Car safety ratings

It’s important that you put safety features high on the shopping list for your next car.

When buying a car, there are two important factors you may not have thought about:

• It is important that your vehicle offers you good protection from injury in a crash
• It is also important that your vehicle offers good protection to other road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists, motorists or the drivers of other vehicles, who may also be involved in a crash

For example, the crash statistics analysed by Monash University indicate that large 4WDs are more likely to cause serious injuries to other road users in a crash than most other vehicle types.

Advanced safety features to look for include:

• a full set of front, side and curtain airbags
• anti-lock brakes
• traction and stability control systems.

New car safety ratings

The Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) involves crash testing new vehicles to compare the occupant protection levels in frontal
and side collisions. ANCAP is supported by all Australian and New Zealand automobile clubs and transport authorities. For more information about ANCAP, including the latest crash test results, visit the ANCAP website.

Used car safety ratings

The RACQ Used Car Safety Ratings provide you with an overall crash safety rating which includes a model's impact on unprotected road users and drivers of other vehicles. The RACQ Used Car Safety Ratings give safety ratings for 184 vehicle models which cover most of the popular vehicles in the Australian and New Zealand vehicle fleets manufactured from 1996 to 2009.