Choosing a safe vehicle for young drivers

Should they have their own car?

This article examines research that shows young drivers who share the family car are less likely to be crash than those who drive their own vehicles.

Choosing a safe car for a new driver

This article looks at why it’s so important to choose the right vehicle and what to look for.

Frontline observations

This article looks a a paramedic’s observations at crash scenes – comparing old cars with new.

ANCAP Safety Ratings

ANCAP safety ratings are a 0-5 star system for new vehicles in Australia and New Zealand, developed by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program. The ratings assess both a vehicle’s ability to protect occupants and other road users in a crash and its technology to prevent or minimize crashes, with more stars indicating a better safety performance.

ANCAP ratings apply to vehicles sold new through the market in Australia/NZ (not imports). They only apply to specific versions of vehicles models (which will be listed on the site (not all variants which can change the results, eg body type, engine size, fuel etc)).  It’s important to look at the testing date if you’re using ANCAP because criteria will change over time – a vehicle that achieved 5 starts in 2015 was tested at a lower standard than one in 2020.  ANCAP ratings have a short shelf-life – up to six years – before they are no longer useful for comparing different vehicles.

Used Car Safety Ratings

Used car assessment programs are databases developed from over 8 million real-word crashes and compared to the fleet across Australia and New Zealand.