Pedestrian Protection (NCAP)

Description

Pedestrian Protection is a comprehensive performance evaluation developed by NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). It is based on European NCAP (Euro NCAP) requirements and is adapted to US conditions [1]. It evaluates pedestrian protection with three subscores:

Subscore	Maximum points
Head	18
Upper Legform	9
Lower Legform	9
Pedestrian Protection Score	36

A minimum total score of 21.6 is required to pass [1]. WebSAT maps the hood for child and adult headform impacts and maps the front bumper for upper and lower legform impacts.

When this feature is available

The Pedestrian Protection function is available for NCAP and GTR component tests that have both geometry and configuration information. WebSAT uses Hood Areas (FMVSS Proposal) for FMVSS component tests. WebSAT identifies the required measurements from the loaded test. You do not select curves for this feature.

The active test must meet these conditions:

• The loaded test must be a component test.
• The title or test reference number must contain NCAP or GTR.
• The loaded test must include geometry and configuration information.
• The loaded test must include at least one channel with a usable data status so WebSAT can associate the component information with the test.
• The title or test reference number must not contain FMVSS; WebSAT routes those records to Hood Areas (FMVSS Proposal) even when they also mention GTR.
• At least one head configuration must have X, Y, and Z acceleration channels, or one upper- or lower-legform configuration must supply every channel its test device needs.

WebSAT does not require every legform configuration to be complete. A configuration that is short of a required channel still appears in the table and scores zero. Missing or unclassifiable headform channels limit individual head point scores in the same way.

The Hood Top View uses the region from WAD 1000 to WAD 2100. Behind the leading edge, the Hood Top bounds it; forward of the leading edge, the full side reference lines bound it. The child/adult division follows the rear reference line, limited to WAD 1500 through WAD 1700 at each lateral position [3]. These regions differ from the inward offset regions in Hood Areas (FMVSS Proposal).

If WAD 1500 is absent and the rear reference line is behind WAD 1700 across the test area, the child region ends at WAD 1700 [3, 7.6.B(10)]. WAD 1500 then sets no border, and a geometry note states this. If the rear reference line is forward of WAD 1700 anywhere in the test area, WebSAT does not calculate the head regions.

The supplemental Cyclist Test Area starts at WAD 2100 and ends at measured WAD 2500. It does not start at the hood or windscreen rear reference line. If WAD 2500 is absent, WebSAT omits this region and shows a geometry note. The cyclist display does not extend the NCAP head assessment area or change the scoring rules.

Hood boundary membership uses the NHTSA LANDMARK codes, including measured discontinuities. Names supply missing side, offset-edge, or intersection details. A conflict between a code and name produces a geometry note; the code governs the boundary membership, except for a mis-coded copy of a point on the named line. This is the same boundary preparation used by Hood Areas (FMVSS Proposal).

Settings

This feature has no settings. Geometry, configurations, impact points, measurements, and test results come from the loaded test.

After the calculation, you can override the result of one grid point at a time on the Head and Legform Grid. See Override a grid point.

How WebSAT processes the data

1. Load and map the hood and bumper test geometry.
2. Associate the available response channels with each configuration and impact point.
3. Process headform points:
   • Load the manufacturer-predicted color range for every head grid point and the head verification correction factor.
   • Compare each verification impact with the prediction at its grid point, and derive the correction factor from those results [1]. Use the loaded factor where the test reports one, and the derived factor where it does not.
   • Filter head X/Y/Z acceleration at CFC 1000.
   • Identify the impact portion and calculate resultant acceleration and HIC15.
   • Assign the score of each impact. A verification impact whose HIC15 is inside the widened range of its predicted color keeps that color and its score [1]. An impact that no prediction covers scores the color of its HIC15.
   • Apply the correction factor to the non-default predicted point scores. Do not apply it to default-green or default-red points.
   • Keep cyclist impact results visible when they are rearward of WAD2100, but exclude them from the Head Subscore.
4. Process upper-legform points:
   • Filter femur forces and moments at CFC 180.
   • Calculate summed force and peak bending moments.
   • Assign the worst response score at each point.
5. Process lower-legform points:
   • Filter femur/tibia moments, knee-ligament elongations, and knee acceleration at CFC 180.
   • Score tibia moment and MCL elongation.
   • Apply the protocol's ACL/PCL rule.
6. Lay out the legform grids. The upper legform grid ends at the corner reference point on each side [3, 7.6.L]. WebSAT uses the corner projected onto WAD 775 (a geometry row named WAD 775 @ … CRP or WAD 775 @ … Front Corner). Where a side has no projected row, WebSAT uses the FCORN landmark. A grid point less than 50 mm from the corner is removed [3, 7.6.L(2)].
7. Reflect measured points and fill symmetric and adjacent grid locations as required by the test procedure [3, 7.9–7.10].
8. Calculate the Head Subscore from all predicted head grid points and the correction factor. Average the upper- and lower-leg point scores within each region.
9. Apply the 18/9/9 weighting and sum the three subscores. If the head prediction data is not usable, or no correction factor is available, report the Head Subscore and total as N/A.
10. Display the mapped point results, regional scores, and total score.

