Is saftey an issue?

[jim1606]

When buying a car would a low NCAP rating put you off?


Erm i have just realised that this post would be more suited to go in the pub, sorry.

[Casper]

absolutely.. my kids and my wife are more important to me than any car.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Yep,

Safety was one of the reasons I bought the Territory over another Falcon, side curtain airbags, better vision and a decent rating all made my decision easy.

[Fairlane]

Yes, ending up as a retarded criple for the rest of my life is not cool.

I wouldnt be seen dead driving a 10 year old Daihatsu (or any other 2 star or less car) and wouldnt feel very apprehensive even being a passanger in one outside suburban roads.

[MRJUCY]

Yes to an extent the NCAP ratings aren't perfect of course & don't think just because a car has a slightly higher rating it will be safer in all situation so you still need a bit of judgement & their are other factors to weigh up as long as the car isn't a Barina style deathtrap.

[bArNsY]

Here is a site with a Table of NCAP Offset Crash Tests NCAP
Safety comes before anything

[pauljh74]

If a car rated a 3+, I wouldn't cross it off the list, but something that is poor, like 1 or 2 stars, you'd have to draw the line and cross it off the list

[merlin]

Originally Posted by Casper

absolutely.. my kids and my wife are more important to me than any car.

True that, though I must say I don't really look at the NCAP ratings more at the features - if buying new my minimum saftey requirments would be TC, Stabilty control, ABS, dual front and side airbags.

[pertuan]

Safety and all safety related equipment is very important to me. Thats why I ended up buying a LS Focus (with ABS, EBD etc) instead of a second hand car. I'd rather spend more and know that I'm safer as opposed to spend less and end up in the poo.

[Jeld-Wen Falcon]

Im not worried about myself, but theres no way in hell id drive something less than 3star with other people in the car, let alone kids.

[Raptor]

The 4 wheel discs, the fact it actually had road manners, the ABS, the twin front airbags, the side curtain airbags, the lap-sash belts on all 7 seats, the 2-stage pre-tensioners, the AWD with DSC certainly didn't hurt the appeal of the Territory for me.

Plus I've got mass on my side (presuming I'm hit/hitting something smaller and not something immovable)

I voted YES!

[jim1606]

Yeah i totally agree, i wont drive anything less than a 4 star i would like to think that me and especially the occupants in my car are safer, but until recently i have realised that however safe a car is no car will stand up to being hit by a lorry especially my C1.

[Silver Ghia]

It is an issue, however I would like to drive a car that meets my needs and that I feel comfortable in.

it is good to have a car that has a high rating, however there may be a situation where it wont help much. Like one of those big Landcruisers with a huge bull bar. Why do they allow them anywhere except in the outback???

The best prevention is defensive driving, where you have a way out of a situation at any time if someone suddenly does the wrong thing. And that doesn't mean you have to drive slowly.

[stevz]

I wouldn't take NCAP results as a be all and end all to determine a car's safety. IMO their tests simply do not represent real world situations effectively enough.

Some stats I have seen are completely flawed such as this: racv used car safety ratings Can anybody make any sense of this at all?? The EF/EL and AU have a higher rating than the BA and the BA is equivalent to the EA/EB... WTF??
Also have a look at the first rating for the VY, it is given an average rating, however scroll down the page and there is another listing for the VY/VZ but it is given a 'significantly better than average rating.
Some of these seem totally misleading to me.

[Steffo]

NCAP rating would definitley put me off. Fortunately, all the cars I like have NCAP and/or ANCAP rating's of four-stars or above.

[jim1606]

Can i have the addy for your Ncap?

[MITCHAY]

Doesn't really phase me to be honest. So long as it felt rigid enough thats good enough for me.

[Dezza]

Safety is very important in my opinion. I would never buy a small car because they simply don't feel as safe as the big EA. I like to have a bit of mass around me, to ensure I don't get crushed into a cube. The EA saved me once. When I pranged the car back in 2002, it was a hard hit, and all I got out of it was a couple of scratches on my knee. If I was driving a small car, it would have been much much worse. I know safety of all cars (besides the Landwing and Barina) has increased dramatically since 1990, but for it's age, the EA is a very safe car.

