Safety now a priority for car buyers

It turns out that we're no longer dummies when it comes to buying a new car -- we've turned the corner when it comes to vehicle safety.

After almost two decades of battling for recognition, Australia's leading independent crash test authority says vehicle safety has finally become a priority for new-car buyers -- and motorists are becoming increasingly aware of the differences in the safety of vehicles.

The latest research by ANCAP (Australian New Car Assessment Program), which included a sample size of more than 1000 new-car buyers, showed almost half of all customers checked the crash test body's website for the safety results of new vehicles, or searched for the score on manufacturer websites and advertising.

This is a dramatic improvement compared to when the study was last done in 2008, which showed less than 1 in 50 new-car buyers -- statistically a "neglible" amount -- checked for ANCAP safety ratings.

"This is a dramatic and welcome improvement, but actually we'd like to see an even higher proportion of car buyers checking vehicle safety scores," the business manager of ANCAP, Nick Clarke, told the Carsales Network at a crash test of a Nissan Patrol utility (pictured) in Sydney this week (results to be announced next month).

"We put the improvement down to a lot more manufacturers earning five star scores and promoting the results in their advertising. In fact, if you look at 2008, that was when the Ford Falcon became the first locally-made car to score five stars for safety. Ford advertised that result heavily that year and it really became a turning point. Of course, many other brands have done the same since."

The chairman of ANCAP Lachlan McIntosh says government and business fleets are becoming increasingly aware of the crash safety ratings.

"Some of the improvement in the recognition of ANCAP can be put down to the duty of care in the workplace," he says. "An increasing number of employers and government departments now realise that the most likely place you'll be killed or injured in the workplace is the car.

"By virtue of the car makers advertising their results and people in the workplace becoming aware of vehicle safety ratings, ordinary mums and dads are also starting to take notice of our star ratings."

Although the latest study shows a big increase in the number of people checking ANCAP car safety scores, it is still not enough, says McIntosh.

"We'd like the figure to be closer to 90 per cent of car buyers, and hopefully we'll get there," he said.

Car safety is still not the number one priority for car buyers, but it has crept up the ladder.

Whereas safety used to rank in the bottom half of the top 10 priorities for buyers when shopping for a new car, it is now ranked as high as fourth (depending on the model) behind price, size and style of vehicle, and fuel economy.

ANCAP is funded by insurance companies and motoring authorities in each state and territory in Australia, as well as those in New Zealand.

It has no power to approve -- or ban -- vehicles from sale. But it has become a helpful consumer guide to help define the differences in crash protection in similar vehicles.

Before ANCAP, and its associated authority, Euro NCAP, trying to compare the safety of like vehicles was guesswork.

Rather than simply saying a car "passes" the minimum Federal Government regulations, ANCAP tests cars to a higher safety standard and then gives car buyers more detail on how each vehicle's crash worthiness compares. In recent times ANCAP has increased the coverage of vehicles tested and enhanced its relevance to new-car buyers.

When ANCAP was established in 1992, car makers were unanimously opposed to the idea of an independent auditor, arguing that ANCAP could not judge the safety of a car based on one test.

But car makers increasingly changed their tune as they introduced newer, safer models.

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