The next car you buy could save your life

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Sun, 17 Jul 2011 8:30p.m.

The next car you buy could save your life. The fact is, the older your car, the less safe it is likely to be. The newer the car, and the more your prepared to spend on it, the safer it is likely to be.

Reporter Paula Penfold test drives the cars of the future, cars which can sense danger and prevent you from hitting other vehicles or pedestrians. And she test drives an older car for comparison.

There is no doubt which Paula would pick for herself and her family if money was no object.

Get a glimpse of what it might be like in New Zealand to have no road toll.

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19 Jul 2011 10:05a.m.

Paul Hambleton wrote:

Good video on the road safety- he next car could save your life. The cost of a 5 star car with electronic stability control is not that much more and the car does not need to be a lamborgini or BMW. Earlier model honda civics broke up on impact and had a far worse reputation. The public need to me made aware of the star rating before buying a car just as they need to be aware of the star rating on various NZ roads before speeding (the NZ default speed of 100 km per hour for the majority of our roads and for most 2 star rural roads is far more than would be permitted anywhere else in the developed world. While more wire median barriers are needed, we kill 128 people and seriously wound 755 others every 4 years (2009 CAS data) by NZTA allowing and the MED encouraging electrical supply companies to locate rigid power poles in the road reserve. There are many other low cost alternatives including bendable poles! Life is far too cheap in NZ, even our assessed economic value (value of the risk of eminimatng a fatality) is low. We kill twice as many people as the best countries in Europe and every year our investment in transportation is less than half the social cost of the damage resulting from less forgiving roads. Even the police are responsible for being involved in 5% of the social costs with impunity. There is a story here - do it properly in parts. It would save many lives and be a milestone in TV journalism. Inattention is a major cause of crashes - making the public aware of the many issues involved works better than the simple crime and punishment model that the NZ police use to keep our jails populated though the terrorist approach, "anywhere anytime" does work for those who are not prepared to flee the police. Paul Hambleton (Transportation Consultant).