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Safety ratings of used cars

When buying a second hand 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 offer the best protection in a crash.

The Used Car Safety Ratings provide car buyers with critical information when selecting a used car. When considering your car purchase, vehicle safety should be paramount. The Used Car Safety Ratings study is based on more than four million real-life vehicle crashes in Australia and New Zealand since 1996. The study shows how well each vehicle will protect the driver from death or serious injury in the event of a crash.

Consumers concerned with safety should look for a vehicle with at least a better than average rating (4 stars) for driver protection and at least an average rating (3 stars) for impact on other road users.

The 2011 ratings are based on measuring the relative safety performance of 184 used cars based on over four million actual crashes on New Zealand and Australian roads from 1996 to 2009. The crash data has been analysed and vehicle safety ratings calculated by Monash University's Accident Research Centre.

Safe Pick vehicles

For the first time, 'Safe Pick' vehicles have been introduced into the Used Car Safety Ratings. The Safe Pick vehicles further identify vehicles that provide the best protection for both their own occupants and other road users in a crash. These vehicles are rated as being the safests choices when purchasing a second hand car.

Newer vehicles are safer

On average newer vehicles provide their drivers with better protection from injury in a crash. These improvements come from better structural designs, as well as an increase in the fitting of safety features. These include front, side and curtain airbags, more advanced seat belt systems and vehicle interiors built with plastics instead of steel.

These ratings provide two crash safety ratings:

the vehicle’s ability to protect its own driver in the event of a crash
the vehicle’s impact on unprotected road users and drivers of other vehicles in a crash

Consumers concerned with safety should look for a vehicle with at least a better than average rating (4 stars) for driver protection.