The First Car List

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http://resources.news.com.au/files/2...afety-list.pdf

Safe car list released to help curb road toll

Antonia Magee
From: Herald Sun
June 22, 2010 1:33PM

A LIST of the safest and most affordable cars for new drivers has been released to help parents and young drivers buy the best cars.

In an effort to reduce the road toll and the number of young drivers injured in road accidents, Roads Minister Tim Pallas released the list of the safest second hand cars under $15,000 today.

Late models of the Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, Holden Statesman and Mitsubishi Magna were among the 50 top-rating cars on VicRoads’ First Car List.

“Young people make up 13 per cent of drivers, but they account for around 25 per cent of all driver fatalities,” Mr Pallas said.

“The First Car List provides new drivers and their parents with the safety information required to make an informed decision when purchasing their first vehicle.”

The safest cars were based on research from the Monash University Accident Research Centre and the cars needed to score a four or five out of five on a ‘crashworthiness’ test to make the grade.

A car with a one star rating would significantly increase the risk of injury in an accident, while a car with a five-star rating would do significantly less harm to the occupants than average

MUARC researcher Dr Stuart Newstead said about 3 million accidents were reviewed as part of the research.

Dr Newstead said 60 per cent of car crashes were a young driver was killed or seriously injured could have been prevented if they were in a safer car.

The announcement came as Premier John Brumby flagged the possibility of a reduced probationary licence period for P-Platers who had completed defensive driving courses.

Mr Brumby said the proposal would give young drivers an incentive to invest in extra driver training.