Stars on cars to give WA vehicles a safety check

In an Australian first, safety rating stickers will be placed on cars at dealerships across the State in a bid to reduce death and serious injury on Western Australian roads.

Road Safety Minister Rob Johnson said he encouraged car dealers to support the State-wide rollout of the nation's first Stars on Cars program, a joint initiative of the State Government and the RAC.

Mr Johnson said estimates showed if people bought the safest car in their desired class, overall vehicle safety across Australia would improve by 26 per cent.

The Minister said if all new cars had the equivalent safety features as the safest vehicle in their class, death and serious injury could be reduced by up to 40 per cent.

"This is just the start of what is promising to be a very important program influencing car safety in WA and ultimately improving the safety of all road users," he said.

"The program was trialled for six months at 12 dealerships across the State, which displayed swing tags and stickers on car windscreens to indicate the vehicle's safety rating based on the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) ratings.

"Research of the trial showed that five per cent of consumers changed their mind on their vehicle purchase as a result of the safety ratings and 86 per cent of people in the market for a new car said the safety information would be useful.

"Additionally, 15 per cent of consumers said they recalled seeing the Stars on Cars indicator and said it positively impacted their choices by narrowing options or reaffirming final choices."

The safety rating stickers are similar to energy rating stickers on whitegoods.

RAC General Manager Membership and Retail, Michael Heath, said the Stars on Cars initiative would empower consumers and increase safety on WA roads.

"Most of us believe if we buy a new vehicle it has to be safe, yet we often don't recognise that some vehicles within the same budget offer better protection and more safety features than others," Mr Heath said.

"The Stars on Cars initiative will give the WA community access to the information they need at the point of sale to make an educated decision about the car they buy.

"The RAC encourages those dealers who are not yet participating in the Stars on Cars program to consider the growing consumer demand for vehicle safety information and share the responsibility for saving lives on our roads."

In line with the State's road safety strategy, Towards Zero, the Safer Vehicles campaign, including the Stars on Cars initiative, focuses on safety features that both prevent the incidence of a crash and in the event of a crash. These features include Electronic Stability Control (ESC), side curtain airbags, active head restraints, seatbelt reminder systems and Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA).

"If more consumers bought ANCAP-tested cars with four or five safety stars, not only would lives be saved and the number of serious injuries significantly reduced, we should also see manufacturers become obliged to include more vehicle safety features to achieve higher star ratings," Mr Johnson said.

"While people are still dying and being seriously injured on our roads, which costs the Western Australian community more than $2.6billion a year, we all need to continue to work together to ensure more is done."

Further details on ANCAP testing and the current ratings can be found at http://www.rac.com.au