Crash data study reveals the safest older cars on Australia’s roads
New crash data has revealed which second-hand cars can keep you safest on the road, including one that can come as cheap as $10,000. SEE WHAT MADE THE LIST.
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Car buyers are unlikely to find a safe vehicle manufactured before 2006, an RAA study has found.
The RAA has updated the safety ratings of used cars ranging from one star to five, based on more than eight million recent collisions in Australia and New Zealand.
RAA spokesman Mark Borlace said around 80 per cent of car buyers bought used vehicles, and he urged them to use the report to maximise their chances of avoiding death or injury in a crash.
“The vast majority of ‘Safer Pick’ vehicles were manufactured from 2006 onwards,’’ he said.
Of the 389 models rated, 69 received five stars, of which 31 of were singled out for the highest classification of Safer Pick.
Sixty nine models also received only one star and 56 scored just two stars.
Mr Borlace said the report was also a worrying record of how occupants and other road users were injured or killed in lowly-rated cars.
“The safety report shows drivers of used cars with the worst safety rating are twice as likely to be killed in collision as those driving cars rated the best,’’ he said.
“So RAA strongly encourages people to use the report to help them choose the safest possible car for their budget.’’
Mr Borlace said the guide was used by many used-car buyers, including parents who were helping find a first car for their teenage children.
“If parents are contributing to the cost of their child’s car they should use the guide and insist the model bought is of a high rating,’’ he said.
Mr Borlace said the national report was especially relevant for South Australian motorists, as SA had the oldest average passenger fleet of any mainland state — two years older than cars in NSWs and 19 months older than the national average.
He said the average age of passenger vehicles in SA increased from 11.1 years in 2013 to 11.4 years in 2018.
The data also shows 287,000 of SA’s passenger vehicles — representing more than a quarter of the fleet — were built before 2003.
In better news the 2019 report found the cheapest of the safest cars were available for under $10,000.
“A vehicle’s size and weight, design, and safety features such as airbags and types of seat belts all contributed to its rating,’’ Mr Borlace said.
The report also found light and small car classes had the highest proportion of poor and very poor performing vehicles.
Large, medium and small SUVs along with commercial vans have a higher than expected proportion of models in the five star category.