WebSAT rounds to three decimal places, half up, at the same steps as the NCAP scoring sheet: the correction factor, each legform point score, the corrected head score, and each subscore. The next step uses the rounded value. For example, a correction factor of 1.5384615 becomes 1.538.

Injury reference values and scoring functions

Head impact point scoring

HIC15	Point score	Display
Less than 650	1.00	Good / green
650 to less than 1000	0.75	Acceptable / yellow
1000 to less than 1350	0.50	Marginal / orange
1350 to less than 1700	0.25	Poor / brown
1700 or greater	0.00	Critical / red

Upper- and lower-leg responses use the force, moment, and ligament-elongation scoring curves in the NCAP final decision [1]. Between each full-score and zero-score value below, WebSAT reduces the score linearly.

Response	Full score at or below	Zero score at or above	Maximum point contribution
Upper-leg sum of femur forces	5000 N	6000 N	1.00
Upper-leg femur bending moment	285 N·m	350 N·m	1.00
Lower-leg tibia bending moment	282 N·m	340 N·m	0.50
Lower-leg MCL elongation	19 mm	22 mm	0.50

The worst relevant upper-leg response governs each point. The lower-leg score adds the MCL-elongation and worst tibia-moment contributions. ACL or PCL elongation over 10 mm sets the MCL contribution to zero.

For the Head Subscore, WebSAT applies the correction factor only to the non-default predicted point scores:

$S_{head}=18\times \frac{C\sum s_{predicted}+\sum s_{default}}{N_{head}}$

In this formula, $C$ is the head verification correction factor, $s_{predicted}$ is a non-default predicted point score, $s_{default}$ is a default-green or default-red point score, and $N_{head}$ is the total number of head grid points. A default-green point has a score of 1.00. A default-red point has a score of 0.00.

The overall score is:

$Score=S_{head}+9{\bar{s}}_{upperleg}+9{\bar{s}}_{lowerleg}$

WebSAT uses 21.6 points as the minimum passing score.

Results

Hood Top View and Head Impact Summary for a pedestrian-protection test.

Bumper Front View and legform impact summaries for a pedestrian-protection test.

The Pedestrian Protection Summary table lists the Head, Upper Leg, and Lower Leg subscores, the head correction factor, and the total score for each vehicle. Select a row to update the plots and impact tables. An information icon beside a value gives the reason for it: a subscore that is not available, a legform grid location that no result reached, or a derived correction factor that does not agree with the loaded one. The Head Subscore and total are N/A when the loaded test does not give a usable color at every head grid point, or when no correction factor is available. A blue head grid point gives N/A, because U.S. NCAP requires a predicted color at every grid point [1]. The physical head impact results remain available in the Head Impact Summary.

When you override a grid point, the row shows the new scores, and a User Overrides column lists your choices. See Override a grid point.

The Geometry Notes column gives a short label for each hood geometry note, for example No WAD 1500 (not needed). Point to the information icon, or move the keyboard focus to it, to read the full text. The export holds the full text.

The Hood Top View plot draws the leading-edge (LERL), rear (RRL), and side (SRL) reference lines and the WAD lines. One SRL legend entry shows or hides both sides. Use Show Impacts to show or hide the head impact markers. Select a row in Head Impact Summary to open the resultant head-acceleration curve. The shaded interval is the 15 ms interval used for HIC15. A cyclist impact remains visible with its HIC15 value, point value, and color, but it does not contribute to the Head Subscore.

On the Bumper Front View plot, use Show Symmetric & Adjacent Impacts to add those grid points to the plot and legform tables. Select a tested row to open its curves. A derived row shows the values from the tested point that supplies its score.

Tested rows include a configuration number and no origin suffix. Generated rows identify their origin in the point name, either (Symmetric) or (Adjacent). The number in a grid label is the sequential position counted outward from the vehicle centerline. The table order follows the plot from the passenger side toward the driver side.

