Agency plea over safety ratings
Motorists are being urged to check their vehicles’ safety ratings following research that shows many owners think they are safer than they actually are.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency says the research by WSP NZ found that roughly one-half of owners surveyed didn’t know their car’s current rating.
Most notably, 86 per cent who owned one or two-star models didn’t know the latest safety rating or thought it was higher.
As about 40 per cent of light vehicles on our roads have one or two-star ratings, that means many Kiwis have a potentially dangerous knowledge gap, according to Fabian Marsh, the transport agency’s senior manager of road safety.
“Crash-analysis data shows people are twice as safe in a five-star vehicle than in a one-star vehicle,” he says.
“This is because those with high safety ratings offer much better protection to occupants if crashes do occur and may also have features that can help prevent crashes from happening.
“We know that we need to do more to get more people into safer vehicles, and we also urge every owner and every person thinking of buying to look at the ratings on Rightcar.
“It’s the best source of reliable and current safety rating and crash-avoidance features information for light vehicles.”
Marsh, pictured, adds WSP NZ’s research is helping to refine the agency’s work to educate people about the importance of safety ratings and features, as well as Rightcar.
“The report also includes recommendations to be factored into future planning, including for our work with the motor-vehicle industry. They have a key role through their purchasing decisions and customer interactions, and the research highlights some areas to focus on.
“It’s clear people would be more likely to choose safer vehicles if they had more knowledge, while our analysis shows there are vehicles with high safety ratings available in most price brackets and categories. That’s good news we can build on.”
Some of the key findings in the research and associated work being done by Waka Kotahi include:
• Research finding: 86 per cent of one and two-star car owners didn’t know their current vehicle’s safety rating. Associated work: The agency’s communications and marketing is evolving to include a focus on them.
• Finding: Many people have limited knowledge about safety features that help avoid accidents. Work: Waka Kotahi has sourced and published more crash-avoidance features data on rightcar.govt.nz and is working to raise awareness and understanding.
• Finding: While information about vehicle safety is readily available in New Zealand, it isn’t consumers’ top priority. Work: The transport agency has a continuous focus on educating people about the importance of buying the safest vehicle they can afford and promoting the use of rightcar.govt.nz and working with the industry to prioritise safety. The research will help target future work in both areas.
The “Getting people out of 1 and 2-star cars” research was commissioned through the land-transport sector research programme, managed by Waka Kotahi.
It was completed by WSP NZ’s behavioural and road-safety researchers in 2021/22. This consisted of a literature review that informed an online survey of owners of cars with one or two stars (12,364), owners of those with three to five stars (1,387) and potential car purchasers (1,020), as well as interviews with three car dealers and three representatives of trade-importer associations.
