Unsafe cars fatal choice for young people: study
09 December 2009
Unsafe used cars have been found to be a major contributing factor in the high number of road fatalities among young people, a study has found.
The RAC has backed the Monash University study, which investigated the types of cars driven and crashed by people aged 17 – 25, and then measured the contribution of these vehicles in preventing death and serious injury in the event of a crash.
The survey found that the types of cars young people drive were a major contributing factor to the high road fatalities in the 17 to 25 age group.
RAC Head of Member Advocacy Matt Brown said the findings were a wake-up call to buyers of used vehicles and the parents of young car buyers.
“Young drivers are crashing more often than older drivers and with more serious consequences, and the data shows that the cars they are driving offer significantly lower levels of protection from death and serious injury,” Mr Brown said.
“The RAC recommends young car buyers purchase the safest car they can afford and not the fastest, because this is the age where they are at the highest risk,” Mr Brown said.
Mr Brown said an accurate guide to the safety of used cars is the Used Car Safety Ratings buyers’ guide, which was calculated by Monash University’s Accident Research Centre (MUARC) and is available for free from the RAC.
MUARC researcher Dr Stuart Newstead said 181 young people were killed in car accidents in 2008, and the type of car they were driving at the time is partly responsible for this appalling statistic.
Dr Newstead said the MUARC research showed that because of the cars they are driving young people have, on average, a 13 per cent greater risk of death or serious injury in the event of an accident.
“For young women the statistic is even higher: the type of car they are driving is increasing their risk of death or serious injury in an accident by more than 28 per cent,” Dr Newstead said.
Dr Newstead said analysis of the data indicated that if all young drivers involved in crashes were driving the safest available car, rather than the cars they typically drove, the road fatality and serious injury rate could be reduced by more than 80 per cent.
He said the key to reducing the high rate of road fatalities and serious injuries among young people is to take heed of this research and look at ways to change the car choices young people are making.
Among the vehicles scoring well in the Used Car Safety Ratings guide are the Ford Focus (manufactured 2005-07), the Saab 9-3 (1998-02) and the Peugeot 307 (2001-07), which are available second-hand from $6,500.
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