to suffer serious injuries in comparable crashes
20–28% more likely to be killed

Real-World Impact

Airbags designed for average males can strike shorter occupants with greater force, causing chest or neck injuries instead of preventing them. And it's not just gender. Age matters too. Older adults have more fragile bones, slower reflexes, and different seating postures. A seatbelt that restrains a 30-year-old may cause rib fractures in a 70-year-old. Until Bharat NCAP adopts diverse dummies — female, elderly, and varying body types — the ratings risk missing half the picture. Safety cannot be one-size-fits-all, because the lives inside cars never are!

Stars Shine at 64 km/h but What About 100?

Bharat NCAP's frontal crash test runs at 64 km/h. That's the benchmark worldwide. But India's roads often push the limits far higher - 90 km/h, 100 km/h, sometimes more.

So, what do the stars really mean?

At 64 km/h - cars can score 4-5 stars

Beyond that - survival odds fall steeply, no matter the rating

The takeaway: A 5-star badge signals minimum compliance, not a guarantee of survival at any speed. Safety is still shaped as much by the driver, the road, and enforcement as by the crash rating.

The Road Ahead

India has come a long way. From relying only on minimum regulatory tests for vehicle approval, the country now has a consumer-facing, star-rating system with Bharat NCAP. The progress is undeniable but the journey is far from over. Some notable gaps are –

Limited dummy diversity: Women and elderly remain underrepresented in testing.

Test speed ceiling: 64 km/h may not mirror India's high-speed crash realities.

Global alignment: Pedestrian safety and broader test scenarios are still missing.

Bharat NCAP is a leap forward, but not the finish line. Real safety is shaped by lived realities: crowded crossings, blind turns, and highways where trucks, bikes, and cars share space. That's why participatory design matters. When commuters, parents, and pedestrians help redesign streets, the fixes reflect real risks - like safer school zones, better crossings, or protected walkways.

Star ratings make cars safer. Participatory design makes roads safer. India needs both to truly change its odds of survival.

FAQs: What Every Car Buyer Should Know

Q. How do I check if my car has a Bharat NCAP rating?

A. Visit Bharat NCAP site or look for the star rating in the manufacturer's brochure.

Q. Are bigger cars always safer?

A. Not necessarily, engineering, crash structure, and safety tech matter more than just size or weight.

💡 Tip: A safe car is one that's engineered for crashes, not just packed with features!