With 2023 marking the highest number of lives lost on South Australian roads since 2011, the University of Adelaide's Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR) highlights the importance of vehicle safety as National Road Safety Week (NRSW) kicks off.
With National Road Safety Week running until May 12, CASR recommends there are a number of factors that people should consider when buying a car, whether it be a new or a used vehicle.
"For new cars, look for the safest car you can afford in the category you are considering," CASR Director Associate Professor Jeremy Woolley says.
"It is no longer the case that only expensive cars have the best safety features. Look for the highest Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) star rating and visit the ANCAP website."
Associate Professor Woolley also urges that both frontal and side airbags are a must.
Last year, 117 people were killed on South Australian roads - the highest number of lives lost since 2011. This is 65 per cent higher than the 71 recorded in 2022, and 26 more than the previous five-year average (2018-2022) of 91 lives lost.
In Australia, road crashes are a leading cause of death and injury with 1272 fatalities in 2023 - a 7.3 per cent increase on 2022. Around 40,000 people are seriously injured in road crashes each year nationally.
"Road Safety Week is an important event that reminds us of the devastating impact that road trauma has on individuals, families, and communities," CASR Deputy Director Dr Matthew Baldock says.
When buying used cars, Dr Baldock says looking at the used car safety rating is an important step.
"Families should also consider giving the youngest driver in the household the safest car in the family. They are the ones who most need the better crash prevention and occupant protection features of newer cars, which is something that is often overlooked."Dr Matthew Baldock, CASR Deputy Director, the University of Adelaide
Of the light vehicles involved in crashes where lives were lost in 2023, 50 per cent had a car safety rating less than or equal to 3-star, or were more than 15 years old and did not have a safety rating. Only 24 per cent were 5-star vehicles, including both ANCAP rated and Used Car Safety Ratings.
Dr Baldock says the most important technologies to look out for include Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Lane Keep Assist and Lane Departure Warning systems (LKA/LDW).
Other beneficial technologies include Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA), blind spot monitoring, pedestrian detection, and from 2023, motorcycle detection.
"Families should also consider giving the youngest driver in the household the safest car in the family," Dr Baldock says. "They are the ones who most need the better crash prevention and occupant protection features of newer cars, which is something that is often overlooked."
CASR is internationally recognised as a leading independent research organisation in road safety research providing independent advice and research on road safety initiatives to the State Government since 1973.
The centre - which is within the University's Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology - conducts road safety research across a variety of topics, including road user safety, safe road infrastructure, safe speeds, safer vehicles, and understanding crash data.
Funded by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport, the core activity for the multi-disciplinary applied research centre includes crash investigation, vehicle crash testing specialising in pedestrian collisions, and data analysis and modelling.
The centre frequently collaborates with other researchers and is helping to build road safety capability locally, nationally, and internationally.
