Used car safety ratings help Victorians make the safest choice

Published date: 09 Sep 2019

Victorians in the market for a used car can easily make the safest choice with the release of the 2019 Used Car Safety Ratings.

The Used Car Safety Ratings (UCSR) released by the Monash University Accident Research Centre make it simple for Victorians to choose the safest used car in their budget.

Minister for Roads, Road Safety and TAC Jaala Pulford today joined road safety experts to promote the new ratings and encourage Victorians to prioritise safety when they’re looking for a car.

The ratings show that of the 389 vehicles rated, 69 received a five-star rating, and 22 were awarded ‘Safer Pick’ status. Fifty-six models were rated ‘poor’ (two stars), and a further 66 were ‘very poor’ (one star).

Statistics show that people driving in the lowest rated cars are 10 times more likely to die or be seriously injured as the result of a crash than people travelling in the highest rated car.

The age of a vehicle is a significant factor, largely because safety features such as auto emergency braking, lane keep assist, electronic stability control and side curtain airbags are not as common on older cars.

Of the 146 drivers and passengers who have died on Victoria’s roads so far this year, 80 were in vehicles 10 years or older.

A recent TAC survey of Victorian road users has highlighted the need to prioritise safety, with just eight per cent of people looking for a new car doing so to get improved safety features.

MUARC calculated the 2019 UCSR by analysing the records from more than 8.3 million vehicles in police-reported road crashes and more than 2 million injured road users in New Zealand and Australia between 1987 and 2017.

The ratings consider the protection cars offer to drivers in a crash, harm to other road users, combined crashworthiness and crash risk.

Quotes attributable to Jaala Pulford, Minister for Roads, Road Safety and TAC:

“The risk of death or serious injury is significantly less for people driving a car with updated safety features and these safety ratings make it easier for Victorians to prioritise safety when looking for a car.”

“Getting Victorians into safer cars is a crucial step in our aim to reach zero deaths and serious injuries on our roads.”

Quotes attributable to TAC Road Safety Specialist, David Young:

“Driving the safest car available could be the difference between receiving fatal or serious injuries following a crash or walking away from an incident.”

Quotes attributable to Head of Road Safety Victoria, Robyn Seymour:

“Young, inexperienced drivers are often handed down older cars with poor crash protection, putting them at higher risk in the event of a crash.

Drivers need to know that there are many safe and affordable used cars options – and that buying a safer car could save your life.”