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Victorian Government reveals The First Car List for safe, affordable used cars

The Victorian Government has released a list of 49 of the safest and most affordable used cars as a guide for young drivers and their parents when looking to purchase a first car.


The First Car List was developed in collaboration with the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) and VicRoads, and includes vehicles ranging from $1800 to $14,000, and from 28 years old to three years old.

Victorian Roads Minister, Tim Pallas, said the list was just another effort to reduce the number of young people injured and killed in car crashes every year.

“Young people make up 13 percent of drivers, but they account for around 25 percent of all driver fatalities.

“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,” Mr Pallas said.

MUARC analysed more than three million accidents in compiling the data and scored the vehicles under two safety criteria: “crashworthiness” and “likely to harm another road user”.

Vehicles were graded between one and five stars (one meaning the vehicle would do significantly more harm than average, five meaning the vehicle would do significantly less harm than average) and were then matched to average prices for their specific model.

The First Car List states that “if all young drivers killed (or seriously injured) in crashes over the past five years had been driving the safest vehicle of the same age as the one they crashed in, more than 500 young deaths (and serious injuries) could have been prevented each year”.

The First Car List can be viewed in full on the Victorian Government’s Arrive Alive website: http://www.arrivealive.vic.gov.au/files/initiatives/firstcar/VRD0592_Used_Cars_Safety_List.pdf.

Meanwhile, Victorian Premier John Brumby has shown some support for an abbreviated probationary licence period for P-platers who complete defensive driving courses, admitting that encouraging additional driver training could be beneficial.

(with News Limited, AAP)

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