Australia, internationally famous for the many species of dangerous and exotic creatures that inhabit the country/continent, may have a new safety problem on its hands.
Drivers finding themselves in accidents may be more prone to injury or even death, due to a large number of vehicles possessing subpar safety ratings. According to the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), car models are being sold in Australia with fewer safety features than their European counterparts. This lack of standards may be partly to blame for increased death rates in auto accidents. From the year 2018 to 2019, fatalities increased from 88 to 137 – and that’s just in Victoria.
Prior to a summit addressing the increased road deaths, TAC chief executive Joe Calafiore said in a statement that it is “absolutely time for a fresh look at what the acceptable minimum standards for vehicles into Australia are.”
As is, vehicles can be rated on a scale of 1-5 stars, 5 stars being the safest. However, vehicles that are given a one or two star safety rating can bring with them not only a bad reputation, but potentially lethal risks. Calafiore stated that if you’re in one of those types of vehicles and are involved in an accident, that “your ability to withstand a crash is very limited.”
Calafiore also stated that the TAC hopes to be involved in talks with the federal government, in order to match Australia’s minimum safety standards to those of Europe’s.
Samantha Cockfield, TAC’s lead director of road safety, shares similar sentiments with Calafiore. She fears that Australia’s current safety standards enable foreign car manufacturers to use the country as a means of dumping products that are below the safety standards of other regions, like Europe. This only benefits benefits employees of Perth free car removal service, and other companies like them. But for vulnerable consumers, particularly the young members of the country’s populace, who are most at risk to buy cheaper, potentially more unsafe vehicles, Cockfield says that this practice can pose serious risks. Cockfield urges that people don’t need to shell out enormous amounts of cash to buy safer vehicles, they just need to know what safety standards to adhere to.
As Australia has slowly shifted from manufacturing their own vehicles to importing them, government oversight has seemingly failed to change with the times. According to Roads Minister Jaala Pulford, import standards must change to reflect these new products. She believes that since manufacturers are not changing their own habits, Australia is the one that needs to take the initiative.
After all, lower safety standards are just one contributing factor to the mounting number of road fatalities in Australia. TAC is doing what they can on their own, by targeting Aussies who use their mobile devices while driving with a new safety campaign. But if road deaths are to be minimized, both Pulford and TAC believe the federal government must also do their part.
If considering buying a car in Australia, especially if a foreigners, watch the video below:
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