Safety ratings issued for used cars

1.00pm

A guide to the safest second-hand cars has been issued by the Land Transport Authority (LTSA).

Around 70 per cent of the New Zealand market is based on used cars.

"Second-hand car buyers haven't had the same information available to them as people in the market for a new car," LTSA spokesman Andy Knackstedt said.

The LTSA aims to address that issue with the launch of the Buyers Guide to Used Car Safety Ratings, with results based on over one million "real world crashes" in New Zealand and Australia.

"The safety ratings cover 255 popular used car models available in New Zealand, allowing consumers to quickly compare makes and models of car with the type of car they're looking for," Mr Knackstedt said.

The LTSA has developed the safety ratings with Professor Max Cameron of Monash University in Melbourne.

Until recently vehicle crash test ratings went back to 1995-96, but if consumers were in the market for something older, no safety guides existed.

"The inclusion for the first time of New Zealand crash data in the Australian Used Car Safety Ratings (UCSR) is good news for consumers", Minister for Transport Safety Harry Duynhoven added.

The latest UCSR report, released today uses data to rate 255 common vehicle models for the protection they offer drivers in a crash - and the harm they cause to drivers of other vehicles.

The report has been produced periodically in Australia since 1992 by the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC). New Zealand crash data was included for the first time this year after the Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) commissioned MUARC in 2000 to investigate combining crash data from the two countries.

Mr Duynhoven said the inclusion of New Zealand crash data supports the Government's Road Safety to 2010 strategy in which improving consumer awareness of vehicle safety was identified as a key component.

"It is just as important to look at safety performance when choosing a used car as it is when buying a new one. The ratings show that drivers of the worst-rated vehicles stand at least a 30 per cent greater chance of serious injury or death in a serious crash than those in the best-rated vehicles.

"People need to take responsibility for their own, their passengers', and other road users' safety when they buy a vehicle.

"We encourage people to drive vehicles that offer both good protection to the driver and minimal impact on other road users. Providing these safety ratings will help them do that."

The last decade has seen manufacturers and designers progressively include protection features in their vehicles in response to the ratings. All new vehicles are now required by law in both New Zealand and Australia to meet minimum frontal-impact standards.

Mr Duynhoven said these advances were beginning to be reflected in the ratings.

"The UCSR ratings are beginning to show the results of vehicle safety advances over the last decade and we would expect this trend to continue," he said

"This means that we can expect that better than average ratings will become more common, giving consumers further confidence that they can find well-rated vehicles in whatever category they wish to drive."

A booklet containing the Used Car Safety Ratings is available from LTSA service agents or via the LTSA Helpdesk on 0800 699 000. The ratings can also be viewed online.