7 minute read
Used Car Safety Ratings Help Motorists Make Safer Choices
by Boylen
The MTA recently helped the State Government to promote new safety ratings for almost 400 vehicles manufactured from the year 2000 onwards to help motorists make safer car choices.
“Road safety is not only about driver fatigue or speed – it’s also about making sure you are driving a safe vehicle,” MTA CEO Darrell Jacobs said.
“This is a great initiative and is another step you can take in addition to either purchasing from a licensed dealer or having a qualified mechanical inspection.
“It will help motorists make informed decisions because there can otherwise be pitfalls from purchasing used cars privately.”
The Department for Infrastructure and Transport, together with the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC), has released the latest used car safety information to help people choose the safest vehicle for their budget.
MTA CEO Darrell Jacobs made the announcement with MTA Member Maughan Thiem alongside Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services Joe Szakacs and Minister for Small and Family Business and Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs Andrea Michaels.
As a guide to help used car buyers prioritise safety, the Used Car Safety Ratings lists 389 models by market segment and their safety rating, based on police-reported crash analysis of more than 9 million vehicles across Australia and New Zealand.
The ratings cover:
• Crashworthiness: the relative safety of vehicles in preventing death or serious injury to their own drivers in crashes
• Aggressivity: the serious injury risk vehicles pose to other road users with whom they collide. This includes unprotected road users such as pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists and drivers of other vehicles involved in a crash.
• Total Secondary Safety Index: integrates into one measure the combined Crashworthiness and Aggressivity performance of a vehicle.
There were 151,000 private purchases of used cars compared to 55,000 dealer used sales last year in SA. These privately sold used cars have no warranties and do not need to be legally roadworthy.
In addition to practical steps like the Used Car Safety Ratings, the MTA will continue working with stakeholders to develop a vehicle inspections scheme at the change of ownership to improve road safety and ensure motorists are not being ripped off by dodgy private sellers.
