There are different safety rating systems for new and used cars. No car is 100% safe or crash-proof, but choosing a car with good safety features and a high rating could save your life.
To get an accurate comparison between cars and safety ratings:
- only compare cars of the same class (eg. small vs. small , not small vs. medium)
- don’t compare used cars with new cars – the rating systems are different.
Used car safety ratings (UCSR) assess:
- on-road crash performance
- how well the car protects its driver in a crash
- how much damage the car will cause to other drivers involved in a crash.
UCSR are based on the records of over 3 million real car crashes in Australia and New Zealand where someone was killed or seriously injured. This rating system was developed by the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) and has received international acclaim.
For the latest Used Car Safety Ratings results view the complete UCSR 2008 [PDF, 169KB, 4pp].
The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) conducts crash tests on most top selling cars. These tests assess the protection a car gives to front seat occupants in serious front and side crashes.
ANCAP uses a star system to rate safety: five stars is the highest safety rating and one star is the lowest.
All Australian and New Zealand motoring clubs, all state governments, the New Zealand Government and the FIA Foundation support this Program. Studies conducted by the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) have found that ANCAP crash test results are a good indicator of a new car’s on-road crash performance.
Tests the force of impact and extent of injury to the head; neck; chest; abdomen; pelvis; upper and lower legs; and deformation of the car’s structure.
The offset frontal crash test simulates a head-on crash with another car. A crushable aluminium barrier is crashed into 40% of the cars front/side at 64km/h.
The side impact test simulates a side crash with another car. A 950kg trolley is crashed into the driver’s side of the car at 50km/h. The trolley has a crushable aluminium face that simulates the front of another car.
The pole/tree test simulates a car hitting a tree or pole side on. The car is ran sideways into a pole lined up with the drivers head, at 29km/h. High seated 4WDs fitted with side or curtain head protecting airbags are subjected to this test. For other cars, the test is optional at the manufacturer’s cost if the car performs well in the side impact test and is fitted with head protection side airbags.
18% of all road fatalities in Australia and New Zealand are pedestrians. The ANCAP pedestrian impact test estimates how badly a pedestrian would be injured if hit by a car going 40km/h. The risk of injury to the knee, upper leg and head of an adult and child are assessed by this test.
More information on ANCAP is available in the vehicle safety section of our website, or from the ANCAP website.