Safe Cars
Car safety refers to:
- how well a car prevents a crash occurring or reduces the effects of a crash
- how well a car protects its driver and passengers in a crash
- how well a car protects other road users in a crash
Advancements in technology, design and safety standards have significantly improved car safety over time. These assist drivers to avoid crashes and help protect car occupants in the event of a crash.
Buying a safe car
If you are thinking of buying a car, make sure you buy the safest car for your budget. The safety of cars varies considerably, so it is important to check the safety rating before you buy.
Car safety technology is advancing all the time, with newer cars generally safer than older models. Newer cars typically include safety features which can significantly reduce your risk of having a crash and improve your chance of survival if you do crash.
In Australia the level of safety a car provides is assessed and then identified through star rating systems:
Australasian New Car Assessment Program
ANCAP provides independent information on:
- how well cars protect occupants and other road users in serious front and side crashes
- how well cars can avoid or minimise the severity of a crash.
ANCAP assesses vehicles for:
- adult occupant protection
- child occupant protection
- vulnerable road user protection (i.e. risk and severity of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists in a crash)
- safety assistance technology.
Find out more about ANCAP.
Used Car Safety Rating
If you are looking to buy a second-hand car, the Used Car Safety Ratings (UCSR) can help you find the safest second-hand car in your budget. The UCSR are based on Australian and New Zealand crash data from 1987-2022.
There is a big difference in driver protection between the best and worst cars across all those rated in the UCSR. A driver in the worst rated vehicle is ten times more likely to lose their life or be seriously injured in the same crash, than the same driver in the safest vehicle.[1]
The overall star rating applied to each vehicle in the Used Car Safety Ratings consider three components of vehicle safety performance:
- how well a car protects its driver in the event of a crash,
- how well a car protects other road users
- how well a car can reduce the likelihood of a crash occurring.
Some 5-star used cars are highlighted as a Safer Pick if they score:
- 5-stars for Overall Safety rating
- 5-stars for Driver Protection rating, and
- At least 4-stars for Other Road User Safety and Crash Avoidance.
Download the Used Car Safety Rating brochure.
Car safety features
Car safety features are advancing all the time and include car structure, restraints and safety assist technologies. Improvements provide car occupants and other road users with the best chance of avoiding and surviving a crash.
Most modern cars give protection through:
- Active safety systems that include collision avoidance technologies designed to minimise the impact of a crash or avoid it altogether.
- Passive safety systems that are designed to protect the occupants of a vehicle in the event of a crash, like airbags and seatbelts.
Active safety features
Some active safety features to consider when buying a car are listed below.
Anti-Lock Brake Systems (ABS)
- Anti-lock brake systems prevent a car’s brakes from locking and reduce skidding in emergency situations. They help drivers avoid a crash when they need to brake suddenly.
Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB)
- helps avoid crashes or slows a car down to reduce the severity of a crash
- helps detect objects in a car’s path such as other cars, pedestrians and cyclists
- brakes automatically when the driver cannot
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
- helps a driver maintain control of their car, particularly in adverse conditions such as wet weather
- continuously monitors a vehicle’s speed, steering wheel angle, direction of travel and cornering acceleration, automatically applying brakes if there is risk of skidding or overturning
- helps steer the vehicle back on track by adjusting the speed and selectively braking one or more wheels
Lane Support Systems (LSS) / Lane Keep Assist (LKA) / Lane Departure Warning
- helps drivers to stay in their lane / on their side of the road
- read the line markings on the road
- alert the driver through sound, vision or vibrations that the car is drifting over the line or leaving the lane without indicating.
Blind Spot Monitoring
Blind Spot Monitoring warns a driver that there is a vehicle present in an adjacent lane in their ‘blind spot’.
Reversing Sensors and / or cameras
Assist drivers to see what is behind them when reversing and parking.
Daytime Running Lights
Daytime Running Lights are designed to turn on automatically when driving. They increase the visibility of the vehicle to other road users. Recent research has shown that Daytime Running Lights can reduce daytime multi-vehicle crash involvement by 8.8%. They were found to be more effective during dawn and dusk, reducing crash risk by 20.3%. [2]
Passive Safety features
Passive safety features do not prevent a crash, instead they work to prevent or reduce harm to the driver and passengers, if a crash occurs.
Airbags (front, side, curtain and knee)
In the event of a crash, front, side, curtain and knee airbags deploy to reduce the risk of drivers and passengers hitting the steering wheel, dashboard or side windows of the car and minimising serious or life-threatening injuries.
Airbags are designed to operate together with seatbelts
Seatbelts
Seatbelts are compulsory in Australia. Three-point lap sash seatbelts help keep the driver and passengers in their seats in a sudden stop or crash. Modern seatbelts include pre-tensioners and load limiters which have improved their effectiveness in reducing injury for vehicle occupants. Seatbelts must be worn appropriately, properly adjusted and fastened.
Electric vehicles
As more electric vehicles (also known as 'EVs') appear on our roads, drivers and pedestrians should understand their unique safety features.
Visit the Department for Energy and Mining's website for more information about electric vehicles.
More about what makes a car safe?
For more information on car safety features and how they are tested for safety rating go to the How are cars tested for safety page on the ANCAP website.
Visit My Licence for information on safety features when buying a safer vehicle.
Buying a safe caravan or camper trailer
Towing a caravan or camper trailer with an under powered or under braked car is tiring, inconvenient and unsafe. Check what you can tow with your car before you buy a caravan or trailer.
For resources and information to keep you safe when towing your caravan, go to Caravan and Camping SA.
Visit My Licence for information on towing and buying a safe caravan or camper trailer.
Securing a load
Loads must be secure because loose loads can be dangerous to you and other drivers.
Visit My Licence for information on towing and loads.
Airbag recall
In 2018, the Australian Government issued a compulsory recall for all vehicles with defective Takata airbags. These airbags could cause serious injury or even death.
To see if your vehicle is affected and what to do, visit the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries website.
[1] Newstead, Stuart; Rampollard, Casey; Budd, Laurie; Keall, Michael; Cameron, Maxwell (2024). Vehicle safety ratings estimated from police-reported crash data: 2024 Evaluation - Australian and New Zealand crashes during 1987-2022 (MUARC Report No. 371). . Monash University. Report. https://doi.org/10.26180/27263391.v2
[2] NRSPP Australia - NRSPP Quick Fact: Daytime Running Lights