HOWSAFEISYOURFIRSTCAR.COM.AU – A Website to Assist Young Drivers to Find a Safe Car, in Their Budget

Young drivers constitute approximately 13% of all license holders, yet they represent around 25% of drivers killed each year. Although gains have been made in reducing the number of young people being killed and seriously injured on Australia's roads, they continue to be overrepresented in fatal and serious injury crashes each year. Research has demonstrated that young drivers are at greater risk because they are inexperienced and more likely to take risks on the road. Some of the factors that increase the risks of crashing among young drivers include: • Driving with peer aged passengers • Night time driving • Use of mobile phones • Drink/drug driving • Speeding • Driving older and less safe cars Research shows that young drivers tend to drive the least safe and oldest cars on Australia's roads. Research from the Monash University Accident Research Centre (2009) demonstrated that: • Both female and male young crash-involved drivers are driving older vehicles than their older counterparts. • Young males are driving older vehicles than females. • Young female drivers are driving smaller vehicles than their older counterparts. • Crashworthiness of cars driven by younger drivers is poorer than for older drivers. • Young female’s cars are less crashworthy than young male’s cars. An annual survey from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) demonstrates that 24% of 18-25 year olds intend to buy a new car, 51% intend to purchase a used car and 25% are undecided. Safety features rank second in importance for 18-25 year olds after condition of vehicle (and price). 67% of 18-25 year olds say they will consider crash test results or safety ratings before purchasing a car, compared to 71% of 26-39 year olds, 64% of 40-60 year olds and 87% of 61+ year olds. 23% of 18-25 year olds say they will not consider safety ratings, and 11% don’t know. In addition to other initiatives to improve young driver safety, including a graduated licensing scheme and school based road safety education, the TAC has now developed a website to make it easier for young drivers to find a safe car within their budget. The website allows users to search through a database of cars that have a 4 or 5 star Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) rating or Used Car Safety Rating (UCSR) and are approved by the roads authority for probationary license holders to drive. Users can search by price ranges starting from as low as $2,500 to find a safe car, within their budget. This paper will detail the background research, development of the website, including data used, marketing strategies and an early evaluation.