Vehicle safety


Vehicle quality is crucial to road safety outcomes – older and lower ANCAP-star rated cars are overrepresented in serious injury and fatal crashes. The average age of the ACT private light vehicle fleet in 2018 was 7.7 years. Attention must be given to advances in technology that will assist in keeping all road users safe, adopting improved vehicle safety standards and increasing the uptake of safe vehicles.

Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP)

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program, more commonly referred to as ANCAP SAFETY, is Australasia’s independent vehicle safety authority.

ANCAP safety ratings are published for a range of new passenger, sports utility (SUV) and light commercial vehicles (LCV) entering the Australian and New Zealand markets, using a rating system of 0 to 5 stars. ANCAP star ratings indicate the level of safety a vehicle provides for occupants and pedestrians in the event of a crash, as well as its ability, through technology, to avoid or minimise the effects of a crash.  These independent safety ratings are used to compare the relative safety between vehicles of similar mass.

Since 1993, ANCAP has published independent safety ratings for thousands of new vehicle makes, models and variants. These independent safety ratings are used to compare the relative safety between vehicles of similar size, and have become a critical factor in vehicle selection for private and fleet buyers.

Diagram showing what a safety rating of 1 through to 5 stars looks like.

ANCAP plays a vital role in not only informing consumers of the differences in safety performance of new vehicles entering the Australasian vehicle fleet, it also advocates for improved vehicle safety design and specification through public education campaigns, advocacy activities and engagement with governments, corporate fleets, the media and consumers.

ANCAP safety ratings are determined based on a series of internationally recognised, independent crash tests and safety assessments – involving a range of destructive physical crash tests, an assessment of on-board safety features and equipment, and performance testing of active collision avoidance technologies.

Vehicles are evaluated against four key areas:

A range of tests and assessments are conducted within each area, with vehicles required to meet minimum score thresholds for each star rating level. The overall star rating of a vehicle is limited by its lowest performing area of assessment. To achieve the maximum 5 star ANCAP safety rating, a vehicle must perform to the highest level across all crash tests and assessments.

Diagram showing the front offset test, side impact test, pole test, pedestrian protection test, whiplash test and SAT assessment

ANCAP safety ratings are available for over 760 new and used vehicle models, with full details available on each of these models at www.ancap.com.au

Safer first car

There is a lot to consider when purchasing your first car and it is important that you are making safe vehicle choices. To make this a little easier, you can find a list of safe and affordable vehicles in the Safer First Car fact sheet that all hold a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

We acknowledge the Ngunnawal people as traditional custodians of the ACT and recognise any other people or families with connection to the lands of the ACT and region. We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region.

To see how we are building stronger relationships with the Traditional Custodians of the ACT view the Reconciliation Action Plan.