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The Australian Design Rules (ADR) cover a minimum safety requirement, but there are many more safety features available to make a car safer both in the event of a crash and in preventing a crash in the first place.
Before buying a new car, check its safety rating on the ANCAP website or ask your car dealer. Cars with 4 and 5-star ratings provide much better protection in a crash than those with a lower rating. It is estimated that occupants have twice the chance of being killed or seriously injured in an ANCAP 1-star rated vehicle compared to an ANCAP 5-star rated vehicle.
Higher ANCAP stars will not necessarily cost more. In fact, many reasonably priced makes and models score well in safety ratings and, in some cases, better than some of the more expensive models.
In addition to basic safety items, some key safety features you should be looking for include:
- electronic stability systems which help maintain control of the vehicle in emergency situations
- Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS)
- Emergency Brake Assist (EBA)
- seat belt reminder systems
- active head restraints
- front, side and curtain head protecting airbags
- Daytime Running Lights (DRLs)
- safe car colours.
Find out more about these safety features below.
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You’ve got your sights set on that car. It’s the right price, looks good, and it’s the perfect size for what you need. But there are two important factors you may not have thought about.
It is important that your vehicle offers you good protection from injury in a crash – but it is also important that your vehicle offers good protection to other road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists or the drivers of other vehicles involved in a crash. For example, the crash statistics analysed by Monash University indicate that large SUVs are more likely to cause serious injuries to other road users in a crash than most other vehicle types.
The Used Car Safety Ratings guide (1 page PDF 128 KB) provides you with the crash safety rating for the driver. Those vehicles which also cause less serious injury to other road users with which they collide, including other vehicle drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, receive a “Safe Pick” rating. If you are serious about reducing road trauma you need to consider how your vehicle protects other road users as well as you, the driver.
If you care about the safety of both yourself and others, consider choosing a "Safe Pick" model.
This brochure gives safety ratings for 197 vehicle models which cover most of the popular vehicles in the Australian and New Zealand vehicle fleets manufactured from 1996 to 2011.
It’s worth taking a few minutes to read the following brochures and find out how the vehicle you are considering purchasing compares for safety. Those few minutes could save a life – your own, your passenger’s or that of another road user. Further information, including frequently asked questions and technical details can be read in the following reports from the Monash University Accident Research Centre.
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Electronic Stability Control
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Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is an active safety system that reduces the risk of a driver losing control of the vehicle and helps reduce the chances of single vehicle or off-path crashes.
ESC builds upon features such as Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS) and Traction Control to stabilise the vehicle when it deviates from the driver’s steered direction. International research show that single vehicle crashes can be reduced by 35% in passenger vehicles and 67% in four wheel drive and sports utility vehicles fitted with ESC.
ESC is also known by different names by different manufacturers:
- Electronic Stability Program (ESP) – Holden, Audi, Chrysler, Mercedes, Saab, Volkswagen
- Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) – Ford, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover
- Stability/Swerve Control (VSC) – Toyota, Lexus
- Active Stability Control (ASC) – Mitsubishi
- Dynamic Stability and Traction Control (DSTC) – Volvo
- Stability Assist (VSA) – Honda
- Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) – Subaru, Nissan
The effectiveness of Electronic Stability Control in Australasia was evaluated by the Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre. You can download the report below.
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An Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) is a system which prevents the wheels from locking while braking. An ABS allows the driver to maintain steering control under heavy breaking by preventing a skid and allowing the wheel to continue to forward roll and create lateral control, as directed by driver steering inputs.
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Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) is a safety system in motor vehicles designed to ensure maximum braking power is used in an emergency stop situation. By interpreting the speed and force with which the brake pedal is pushed, the system detects if the driver is trying to execute an emergency stop. If the brake pedal is not fully applied, the system overrides and fully applies the brakes until the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) takes over to stop the wheels locking up.
The system will not reduce the stopping distance of the car, but it will make sure that the car is stopped in the shortest distance that it potentially could by compensating for any hesitancy in applying the brakes hard in an emergency situation.
Brake Assist is based on the ABS technology of a vehicle and will not be found on a vehicle without ABS. It should not change how drivers respond to an emergency – you should still brake as hard as possible.
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Seat belt reminder systems
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A seat belt reminder system is a system alerting the driver by means of sound and visual indications when a seat belt should be worn. The reminder signal should be loud and clear but not annoying. The target is to remind people, who accept the benefits of the seat belt, that they have not fastened their belt. Some seat belt reminder systems won't allow a vehicle to start until the belt is connected.
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Head restraints limit the backward movement of the head during a rear-impact crash, reducing the chance of neck injury commonly referred to as whiplash. Head restraints meeting specific size and strength requirements are required at front seats, but not in rear seats.
The newest type of head restraint is an active head restraint. In general, during a rear-end crash, active head restraints automatically move forward to close the gap between the occupant’s head and the head restraint.
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Side and curtain airbags protect occupants in a side impact crash. Curtain airbags drop down from the top of the side window, creating a cushion between the occupant and the side of the car and typically protect the head and shoulders. Side airbags usually activate from the door panel, protecting the occupant’s torso.
Advice on airbags and their deployment
Modern vehicles can have up to 8 or more airbags. In order to provide effective protection they must be able to deploy freely without obstruction. The below document outlines some of the key things to consider when making vehicle modifications or adding accessories such as GPS to ensure your airbags work as effectively as they should.
Download: Deployment Issues with Airbags (4 page PDF 54 KB)
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Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) are bright headlights that are illuminated during the day in order to make vehicles more visible. DRLs have been shown to improve vehicle visibility and estimation of distance resulting in reduced crash rates. A Western Australian study showed vehicles with DRLs were more than 8 times safer than those without.
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A study undertaken by the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) investigating the relationship between vehicle colour and crash risk found that black, blue, grey, green, red and silver vehicles had a higher crash risk compared with white vehicles. Colours higher on the visibility index, such as white, are recommended to reduce crash risk.
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Recent analyses have indicated that Four Wheel Drive (4WD) vehicles cause comparatively more harm than other passenger vehicles when in collision with other road users, and are relatively unstable vehicles, with a high risk of rollover. In relation to crash risk overall, however, the primary risk estimates show that 4WD vehicles are generally safe vehicles, despite their higher rollover risk. However, in relation to young drivers there is an unusually high risk for 4WD occupants compared to other passenger vehicles.
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The following safer vehicles fact sheet provides further information about vehicle safety, including interesting statistics and how cars are crash tested.
Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre (C-MARC) has developed the following fact sheets on in-vehicle intelligent systems and enhanced occupant protection.
Advice on airbags and their deployment
Modern vehicles can have up to 8 or more airbags. In order to provide effective protection they must be able to deploy freely without obstruction. The below document outlines some of the key things to consider when making vehicle modifications or adding accessories such as GPS to ensure your airbags work as effectively as they should.
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