Is your family car safe?
Posted in:
safety
If you're looking to buy a new family car, safety is probably your top
priority. But how can you tell which cars are safe and which aren't?
Now that you've got precious cargo to consider, it is more important than ever to consider a car's safety rating? But what does it really mean when you say 'safety'? And how can it be measured?
A problem many parents and parents-to-be face when buying a new car is figuring out how their idea of safety translates into terms used by the auto industry, and what standards these terms are held up against.
It's extremely important for mothers to know how to interpret car makers' safety features as women buy 60 per cent of new cars and are decision-makers in 85 per cent of all car purchases.
Crash tests
In Australia, one benchmark for vehicle safety involves looking at the outcomes of front and side crashes, done under lab conditions.
Supported by local and federal governments, crash testing is one of the only measurements that can be objectively and unfailingly applied to car purchase decisions.
The ANCAP rating system
Since 1993, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has published crash test results for more than 300 cars. All were tested under identical conditions and dummies were used to measure the various forces on the car's occupants in a crash.
Knowing which car is the safest for your family is made easier using ANCAP’s star-rating system.
The ANCAP rating is out of 5 and the more stars, the safer the car. If a car scores a high rating, it means it has a sound structure and the best safety systems available.
In reality this means 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.
ANCAP chair Lauchlan McIntosh says that 5-star rated models are available in every market segment.
"Buyers should do their homework and seek out 5-star vehicles to give themselves and their passengers the best chance of avoiding the trauma of a serious crash," he says.
If it's not a 4- or 5-star rated vehicle – cross it off your list!
Visit the ANCAP website for more info and to see how your family car rates.
Now that you've got precious cargo to consider, it is more important than ever to consider a car's safety rating? But what does it really mean when you say 'safety'? And how can it be measured?
A problem many parents and parents-to-be face when buying a new car is figuring out how their idea of safety translates into terms used by the auto industry, and what standards these terms are held up against.
It's extremely important for mothers to know how to interpret car makers' safety features as women buy 60 per cent of new cars and are decision-makers in 85 per cent of all car purchases.
Crash tests
In Australia, one benchmark for vehicle safety involves looking at the outcomes of front and side crashes, done under lab conditions.
Supported by local and federal governments, crash testing is one of the only measurements that can be objectively and unfailingly applied to car purchase decisions.
The ANCAP rating system
Since 1993, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has published crash test results for more than 300 cars. All were tested under identical conditions and dummies were used to measure the various forces on the car's occupants in a crash.
Knowing which car is the safest for your family is made easier using ANCAP’s star-rating system.
The ANCAP rating is out of 5 and the more stars, the safer the car. If a car scores a high rating, it means it has a sound structure and the best safety systems available.
In reality this means 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.
ANCAP chair Lauchlan McIntosh says that 5-star rated models are available in every market segment.
"Buyers should do their homework and seek out 5-star vehicles to give themselves and their passengers the best chance of avoiding the trauma of a serious crash," he says.
If it's not a 4- or 5-star rated vehicle – cross it off your list!
Visit the ANCAP website for more info and to see how your family car rates.
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