An RAC survey has found 70 per cent of people aren’t familiar with Used Car Safety Ratings, prompting a renewed push to legislate visibility of safety scores at dealerships to encourage safer choices.
Low awareness of the Used Car Safety Ratings program – a yearly initiative reviewing car crash data from, around 9.4 million vehicles – has coincided with a horror year for WA road deaths.
The results have prompted RAC to renew calls for the introduction of ‘Stars on Cars’, an initiative aimed at making the display of safety ratings mandatory at the point of purchase.
RAC’s General Manager External Relations Will Golsby said making the display of safety ratings mandatory was a simple, low-cost change that would help make WA roads safer.
“It’s compulsory to show the energy rating on your microwave but not the safety rating of your car – one heats your food; the other could save your life,” Mr Golsby said.
“Requiring safety ratings to be displayed at the point of sale would help car buyers make the safest decision possible; a decision that could be the difference between walking away from a crash or suffering life-changing injuries.
“All car buyers – new and used – would benefit from having this information upfront.
“This would be an easy win for road safety as we continue to grapple with a devastating year on WA roads.”
Survey respondents said the best measures to encourage safer vehicle purchases were more education and training about vehicle safety features (83 per cent supported), subsidies or rebates on safer cars (82 per cent supported), and ANCAP safety ratings being displayed in all new cars in dealerships (80 per cent supported).
The latest round of Used Car Safety Ratings, released last month, can be downloaded here: Used Car Safety Ratings 2024
Media contact: RAC media team, 0401 703 719 or media@rac.com.au