For each legform table, WebSAT calculates the subscore as:

$Subscore=9\times \frac{\text{sum of all grid-point scores}}{\text{number of grid points}}$

The denominator includes tested and generated grid points. A grid location that no test, symmetry, or adjacency result reaches scores zero and stays in the denominator. The subscore names those locations, because the test procedure answers an unreached location with a test [2]. When the geometry does not give the extent of the grid, WebSAT cannot count the grid points, so it reports the subscore as N/A.

The impact summary tables report:

• Head Impact Summary: HIC15 Value, Assessed, Predicted, and Verification. Predicted gives the color the manufacturer submitted for that grid point. Verification shows Within tolerance where the measured HIC15 keeps that color, and the new color where it does not. The test procedure permits a 10 percent tolerance on each color band [1].
• Upper Legform Impact Summary: Sum Femur Force (N) and Max. Femur Moment (N·m)
• Lower Legform Impact Summary: Max. Tibia Moment (N·m), MCL Elongation (mm), and the ACL and PCL results as Pass, Fail, or Missing. If the ACL or PCL result is above 10 mm, the MCL Elongation point value is zero.

A value of N/A or a gray marker means that WebSAT could not calculate the value from the loaded data. Review the geometry, configurations, measurement labels, and signal status. A displayed impact does not always contribute to a subscore.

Head and Legform Grid

The Head and Legform Grid shows the selected test as the NCAP scoring sheet lays it out:

• Head grid: the predicted color at each head grid point, in the orientation of the Hood Top View. Each row label gives the row number and its WAD, for example 5 · 1500. Use Show Tested Head Impacts to mark each verification impact with the color it kept. A circle means the impact is within tolerance. A diamond means the verification changed the color.
• Upper legform and Lower legform rows: one cell for each legform grid location, on the same lateral axis as the head grid. The cell color is the point score. The letter gives the origin: T (tested), S (symmetric), or A (adjacent). A gray cell with – is a location that no result reached.
• Breakdown table: for each color, the number of head grid points, the points each one gives, and the total. Under the table, the Head Subscore formula shows the numbers WebSAT used.

The legend gives the score range for each color. It also explains these marks:

Mark	Meaning
D on green	Default green: the point gets 1.00 without a test.
D on red	Default red: the point gets 0.00 without a test.
N/A	The location is not part of the grid.
*	You overrode the result at this point.

Override a grid point

A test laboratory can judge a grid point differently from the geometry. For example, a point near the corner can be "out" for the laboratory but "in" for the geometry. You can then override the result at that point, as the Euro NCAP scoring sheet allows:

1. Click a cell on the Head and Legform Grid.
2. Select a result from the menu:
   • Head grid point: a U.S. NCAP color (Default Green, Green, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Red, or Default Red), or N/A. Blue is not available, because U.S. NCAP does not allow it.
   • Upper legform location: Tested, Symmetric, Adjacent, Default, or N/A.
   • Lower legform location: Tested, Symmetric, Adjacent, or N/A.
   • Protocol result removes your override at that point.
3. WebSAT calculates the scores again with your overrides. The summary row and the grid show the new results.

Use Reset Overrides to remove all overrides. WebSAT does not save overrides. They stay until you reload the page.

An override has these effects:

• N/A removes the point from the grid and from the subscore count. A removed legform location does not supply a result to another location.
• Each legform row shows one N/A cell outboard of the grid on each side. Select a result there to add that location to the grid.
• Tested uses the test result at that location. Default gives the upper legform location full points.
• Symmetric copies the result of the mirror location. Adjacent uses the worst result of the locations beside it, at most 100 mm away. These overrides can use any result, also a generated one. They do not apply the 10 percent impact-energy limit of the test procedure [3, 7.10].
• A head grid color replaces the predicted color at that point. If you change the prediction at a tested point, the loaded correction factor no longer applies, so WebSAT uses the factor derived from the verification impacts. If WebSAT cannot derive a factor, the Head Subscore is N/A.

If an override cannot apply, WebSAT lists it with the reason above the grid, for example The mirror location has no result. The other overrides still apply.

References

[1] National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. New Car Assessment Program Final Decision Notice: Crashworthiness Pedestrian Protection. 89 FR 92720, U.S. Department of Transportation, 25 Nov. 2024. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/11/25/2024-27446/new-car-assessment-program-final-decision-notice-crashworthiness-pedestrian-protection

[2] National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. New Car Assessment Program Pedestrian Protection Test Procedure. U.S. Department of Transportation, June 2025.

[3] National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Laboratory Test Procedure for New Car Assessment Program Pedestrian Impact Testing, Revision 01. U.S. Department of Transportation, September 2026. Section 7.6.B(9)–(10).