[Full Spectrum]

Safety is important if you have a family and you have bought a newer model car and have only upgraded from a not to old car with many of the new safety features.
But if your single and thinking performance and are going from a older model car that has none of the safety features in the last 10 years on it it might not be the first thing on your list.
What ever second car i buy in the future i have a list ready of things i';m looking for.
ABS, Dual Air Bags, Traction Control, Rest is looks performance feel etc.

[BPXR6T]

Not really, I guess I rely on my ford being safe as they've been keeping generations of my family safe for years. If something dramatic hit the press I'd probably pay attention. If buying an import I'd probably look into it more.

[TUF_302]

As long as its not built in China or Korea id consider anything!!

[Scott]

I for one need a good NCAP rating.

[jim1606]

Originally Posted by SVO_XR6

As long as its not built in China or Korea id consider anything!!

Korean cars are improving, in Euro Ncap they are scoring four stars now which is better, and with more euro destined cars coming from kia they look likley to get a five star car really soon.

[new2ford]

Here is a better link if anyone wants to look at results in detail: http://www.howsafeisyourcar.com.au/index.php
One thing I'm deducing from the SUV results for example is that the Australian Territory with its better internal space (than the imported SUVs) has lower knee injury factor because you're less likely to strike something with your knees.

In addition to design, mass is unfortunately a factor. You are going to be generally better off in a bigger vehicle.

What really puzzles me is why the govt allows cars with low safety ratings to be imported. They go on about something complying with ADRs (Australian Design Rules) and yet cars with 1 or 2 star NCAP results are allowed in. And why are cars (like the Honda Odessey) with lap only seat belts allowed in when the dangers of lap only belts are well known! Is something happening under the table at political level?

Good poll Jim. I'm surprised there are 10 people on a car forum who don't know what NCAP (known in Australia as ANCAP) is!

[jim1606]

Originally Posted by new2ford

Good poll Jim. I'm surprised there are 10 people on a car forum who don't know what NCAP (known in Australia as ANCAP) is!

Thanx, saftey is always a key issue for me so i decided to see what response i would get if i asked, and the response has been huge and i am glad to see that it would affect people buying a car if it is not safe.

[shane3]

Why isn't every one driving a volvo then, IF saftey is the main thing that you are looking for, as long as the car has ABS, TC, front and side air bags, and GOOD brakes all round it's okay by me, It doesn't matter how much of a safe driver you think you are or how good the car you are in is, someday you will have an accident.

[The Stylist]

Originally Posted by shane3

Why isn't every one driving a volvo then

I think that would be quite an valid statement a few years ago. However alot major car manufactures have caught up and even surpassed Volvo for occupant safety.

These days consumers have a fair bit of more choice when it comes safety so when a manufacture like GM Holden only gets an 2 star rating for its Barina
people tend to take more notice.

[jim1606]

Originally Posted by The Stylist

I think that would be quite an valid statement a few years ago. However alot major car manufactures have caught up and even surpassed Volvo for occupant safety.

These days consumers have a fair bit of more choice when it comes safety so when a manufacture like GM Holden only gets an 2 star rating for its Barina
people tend to take more notice.

actually yu would be quite wrong, although other manufacturers are making their cars safe volvo does do a hell of a lot more testing for saftey then just meeting the NCAP requirments like renault.

[jim1606]

right i posted the same qustion on another forum this morning to see if i would get a similar response, and follow the link to see the response i got :

British response to 'Is Saftey an issue'

the forum is mainly british baised so it is a british response to the question.

[chevypower]

6 months ago i was driving a Laser, and there was oil on the road (Monbulk-Emerald Rd) i could not see, going in to a hairpin, the car understeered and went on to the wrong side of the road, i had a head on with a Jeep fitted with a bull bar and his airbag deployed. I was ok, but at that point in time, vehicle stability, and crash worthiness became very important to me. You can be the best driver in the world, and theres always that chance something like that will catch you out, I was lucky it wasnt at a speed which would take my life