Safer vehicles

The degree of safety in passenger vehicles continues to evolve as newer cars are  released. New technologies and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) contribute to a safer road ecosystem for drivers, passengers, and other road users safer.

• The average vehicle age in Victoria is over 10 years old.
• Evidence has indicated that driving a 4 or 5 star safety rating , lowers the  risk of death or serious injury in the event of a crash.
• When you’re looking to purchase a new vehicle it’s important to find out what safety features it has. The How Safe is Your Car website is a good place to start.

Cruical safety features to consider:

• Electronic Stability Control (ESC) – the function detects when a vehicle is steering out of control. It applies tire-individual braking to help maintain stability and steer the vehicle in the direction intended. ESC is now a mandatory feature for new passenger cars sold in Australia, however if you’re buying a used car, be sure to check it has ESC.
• Auto Emergency Braking (AEB) – AEB technologies are designed to detect objects in your vehicle’s path and brake automatically when you can’t. These aim to mitigate or avoid the collision from occurring at all. Research has found  that cars fitted with AEB are 38% less likely to collide with the vehicle in front of them, compared to similar cars that do not have AEB.
• Lane Keep Assist (LKA) – Warns the driver when their vehicle is getting close to crossing over the line marking and leaving their lane of travel. If the driver doesn’t take action, the feature will gently steer the vehicle back into the lane. LKA is estimated to reduce run off road and head on crashes resulting in fatality or serious injury by 22%.
• Front Airbags – When used in combination with properly worn seatbelts, frontal airbags provide the best protection in a frontal crash.
• Side Curtain Airbags – In the event of a side-impact collision, side curtain airbags drop like a curtain from the railing above the door. They cushion the head against the full impact of another vehicle or object. Side impact crashes account for approximately 22% of all major crash types where people are killed or seriously injured .
• Speed Assistance Systems – Helps drivers maintain the speed of their vehicle to within the legal limits. With an electronic map of the road network matched with speed limits, an Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA) function provides drivers with a warning to slow down if they exceed the speed limit.

Safer vehicle fleets

Employers are responsible for ensuring fleet cars their staff drive are in sound mechanical condition and have a high safety rating. They also need to ensure employees are committed to driving responsibly in their fleet cars, which includes taking breaks to reduce the risk of fatigue and not being pressured to speed to meet schedules’. This is why we encourage all businesses to adopt a fleet safety policy to protect their workers and the community.

• Vehicle incidents account for the largest proportion of worker fatalities (42%). There can also be a lack of concern about vehicle safety as it is a company car.
• It's important to remember that not all cars are created equal. While many safety features like airbags and electronic stability control come standard in all new vehicles, there are also newer technologies that don't.

City driving

When you drive in the city you are faced with many vehicles, unpredictable drivers, trucks, train crossings, cyclists, motorbikes, pedestrians, breakdowns and more.

City driving tips:

• Other road users – Anticipate the behaviour of others on the road – look ahead, look behind and be prepared for the unexpected.
• Be considerate – As well as preparing for the actions of other road users and the potential impact on you, consider how your behaviour may impact others on the road.
• Intersections – Keep a good look out when driving through intersections – they are a high crash risk area.
• Mirrors – Use all your car mirrors but look out for blind spots – always look quickly over your shoulder before changing lanes or pulling out from the kerb.
• Indicators – Always indicate when turning, pulling out from the kerb, or changing lanes.
• Give space – City driving can involve heavier traffic, but it’s still important to ensure there’s enough space between you and the vehicle in front so you can avoid nose to tail collisions.
• Look out for vulnerable road users – Pedestrians, people on bicycles and people on motorcycles have a higher risk of injury in a crash. Make sure you look out for them especially when pulling in and out of car parks, and at intersections.
• Keep your cool – You can’t control everything on the road and there may be things that frustrate you. Staying calm will help you to avoid making risky decisions when driving.
• Hook turns – Some Melbourne CBD intersections only allow hook turns. Make sure you’re familiar with how to do these so you don’t get stressed in the moment. Find out more on the Transport Victoria website.

Regional driving

Driving on regional roads can be completely different from city or town driving. Higher speeds, different road surfaces and increased wildlife can make regional driving more challenging.

