Purchaser demand should influence commercial vehicle safety

Commercial vehicles are the workhorses of Australian industry and therefore the acknowledged ‘workplaces’ of many drivers. These vehicles all carry a very precious cargo - humans. While the safety standards of roads and vehicles in general have improved in recent years, more needs to be done to provide a safer ‘workplace’ for the thousands of workers whose job is ‘on the road’.

Too many people die and are seriously injured unnecessarily in road crashes. We know safer vehicles contribute to reducing those terrible numbers. Understandably, the community puts faith in governments to set safer standards and manufacturers to make safer products, but regrettably at times, regulations are too slow or not high enough. Consumers themselves, however, can and should demand the safest products. Notably, manufacturers generally respond quicker to customer wishes than to regulators.

In the 15 years since the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP)* was established, we’ve seen significant advances in road and vehicle safety, mainly through new construction, products, technologies and increasing consumer demand. We welcome seeing more vehicles carrying our highest 5-star rating.

In 2009, ANCAP tested several light commercial vehicles, recognising their heavy usage as workplace vehicles. Statistics suggest that as many as 250,000 commercial vehicles are used on Australian roads, so their risk profile is very high, given the amount of time they spend on the road each day. Of those vehicles, two achieved 5-star ANCAP rating: Mercedes-Benz Vito and Holden Commodore Ute. These vehicles not only include side air-curtains, dual frontal air-bags, antilock brakes and electronic stability control as standard, but have to pass three rigorous crash tests that test the real structure of the vehicle. Sadly, some commercial vehicles recorded ANCAP safety ratings of just 1 star.

Our testing shows that most light commercials on sale in Australia don’t offer the same occupant protection levels and crash avoidance features as ordinary passenger cars. We publish our results to make owners and managers of these vehicles aware of such differences. Industry is responding, with more owners specifying a minimum 4-star ANCAP rating in purchase tenders; and we’re seeing improvements in commercial vehicle safety.

ANCAP encourages companies and fleet managers to examine OHS legislation to ensure they’re providing safe workplaces in the commercial vehicles they buy for employees. OHS legislation clearly stipulates employers’ responsibilities to ensure a safe working environment for employees.

The fact that light commercial vehicles don’t have to meet the same Australian vehicle safety regulations as cars shows up in ANCAP results. Following the release of our star safety ratings for light commercial vehicles, ANCAP voiced concerns that occupants of some vans are at a higher risk of serious injury in accidents than in safer-rated models.

Real-world accident statistics show the risk of serious or fatal injury is halved in 4- or 5-star vehicles compared with 1- or 2-star rated vehicles - one in every two fatalities in poorly performing vans could be prevented if occupants were in safer vehicles. This fact should not be overlooked by fleet buyers.

Given the wide disparity in ANCAP commercial vehicles results, it’s no longer sufficient to use regulatory compliance as a benchmark for safety. Clearly some vehicles are much safer than others and, in the event of a serious crash, fleet managers may have to justify why they didn’t choose a model with a higher safety rating if they decide to ignore the ANCAP ratings and purchase vehicles with poor safety ratings.

We believe there may be a point in law for ensuring these vehicles are safe for workers and all road users. OHS principles place obligations on companies and fleet managers to ensure safe workplaces. Vans constitute a workplace under the legal definition. We therefore urge fleet purchasers to examine the legislation and then factor safety into their fleet-purchasing policies.

* Lauchlan McIntosh AM, is chair of ANCAP, Australia’s leading independent vehicle safety advocate and President of the Australasian College of Road Safety. Prior to this, McIntosh was Executive Director of the Australian Automobile Association and had an extensive career in the Australian mining industry.