Patrol Ancap Rating.

[Phill]

Being a new 4x4 owner I did a bit of investigating before purchase.

Patrol's only have a 3 star rating which measures quite poor compared to other cars.

Being higher up on the road and the weight of a Patrol must surely be an advantage so I'm not sure how they got that rating.

I mean there are smaller little city cars with a much higher rating then ours so how does that work?

Your higher, heavier, stronger, airbags, etc?

[Maxhead]

Not really sure how they work it out, but I'd rather be in a Patrol against a small 5star ANCAP rated buzzbox. Might be a different story if 2 Patrols had a head on

[Rossco]

These ancap tests are pretty ridiculous really. They are primarily based on head on collisions with a solid object such as a brick wall. Obiously the heavier the vehicle the more mass it has and therefore more energy that has to be disipated when it hits something solid. Thats why smaller cars that crumple do well, in comparison a Mack truck would fail dismally.
Anyway I hope that helps, I know what I would rather be in.

[AB]

These ancap tests are pretty ridiculous really. They are primarily based on head on collisions with a solid object such as a brick wall. Obiously the heavier the vehicle the more mass it has and therefore more energy that has to be disipated when it hits something solid. Thats why smaller cars that crumple do well, in comparison a Mack truck would fail dismally.
Anyway I hope that helps, I know what I would rather be in.

Phill like Rossco mentioned I would not go on that rating what so ever. Having saying that the GU scored almost perfect marks on the side impact testing which was obviously not tested using a brick wall but rather another vehicle in a side impact crash test

[patch697]

Good rating or bad? common sense dictates you would be extremely lucky to survive a head on with a Patrol in a falcon or a commodore let alone a bubble car so until ppl start driving concrete walls around for me to possibly collide with I'll feel quiet safe in a Patrol.


Cheers
Paul

[DX grunt]

Here's the website links.

http://www.ancap.com.au/home
http://www.howsafeisyourcar.com.au/ You can find out new and used car assesment ratings on this web site and lotsa other stuff too.

I used to be a volunteer ambo and we were told that any crash above 60kmh is to be treated as a high speed crash. I was a vollie SES member who attended road crashes too.

What I'm about to say is my personal opinion.....

The authorities and car manufacturers are to be applauded for the job they are doing to save lives on our roads by adding safety measures and devices to vehicles - ie airbags, seat belt interlocks, anti skid control devices and seatbelt warning devices. Slowly but surely, these features are being added to vehicles sold in Australia, not as an 'optional extra' but as 'standard features'. It's great to see vehicle manufacturers competing against each other to provide safer vehicles to their customers. It's great to see ex fleet vehicles being introduced into the second hand market with all these safety features.

I defy anybody to say that two vehicles travelling in the opposite direction, colliding at 100kmh, isn't going to be messy - no matter how many safety features each vehicle has.

My vehicle is a 2005 DX ute - a basic model with no airbags, no anti skid devices, no cruise control, ect. It does have a seatbelt monitor on the dash. It was purely my decision to buy this vehicle. I am under no illusion that I won't or may not get hurt or killed if I'm involved in a single or multiple vehicle crash - even though my rig's big and bulky and has a good sized bull bar on the front.

I believe there will come a time (and I hope I'm terribly wrong), that vehicle manufacturers will run out of safety solutions to make our vehicles safer.

I believe, at the end of the day, it will come down to driver attitude and behaviour on our roads that will determine the nature and severity of the injur/ies, we/and others , may/will receive.

Take care out there.

Ross
DX grunt

[patch697]

Ross that was some post & although Im not to sure if I could do a job like that, I am bloody glad there are dam good ppl out there like yourself who can & do... My hats off to you mate your a champion.

This next question is only in the interest of the thread:

Ross given your experience are you able to shed any light on what is more likely to be a safer option: The small car with the high rating or the bigger one suck as our Patrols with the lower rating.

I hope im not over stepping the mark by asking this as I would recon this might be a touchy subject.

Cheers
Paul

[DX grunt]

Ross that was some post & although Im not to sure if I could do a job like that, I am bloody glad there are dam good ppl out there like yourself who can & do... My hats off to you mate your a champion.

This next question is only in the interest of the thread:

Ross given your experience are you able to shed any light on what is more likely to be a safer option: The small car with the high rating or the bigger one suck as our Patrols with the lower rating.

I hope im not over stepping the mark by asking this as I would recon this might be a touchy subject.

Cheers
Paul

Thanks Paul,

I'm sure every emergency service worker does their best. We have a very good peer support network to help us overcome 'stuff' in our time of need.

I used to do road safety for Local Government full time for 7 years and road safety is a combination of things - including safer roads safer vehicles, safer people, safer environment

In WA, we have the state speed limit of 110kmh and the state open road default speed limit, which means if it's not zoned or built up you can travel up to a maximum of 110kmh only when and where it is safe. City people either don't know or understand the difference. Having said that, country ppl are getting hurt on country roads too. Lotsa ppl don't drive to the conditions, or speed limits.

Speed limits thru road works over here is a very sensitive issue. Ppl think that coz there's no workers, they can go max. Wrong. Quite often a new surface has been laid and has not 'cured' enough to take max speeds. Can u imagine a convoy of 20 patrols with muddies going over a freshly laid bit of bitumen at 100k's when there's a 40k speed zone in force?

Sorry, I don't give advice on what cars ppl should buy. There's heaps of info to assist ppl in their decision making. I made a personal choice to buy a DX ute with minimul safety features - and I love it.

Take care out there.

Ross

[patch697]

Thanks Ross This is good information for others to read specially the part on fresh laid road surfaces. Im glad I asked now.

Cheers Mate
Paul

[NickBGU4]

In my personal opinion the Ancap ratings don't mean a lot. As an ex SES RCR volunteer, I attended a number of horrific accidents and I can say with absolute certainty that if you are in a crash at any speed over 60kph, the bigger and heavier vehicle will win every time. Paul is exactly right, it all comes down to the driver. We have a very nasty section of highway heading into Bairnsdale (100kph limit, single lane in each direction and very few overtaking lanes) that has been scene of a number of multiple fatality crashes. I applaud the car companies for adding all of the safety features (Airbags, ABS, seatbelt pre-tensioners, stability control, etc) but at a combined speed of 200kph your chances of surviving are slim at best.

[DX grunt]

Regarding the 3-star Ancap rating for Patrols, isn't it also judged by how much damage your vehicle does to the other car in a crash? Maybe that's a reason for the lower rating as Patrols would destroy most other vehicles in a high speed collision, regardless of the other car's safety features.

It's 3:35am and I'm not thinking straight.... but... I think it is to do with occupant and pedestrian safety. One of the links I posted should have it all in.

Over here, 5 poster bullbars are banned - not pedestrian friendly and other issues. - some look like D9 or D12 blades (bulldozer blades) - and ya cop a canary.

[patch697]

(not pedestrian friendly) If I may? What does this phrase refer to?

Cheers
Paul