Make Your Next Vehicle A Safe One

The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) today re-launched a website which aims to provide a one-stop shop of vehicle information for people considering buying a new vehicle.

The RightCar website, initially launched in 2007, has been significantly upgraded to include a raft of new background data, improved functionality, and a new look and feel. It provides information on vehicle safety ratings, fuel economy and emissions ratings.

NZTA Chief Executive Geoff Dangerfield said he hoped the website would help make roads safer for all New Zealanders.  

‘Driving safer vehicles is an important way we can all contribute to keeping ourselves, our families and others safe on the roads,’ says Mr Dangerfield.

‘It is a key part of implementing the government’s Safer Journeys strategy and creating a safe road system.

“If all New Zealanders drove five star safety rated cars, it’s estimated the road toll would drop by one third.  Based on the latest road toll, that’s approximately 100 people whose lives would not have been lost this year alone.”

The RightCar website provides both ANCAP - Australasian New Car Assessment Programme, and UCSR - Used Car Safety Ratings - results. The two systems play important complementary roles.

ANCAP’s role is to physically crash test new vehicles that are on sale in Australia and New Zealand and produce a star rating for vehicle models based on how well they protect their occupants and pedestrians in a range of crash situations.  ANCAP tests approximately 12-15 vehicle models per year, and also receives test data from the European New Car Assessment Programme which it uses to produce ANCAP ratings for a large number of additional vehicle models.

The UCSR system is based on a statistical analysis of real vehicle crashes. It covers a number of vehicles manufactured from the early 1990s up until approximately 2008, or whenever a particular car has crashed often enough to provide a statistically significant result.

The RightCar website can be found at www.rightcar.govt.nz

NZ Transport Agency