After five years of establishment, ASEAN NCAP has assessed 62 distinct car models available in the ASEAN market and produced 96 ratings based on the Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) and Child Occupant Protection (COP) rating system. The program has so far drawn participation from 20 different brands or OEMs, signifying a mutual understanding between ASEAN NCAP and OEMs to create a 'safer car' environment in the region. This review presents a compilation of the results as well as ASEAN NCAP's distinctive contribution to the automotive ecosystem in Malaysia, where the program was initiated. In a broader sense, ASEAN NCAP has achieved meaningful and promising results toward a safer automotive ecosystem for Malaysian road users and provided added-value to car ownership.

Abstract.A cross-sectional observation survey was carried out among 6 to 12 year old child pillion riders travelling to and from schools by motorcycle. The study focuses on the prevalence of carrying multiple child pillion riders at the same time, to determine the relationship between child pillion riders' safety helmet compliance, and their seating position and foot peg use. A total of 701 riders and 913 school children were observed. Riders' safety helmet use rate was found to be significantly higher (66.8%) than that of child pillion riders' helmet use (14.7%) with OR=11.7 (95%CI 9.2-14.9). It was observed that 29.1% riders were carrying more than one child pillion rider; with female riders more likely to carry more than one pillion rider (OR=1.6, 95%CI 1.1-2.2). Observation on foot peg use showed that the rear motorcycle pillion rider (BP) are more likely to use the foot pegs as compared to the one in the middle (MP) (OR=11.7, 95%CI 7.8, 17.5). Safety helmet use by child pillion riders on route to school was found to be generally low. Furthermore, there is a significant difference in the child pillion rider safety helmet use compliance, according to the seating position. Children who are seated in the middle are less likely to use the safety helmet. Rear child pillion riders are more likely to use the foot pegs. To increase helmet use there is a need for public awareness campaigns on the safety benefits of safety helmet use among school children. In addition, to increase safety of children while riding as pillion rider, the law of carrying only one pillion rider must be enforced strictly.

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Nearly 1.3 million people are killed and up to 50 million people are injured on the world's roads every year. Approximately 30% of road deaths involve motorcyclists especially in the ASEAN region. In Malaysia, the number of motorcycle accidents is consistently increasing in parallel with the rising number of registered motorcycles. Motorcyclists are categorized under vulnerable road users (VRUs) due to their disadvantages in terms of safety. It is believed that personal protection equipment (PPE) is able to mitigate and minimize motorcyclist injuries resulted from road crashes. The most basic PPE for motorcyclist is the helmet which is made mandatory in many Southeast Asia countries due to its effectiveness in reducing head injuries. Other than that, protective clothing is also vital to protect human body parts from trauma. This study attempts to explore the effectiveness of motorcycle protective clothing performance available in Malaysia. Selected motorcycle protective clothing was tested using anthropometric test device, calibration equipment and instrument. In addition, a market survey was conducted to explore and examine the types and trends of motorcycle protective clothing available. This study finds that motorcycle protective clothing with protector i.e. padding and airbag can provide potentially reduced neck and chest injury in contrast with those with no protection. Furthermore, the result reveals that 55% of the protective clothing available is made of synthetic material. The overall results provide significant information that is useful in the development of countermeasures to improve motorcyclists' safety.

A person driving a passenger car depends on the rear view mirror and two side-mounted mirrors to observe the surrounding in order to see vehicles approaching from behind. However, the approaching vehicle may enter a region outside the driver's field of view, making it inconspicuous to the driver. Such a region is known as the blind spot zone (BSZ). Although driving schools emphasize the importance of checking for vehicles in BSZ before attempting to change lane, many fatal collisions have occurred during lane changing. Thus, it is important to understand BSZ particularly its corresponding parameters in order to develop an effective system to detect approaching vehicles and provide warning to the driver. In this paper, a systematic approach using a grid-based technique is proposed to model the BSZ. An experiment was conducted using a commonly used passenger car in Malaysia as a test bed to model the BSZ. Controlled experimental parameters were introduced, and the final results showed that BSZ can be identified using the grid-based technique.

Side impact crash test simulates a road crash wherein the side of a vehicle is being impacted, either perpendicularly or at an angle, by the front-end of another vehicle of about similar mass. In Malaysia, this crash configuration is the second leading cause of fatality and injury in road crashes after frontal collision. Extensive research have been carried out worldwide in order to mitigate occupant injury in side impact collision through provision of side impact protection system in vehicle such as side impact airbags and side door bars. As a result, various global regulations and consumer test requirements concerning side impacts have been established to evaluate the effectiveness of the said protection system. Recently, the Malaysian government has implemented the United Nation’s regulation pertaining to side impact protection (UN Regulation 95) for new passenger vehicles in the country. Hence, as a newly established automobile safety rating programme in the region, the ASEAN New Car Assessment Programme (ASEAN NCAP) has a plan in the pipeline to implement UN R95 side impact crash test tentatively in its future assessment scheme. A mobile deformable barrier (MDB) was developed as a preparation towards implementing the ASEAN NCAP’s side impact crashworthiness evaluation. This paper describes characteristics and requirements of the UN R95 as well as the development of the MDB according to the regulation. Several tests and improvements were conducted to ensure the MDB is reliable and having high repeatability for testing.

Motorcyclist constituted more than 50% of road deaths in Malaysia. Statistics showed that most fatal motorcyclist crashes involved passenger cars: with sideswipe or side impact reported to be the most frequent crash configurations. Many related studies have been performed to completely understand such motorcycle crashes which resulted in many safety inventions. These include installation of airbag onto motorcycle to study its effectiveness in potentially reducing motorcyclist’s injury. However, previous related studies known mainly dealt airbag’s effectiveness for large cc motorcycles. Hence, an exploratory study was conducted to study airbag’s suitability in mitigating rider’s injury during collision for motorcycle with low engine capacity (cc). Two different full-scale crash tests of motorcycle (with and without mounted airbag) side-impacting passenger car were conducted in accordance to ISO 13232. The test results in terms of high-speed video recordings (crash kinematics), motorcycle damage profiles and dummy injuries were analysed and discussed. It could be suggested from the results obtained that an airbag system for low cc motorcycle is feasible and further study is needed for better airbag concept and design which could reduce motorcyclist injury during collision.

Abstract. In Malaysia, the car safety level has been elevated through regulations and a consumer-based approach, i.e. the New Car Assessment Program in Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP). Nevertheless, the availability of information on consumers' car purchasing decisions towards safety is still limited in Malaysia. Thus, this study was aimed at evaluating consumers' purchasing decisions of their present cars and investigating their awareness of ASEAN NCAP. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed among consumers visiting different car showrooms and dealer shops. The findings suggest that safety was considered as one of the top three factors by the respondents when purchasing their present cars. Awareness of ASEAN NCAP has increased as compared to a previous study. This information is essential for policy makers, manufacturers and other stakeholders to assist in setting priorities with regard to the promotion of car safety in the country.