Safety ratings of used cars
Used car safety ratings
When buying a 2nd forearm car safety should be at the top of your list of considerations. Your car should provide you and other road users with protection in the event of a crash. The Used Car Safety Ratings assist buyers in making decisions to purchase cars that suggest the best protection in a crash.
The ratings in the guide are based on reports from millions of actual crashes reported to police in Fresh Zealand and Australia.
Safety should be paramount
If you’re looking for a fresh car, vehicle safety should be a priority. Used Car Safety Ratings results provide car buyers with critical information that can be used to help them make an informed decision about the protection a 2nd mitt vehicle offers.
When looking for your next car, look for a vehicle with at least a good or excellent (Four or five starlets) for driver protection and a Safe Pick vehicle, which considers the safety of other road users.
The Used Car Safety Ratings investigate is based on more than 7.Five million real-world vehicle crashes in Australia and Fresh Zealand inbetween one thousand nine hundred eighty seven and 2014, covering about 95% of all popular passenger and light commercial vehicles manufactured from one thousand nine hundred eighty two to 2014.
The explore shows how well each vehicle will protect the driver from death or serious injury in the event of a crash.
The crash data has been analysed and vehicle safety ratings calculated by Monash University’s Accident Research Centre.
Newer vehicles are safer
Used Car Safety Ratings results demonstrate that, on average, newer models provide their drivers with better protection from injury in a crash. These improvements come from better structural designs, an increase in the fitting of safety features such as front, side, curtain and knee airbags, more advanced seat belt systems and vehicle interiors built with more energy-absorbing materials.
A consistent trend is that there is significant variation within vehicle categories, even inbetween vehicle models of the same age. Some vehicle models, including latest ones, provide good protection for their drivers but present a high risk of injury to other road users in a crash. The Used Car Safety Ratings assist buyers to select vehicle models that provide the best protection for all road users.
Will your car protect you – and others – from death or a serious injury?
It’s the right price, looks good, and it’s the flawless size for what you need. But there is one critical factor you may not have thought about – does your vehicle suggest you good protection from injury in the event of a crash.
The Used Car Safety Ratings charts provide you with the crash safety rating for the driver. They demonstrate you how well each vehicle protects its driver from death or serious injury in a crash.
It is also significant that your vehicle offers good protection to other road users including pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, or the drivers of other vehicles.
For example, the crash statistics analysed by Monash University indicate that many large SUVs are more likely to cause serious injuries to other road users in a crash than most other vehicles.
Vehicles which provide excellent protection from injury for their own drivers as well as for other road users in the crash receive a Safe Pick rating. If you are serious about reducing road trauma, you need to consider how your vehicle protects you and other road users.
Safe Pick vehicles
Safe Pick vehicles were introduced in two thousand eleven and identify vehicles that provide the best protection for both their own occupants and other road users in a crash. In order to be classified a Safe Pick, they must also be fitted with Electronic Stability Control (ESC).
These vehicles are rated as being the safest choices when purchasing a 2nd palm car.
How are the ratings calculated?
Records from over 7.Five million vehicles involved in police-reported road crashes in Australia and Fresh Zealand inbetween one thousand nine hundred ninety six and two thousand eleven were analysed by Monash University’s Accident Research Centre. The ratings were calculated using an internationally reviewed method and are influenced by the vehicle’s mass, the structural design of the bod, and the safety features fitted to the vehicle, such as airbags and types of seat belts.
Each of the driver protection ratings in the two thousand sixteen update has been recalculated based on the most latest crash data available so they are not comparable with the ratings published in previous years.
The score for each individual model can be compared against the ratings for all other vehicles.
The driver protection ratings are about the risk of death or serious injury to the driver of the vehicle in the event of a crash. The ratings are not about the risk of being involved in the crash in the very first place, which is generally determined by a range of factors including driver behaviour, vehicle condition and the road environment.
What’s the difference inbetween Used Car Safety Ratings and ANCAP Safety Ratings?
Fresh car safety ratings (e.g. ANCAP) are determined by crash testing vehicles in a managed laboratory setting while the used car safety ratings are calculated using data from millions of police reports on actual crashes involving a range of drivers and all types of driving conditions.
Occupants of stronger vehicles in real-world multi-vehicle crashes typically fare better than those in lighter vehicles. This is why ANCAP crash test results should not be compared among vehicles with large weight differences. In many single-vehicle crashes, greater weight offers no safety advantage. ANCAP crash test ratings relate to both occupant protection and the capability of the car to avoid a crash. ANCAP has a separate rating for a vehicle’s capability to protect a pedestrian in a crash.
The used car safety ratings listed in this report can be compared across all categories as they are derived from reports of actual on-road crashes and represent the capability of the car to protect its driver.
The ‘Safe Pick’ vehicles further identify vehicles that provide the best protection for both their own occupants and other road users in a crash.
Any vehicle safety rating system can only provide an indication of the relative levels of protection inbetween vehicles you can expect in the event of a crash. Whether or not you die or are gravely injured in a crash also depends on how securely you drive your vehicle.
Vehicle safety features
Safety features that may reduce the risk of death or significant injury include:
- Front, side, knee and curtain airbags
- Seatbelts designed to work with airbags
- Crumple zones
- Collapsible steering columns
- High strength materials in the structure (ie; reinforced door frames)