Talkin' Cars

Used car safety in the spotlight

by Petrol Mum
by Petrol Mum

Australians can now access comprehensive information to find the safest used car following the release of the new-look Used Car Safety Ratings. The annual ratings are based on Monash University Accident Research Centre’s (MUARC) real-world statistical analysis of more than 9 million vehicles involved in police-reported crashes and 2.5 million injured road users in Australia and New Zealand between 1987-2021.

In 2023, the ratings have been expanded to focus on not only how a vehicle protects the driver, but also its impact on other road users in a crash and its crash avoidance technology. 

The new “Overall Safety” star rating assigned to each vehicle model combines the scores for:

  • Driver Safety: How well the vehicle protects its driver from being killed or seriously injured in a crash
  • Other Road User Safety: How well the vehicle protects other drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists from being killed or seriously injured in a crash
  • Crash Avoidance: The reduction in crash involvement risk resulting from the availability of proven crash avoidance technologies in the vehicle such as electronic stability control, autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist, roll stability control and reversing cameras and sensors.

This year, 518 vehicle models were rated out of five stars for Overall Safety in addition to Driver Safety, Other Road User Safety and Crash Avoidance, with 1-star being the worst for safety and 5-stars indicating the top 20 per cent of vehicles for relative safety performance. This provides consumers with 106 vehicles allocated a 5-star Overall Safety rating. Eighty-seven of those vehicles also scored 5-stars for Driver Safety and at least 3-stars for Other Road User Safety and Crash Avoidance and were awarded ‘Safer Pick’ status. 

The 20 Safer Pick vehicles that received 5-stars in every category are (in alphabetical order):

For motorists on a budget, the Used Car Safety Ratings 2023 show the affordability of each car, to making a safer choice, with more than half the ‘Safer Pick’ vehicles available second hand for less than AU$10,000, and all but two available for less than AU$25,000.

The Used Car Safety Ratings 2023 also highlight the improvements in vehicle safety over the last 30 years. Most ‘Safer Pick’ vehicles have been manufactured since 2006, with data showing that on average, a vehicle manufactured in 2021 reduces the risk of road users being killed or seriously injured by 33 per cent compared to a vehicle manufactured in 2001. 

Additionally, newer vehicles provide reduced crash involvement risk through their range of crash avoidance technologies such as Lane Keep Assist, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Electronic Stability Control, Roll Stability Control, and reversing cameras and sensors.

Research lead and MUARC Director, Professor Stuart Newstead, said the enhanced scope of the ratings will empower consumers to make a safer choice.

“Serious road trauma resulting from the worst-rated car is more than ten times that of the best rated car in the same crash with the same driver,” he said.

“If we want to optimise the safety of the fleet, we have to be wary of not just how the vehicle protects you as the driver, but also the injury risk the vehicle poses to other road users. The change in focus of the Used Car Safety Ratings to consider the ‘Overall Safety’ rating reflecting serious trauma risk the vehicle poses to all road users is a significant step towards this holistic approach to road safety.”

The Used Car Safety Ratings 2023 can be found here.

Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.

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