The Australian Government is joining forces with Australia’s leading independent vehicle safety advocate to increase the number of crash tests conducted on and safety ratings given to new cars entering the Australian market.
Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said the Australian Government would provide the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) with $5 million as an extra way of driving up vehicle safety overtime and giving consumers the information they need.
“We are committed to improving safety on our roads and cutting the carnage through a multi-layered approach – safer vehicles, safer drivers, and safer roads,” Mr Albanese said.
“This is one more step we are taking to save lives and prevent injury on our roads.
“We are joining forces with Australia’s motoring clubs, state road agencies, our NZ counterparts, the Transport Accident Commission, NRMA Insurance and the FIA Foundation as a full member of ANCAP to drive home the safety message.”
ANCAP Chair, Lauchlan McIntosh, welcomed the Government’s involvement and said it would increase the number of vehicles tested and amount of safety information available to the motoring public.
“This is a real fillip for new car buyers and testimony to the important role ANCAP plays in testing and rating new cars for safety. ANCAP is now working closely with most sections of the automotive industry in ensuring safety is built into new cars on the Australian market – this partnership with the Government will allow us to ensure the latest safety features are available for new car buyers”, Mr McIntosh said.
Mr Albanese said the Government’s decision to partner with ANCAP recognised the important consumer role played by the crash testing body and complemented the Government’s existing role in regulating vehicle safety.
“This funding will allow ANCAP’s testing to cover a greater proportion of the vehicle fleet. In doing so, it will increase Australians’ expectations that vehicles will have ANCAP ratings and encourage manufacturers to provide the safest vehicles possible. Already we are seeing many more 4 and 5 star vehicles on the market and that is a trend the Australian Government wishes to continue.”
David Ward, FIA Foundation Director General, welcomed the announcement: “The FIA Foundation has been proud to support ANCAP as it has developed and grown over recent years. Independent consumer crash testing plays a vital role in creating a market for safety and ensuring vehicles perform above and beyond the regulatory minimum. The FIA Foundation is now working to expand NCAPs to some of the major new motor manufacturing regions and car purchasing markets, such as Latin America and Asia, so consumers can benefit from higher standards everywhere in the world”.
For a full list of ANCAP’s vehicle safety ratings and other vehicle safety information, go to www.ancap.com.au