New mobile website to help Victorians buy safer cars
Victorians looking to buy a new or used car will be able to find out how safe their preferred option is immediately, thanks to a new mobile website.
Assistant Treasurer Gordon Rich-Phillips said the development of the mobile website was prompted by figures which showed a concerning number of young men don’t consider safety features when buying a car.
“While 36 per cent of people surveyed by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) say they consider safety features when purchasing a car, our studies show that the most inexperienced drivers drive the oldest and least safe cars,” Mr Rich-Phillips said.
“Worryingly, of the males aged between 18 to 25 years in metropolitan Melbourne who were surveyed, only two per cent said they would think about safety features.
“In regional Victoria, none of the males in the 18 to 25 years age group that were surveyed said they considered safety features when buying a car.”
The How Safe is Your Car mobile optimisation developed by the TAC gives consumers a fast and easy way to check the safety ratings of a range of new and used cars.
“By visiting www.howsafeisyourcar.com.au on a smartphone Victorians now have immediate access to up-to-date safety ratings on a range of vehicles,” Mr Rich-Phillips said.
“Buying a safe car doesn’t have to cost a fortune, it’s now just a matter of checking the mobile website when you’re in the car yard, or browsing online, to see what is available.”
In a bid to reduce youth road trauma, the website has been specifically designed for young Victorians who might be car shopping with their iPhone or iPad.
The mobile website features a range of older, used vehicles with four or five star safety ratings that sell for between $3,000 and $12,000, as well as new models released this year.
“We’re not suggesting that Victorians have to spend thousands of dollars on the newest cars on the market, but we encourage them to select the safest model in the class and price range they are looking at.
“Upgrading to the safest model in the class could save your life,” Mr Rich-Phillips said.
The website is based on the Used Car Safety Ratings which rank a car using a five-star rating system according to its ability to protect a driver in a crash.
The ratings were developed by the Monash University Accident Research Centre and are based on the analysis of the records of more than five million crashes.
