Kiwis are being urged to spend a few potentially life-saving minutes checking out the latest used vehicle safety ratings published on the Rightcar website.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has released comprehensive updates to the safety ratings for all used light vehicles in New Zealand today, including publishing information about crash avoidance features in used imported light vehicles for the first time.

The safety-star ratings provide the best indication of how well vehicles will protect people involved in a crash, while crash avoidance features such as Autonomous Emergency Braking and Lane Keep Assist help prevent crashes from occurring at all, explains Waka Kotahi Senior Manager Road Safety Fabian Marsh.

'Together, passive crash protection and active crash avoidance features provide the best safety outcomes for everyone on the road. That's why we've sourced crash avoidance features data for used imports from manufacturers. This information supplements the star-ratings and makes Rightcar an even better source for people to find the safest vehicle they can afford.”

Previously crash avoidance features data was only available on Rightcar for NZ-new vehicles.

Fabian says the evidence is clear - people are twice as likely to survive a crash in a 5-star safety rated vehicle than in a one or two-star vehicle. Waka Kotahi encourages people to check the latest safety ratings, as vehicles' ratings change over time.

'This is because the annual updated ratings factor in independent analysis of the latest real-world crash data and assesses relative safety of used vehicles compared to all vehicles on the road - including newer, safer ones.

Since last year the primary safety rating measure on Rightcar and third-party websites such as Trademe is now ‘overall safety' (which considers all road users including people in other cars, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists).

This change was supported by motor vehicle industry associations, who agree with Waka Kotahi it's crucial to consider all people using our roads.

Rightcar also allows people to check out light vehicles' Co2 emission, fuel efficiency and air pollution ratings, the latter of which will be updated later in 2023 with recalculated data based on the new Health and Air Pollution In New Zealand report. Finally, Rightcar provides people with information about whether a Clean Car Discount or fee applies (with a safety-rating of three-stars or more amongst the eligibility criteria).

Improving vehicle safety in New Zealand is a key part of Road to Zero, New Zealand's road safety strategy. Introducing safe speeds, improving the safety of roads and roadsides, and encouraging safer driver behaviour are the other focus areas in creating a transport system where simple mistakes don't result in deaths or serious injuries.