Approximately 1 million people die each year due to road traffic accidents around the world. So it makes sense to research how your potential new vehicle rates in terms of its safety. Car safety is not just a measure of how a vehicle is damaged in a road crash but also involves issues such as safety equipment, child seats, how an external pedestrian would fare in a collision and a host of other issues.

Increased awareness with regards to the dangers of drink driving, speeding and seatbelts and the introduction of front and side air bags as standard in many new cars has helped to curb this staggering toll in many countries including Australia.

Another major factor is crash testing. Manufacturers are increasingly using crash tests as tools to gauge the safety of cars and therefore improve their car safety ratings.

The following car manufacturers all have available data on their crash test results and therefore their vehicle safety rating. Clicking on the manufacturer name will take you to the relevant site in Australia where internal information on safety may be obtained and some statistics in regards to crash tests may be available. For independent research click here to find out how safe your car is.

For detailed anaylsis on how these vehicles rate in terms of safety and crash tests click here