Mitsubishi Express: Victorian Roads Minister Ben Carroll wants review of dangerous van

One van scored so poorly it was given the first ever zero star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program.

Dangerous cars with poor safety standards are still finding their way on to our roads and should be banned by the federal government, according to Victorian Roads Minister Ben Carroll.

The Andrews Government has written to Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack seeking support after the release of the controversial 2020 model of the Mitsubishi Express.

The van is the first vehicle to ever receive a zero star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program.

The alarming score means it will not be used in most fleets and ANCAP has warned it found a serious risk of injury to drivers in three of four crash tests.

Damage visible to the Mitsubishi Express during the ANCAP crash test.

Its poor rating in the ANCAP crash test has prompted a backlash.

It also failed standards to prevent drivers being ejected from vehicles and in minimising damage to other cars in the event of a collision, meaning other motorists could also be put in danger. Concerns were also raised about the injury risk to the chest and neck, plus poor airbag coverage

The rating has prompted a backlash and a push from authorities to make sure the vehicle is not used in Australia.

In a letter, Mr Carroll has urged the federal government to commit to tighter standards used overseas so that cars like the Express cannot be sold here.

He said the safety flaws in the Express were unacceptable given utes, vans and small trucks account for a fifth of road deaths in Victoria.

“Despite our collective efforts to improve road safety, we continue to see vehicles with poor safety ratings coming onto our roads. It is therefore critical for the Commonwealth to improve the safety standards to ensure only the safest vehicles make it onto our roads,” he wrote.

“I am requesting of a review of the current minimum standards … Australia should be at

the global forefront when it comes to vehicle safety technologies, as we have been with so many other areas of road safety policy.”

Mitsubishi has said that the van received a three-star rating in Europe in 2015 and that there were had been improvements to driver assistance technologies since then.

In 2020, older cars made up about three quarters of the vehicles involved in deadly accidents.

Advocates have long been pushing for drivers to purchase newer and safer vehicles, with common features introduced over the last decade proven to save lives.

Transport Accident Commission chief executive Joe Calafiore said it was vital Victorians have access to the safest cars on the road.

“Potentially lifesaving features such as autonomous emergency braking and lane departure warnings have been in cars for years now, so to see a new car coming onto Victoria’s roads with a zero-star safety rating is shocking,” he said.

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Originally published as Mitsubishi Express: Victorian Roads Minister Ben Carroll wants review of dangerous van