Country driving tips:

• Safe distances – Keep a safe distance from the car in front and leave at least a two second gap - three seconds is best. If driving conditions are affected by rain or reduced visibility increase the gap to at least four seconds.
• Overtaking – Don't overtake unless it is safe. When moving back to the left leave enough room to get well past any other vehicle.
• Keep left – Unless overtaking, always keep to the left lane. This is not only courteous; the law  requires a vehicle to keep out of the right lane on a multi-lane road with a speed limit over 80 km/h.
• Look for wildlife – There is more wildlife on regional roads. Take extra care at dawn and dusk when native wildlife is likely to be more active.
• Fatigue – Regional driving is likely to include longer distances and driving times. Driver fatigue accounts for up to 20% of deaths on our roads. Find out more about avoiding tired driving.

Night driving

Crash risk increases at night. Visibility can be difficult as other vehicles and road users are harder to detect and other vehicle lights can make distance difficult to judge.

Night Driving tips:

• Headlights – Headlights and tail lights must be on between sunset and sunrise. You must have your headlights on low-beam when another vehicle is within 200 metres. This includes dipping the headlights when driving 200 metres or less behind another vehicle.
• Cars driving towards you – When a car with high-beam headlights is driving towards you look towards the left hand side of the road and drive towards the left of your lane. You may need to slow down and pull over to let your eyes recover if the lights dazzle you.
• Breakdowns – If your vehicle breaks down on the road make sure other drivers can see your car and stop in time. Turn on the hazard warning lights if you have them. If possible, pull off the road but avoid stopping just over a hill or just around a curve.
• Reflectors – Reflectors or guide posts in country areas help you to see the road ahead. Red reflectors are always on the left side of the road and white reflectors on the right hand side.

Weather conditions

Driving in the rain, fog, snow and bright sunlight calls for extra care as these conditions can reduce visibility or increase the risk of skidding and losing control.

Tips for all weather conditions

• Reduce speed – Reduce speed in bad weather, this allows more time to respond if something goes wrong.
• Headlights – Any time that weather conditions result in reduced visibility, turn on your headlights so you are more visible to other road users.
• Fog – If you see fog and mist ahead reduce speed before you enter it. In very thick fog make sure you always know where you are on the road and never drive at a speed that forces you to guess what is ahead. Avoid overtaking. Use fog lights instead of headlights on high beam. If you don’t have fog lights, turn on your hazard lights with your headlights on low beam
• Rain – Heavy rain can have the same effect as fog with less visibility, making it harder to judge where you are on the road in relation to other vehicles. Keep a safe distance to the vehicle in front. Stopping distances are longer in the rain.
• Ice – Drive slowly on ice and snow to retain traction. Braking should be gentle and not left to the last second, and use an even pressure on the accelerator to lessen the chances of wheel spin and loss of control. More information about driving in snowy or icy conditions can be found on the Transport Victoria website .
• Sun glare – Beware of blinding glare from sunlight either directly from the sun or reflected from other cars and objects. You may need to reduce speed as well as use aids such as the sun visor and sunglasses.

Towing trailers

Any vehicle you tow behind a car is classified a trailer whether it is a caravan, a horse float, boat, mobile machinery or similar device. Cars perform differently when towing a trailer. Acceleration is slower and it takes longer to stop. Side winds, passing other vehicles, bumps and potholes on the road can affect the vehicle's stability.

Towing trailers means you need to concentrate more and use different driving techniques to handle the additional demands placed on you. It’s a good idea to practise difficult manoeuvres, like reversing, in a safe environment with someone to guide you.

Tips for towing trailers:

• Look ahead – Look further ahead than usual to anticipate the movement of other traffic and road conditions.
• Distance – Keep a greater distance to the vehicle ahead as the added weight of the trailer requires more road space in which to stop.
• Overtaking – If overtaking other vehicles, allow more distance in which to do so. On long or steep downhill grades select a lower gear to increase control of the vehicle and place less stress on the brakes.
• Sway – Reduce the risk of sway developing by avoiding sudden lane changes or swerving. Strong side winds can cause sway with large rigs such as caravans. If conditions are very bad, it is better not to tow. There is more chance of swaying in high winds or when passing larger vehicles.
• Other Traffic – If a long queue develops behind you, where possible let the following vehicles overtake you. This may mean pulling over and stopping from time to time.
• Additional tips: More information about safe towing is available on the Transport Victoria website.