Industry backing safety labels

A survey has shown two-thirds of vehicles for sale by registered traders have current safety-rating labels displayed, which is a good result for the industry to build on.

Research by the NZTA has found that 66.7 per cent of cars at dealerships had the labels. It’s voluntary to display them.

The transport agency has thanked those who took part in the survey with a special shout-out going to those proactively using vehicle safety-rating labels.

The report prepared for the NZTA was based on the analysis of data from 300 randomly selected dealerships visited as part of the study.

It was noted there was no clear difference in practice between franchise and independent dealers. However, the agency thinks improvements could be made in some segments and regions.

The NZTA also believes that increasing voluntary uptake is preferred rather than introducing a regulatory regime.

It is now working on a range of initiatives to get people into safer vehicles including by raising public and industry awareness, reports the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association.

The agency advises consumers to look for safety-rating labels pre-purchase because they “provide simple information about a vehicle’s safety performance and help you to stay safe on our roads”.

Information on the labels include the plate number or vehicle identification number, make and model of the car, the year of its manufacture, the system for the rating and the year of the assessment or test.

The safety-rating label sits alongside the vehicle emissions and energy economy label (VEEEL), which is administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. This aims to informs customers of a car’s consumption, making it easier to identify models that are better for the environment.

When traders generate labels for their vehicles, they can automatically create a safety-rating label for display alongside VEEELs. Safety ratings are reviewed annually with ratings for cars registered in New Zealand available on Rightcar.

Almost every vehicle in the fleet has a safety rating from one to five stars, which indicates how well it is likely to perform in a crash. Those with four and five stars are the safest. The NZTA says occupants of a five-star model are twice as safe as those in one-star vehicles.