If only it were. Carsguide has found that the two best established systems in this country for judging the crash worthiness of cars both leave much to be desired. Further, the Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) and Monash University's Used Car Safety Ratings are at odds, both in the methodology and results.
For example, the data compiled by the respected Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) analyses police-reported crashes where people were hurt or the car needed to be towed. In other words - as more than one car maker tells Carsguide - if your car was safe enough for you or the occupants of the other vehicle to escape unscathed, it won't rate a mention.
Australasian Society of Advanced Engineering president Bill Malkoutzis says both sets of research are relevant but says that no two vehicle accidents are the same. “The potential range of forces and directional vectors involved are infinite. Hence no test can possibly hope to predict the safety of any given vehicle for all possible scenarios,'' Malkoutzis says.
“Thus, it is critical that we have a range of data sourced through different methodologies to inform improvements to our vehicle design and engineering, and to help customers choose the vehicle most suitable to their purpose.'' On that basis, Carsguide looks at the strengths - and weaknesses - of the respective safety ratings.
MUARC
Monash's annual Used Car Safety Ratings reflect physics and represent vehicle safety in the real world. Bigger cars are safer than smaller cars; newer vehicles are safer than old ones. But the database of more than 5 million police-reported crashes focuses on driver safety rather than that of all occupants and is then “weighted'' for variables such as driver age and gender.
The report also notes: “Ratings are not estimated for vehicle models where there are less than 20 injured drivers and/or less than 100 involved drivers in the Australasian crash data, as the resulting ratings estimates from smaller quantities of data than this are considered too statistically unreliable''.
The other issue is social engineering - an inherent component of the Monash results. The report gives the previously provided outright “crashworthiness'' rating of the vehicle alongside a rating of its “aggressivity'' in terms of injury to other road users.
UCSR results now combine those two ratings when determining the “safe pick'' vehicles. It's a laudable sentiment but it's also a policy that restricts informed choice - most people buying a car would prefer to know both factors, simply on the basis that for any two “safe pick'' vehicles, one may be marginally better at preserving the life of the car buyer while the other may be fractionally kinder to other parties. Guess which one I'd put my kids in.
As such, the report is as much about regulating buying behaviour as it is about vehicle safety.
ANCAP
The Australian New Car Assessment Program subjects vehicles to an internationally recognised set of crashes: frontal offset, side impact, pole and pedestrian - yet in many cases, the results don't equate to the UCSR results. MUARC remodelled the ANCAP data and found variances of 55-65 per cent because “ANCAP protocols still do not reflect all-important real world crash configurations and injury outcomes to key body regions''.
One reason for this is ANCAP's ratings are relative to the class, not absolute. A five-star small car won't provide the same protection as a five-star large car. If everything else is equal, bigger is better. ANCAP notes: “It is not appropriate to compare ratings across vehicle categories, particularly if there is a large weight difference. The reason is that in car-to-car crashes, the heavier vehicle has a theoretical advantage (due to the physics of the crash). Similarly, a higher ride height might be an advantage in a car-to-car crash.
However in single vehicle crashes, such as with solid fixed objects, the weight might no longer be an advantage.''
ADRS
All vehicles sold here must comply with the Australian Design Rules. These govern the overall construction and mandated safety features, ranging from convex side mirrors to seat belts and child restraints, anti-lock brakes with electronic stability control and airbag fitment.
They are closely aligned with European standards, given many cars sold in Australia originated there. What they don't do is gauge the relative performance of the software - and these vary markedly from prestige cars to budget vehicles.
The ADRs are a “lowest common denominator'' in that they reflect the minimum standard required for a new vehicles to be registered in this country. Many cars have more advanced software than the ADRs mandate - that's among the reasons we pay more for prestige cars.
TEST DUMMY'S GUIDE TO CRASH TECHNOLOGY
Talk of car safety technology can become mired in acronyms and arcane jargon. What do they mean? More to the point, what do they do?
Anti-lock brakes
Modern ABS does much more than just stop a wheel from locking. It also governs traction control by applying the brakes (and/or adjusting engine speed) when it detects wheel spin.
Stability control
This electronic system can stop drivers from losing control of their car in sudden manoeuvres or loss of control. Now mandatory, it's commonly known as ESP, but also as DSC, DTSC, ESC, ESP+, VDC, VSA and VSC.
Electronic brake-force distribution
EBD reduces brake force if grip differs at each wheel, helping to bring the car to a halt in a straight line.
Lane-keeping technology
Increasingly seen in affordable cars, this vibrates the steering wheel when the car strays across lanes without indicating.
Pre-tensioned/load-limited seat belts
Pre-tensioners take up slack in the belt when they detect a crash is imminent. Load limiters prevent injury by allowing the belt to stretch slightly in a crash if too high a load is placed on the occupant.
Dual-stage airbags
These inflate less rapidly in lower severity impacts, reducing the chance of airbag-related injuries.
Seat-mounted side airbags
These help protect the pelvis, chest and abdomen in a side-on crash and are preferable to door-mounted airbags as they stay in the correct position when the seat is moved.
Side curtain airbags
These usually drop down from the roof lining above the windows to protect the heads of front and rear passengers in the event of a side-on crash.
Isofix child seat mounts
Finally -- belatedly -- approved under design rules. The mounting points for child seats are built into the car seats, rather than the adult seat belt, making installation of the child seat much easier.
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