Crash testing gets harder

This year will see cars put through more stringent tests -- and those that fail will lose on fleet sales. Government and other large fleets will now only accept five-star rated passenger cars and four-star rated light commercial vehicles.

"Cars and light commercials that fail to meet those levels will lose the fleet sales to the Federal Government and some other very large multinational companies," ANCAP spokesman Nicholas Clarke says.

He points out this is not just good news for the workers driving those cars, but also for the public in whose hands they end up as the second owner.

"These vehicles are driven for two to three years and then made available to the public. It's long been a practice for mums and dads to buy a late model car that previously been a fleet car, and if that puts them in a five-star cars, it's a fantastic result," Clarke says. "Not everybody can afford a new car, so we encourage the corporate fleets to buy them and that puts safer vehicle in the secondhand market."

Under the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP),  the maximum five-star crash will be include harder testing to account for technology improvements. 

"We're lifting the bar," ANCAP chairman Lauchlan McIntosh has said. "The five-star rating will get harder and harder as our new road map for safety starts. We will review the ratings each year as we take into account new safety technologies in vehicles."

"We have had long discussions with vehicle manufacturers on the new test ratings. They agree that the five-star rating on cars has been an important part of what the consumer wants." 

ANCAP will progressively introduce new tests, new calculation methods and new safety-assist technology (SAT) from this year through to 2015. The offset frontal, side impact, side pole and pedestrian tests will be retained but new tests would include roof strength and whiplash. Further tests that could be included cover more stringent pedestrian safety, child occupant protection, rear-seat adult protection and rollover propensity.