Friday, 12 March 2010
ACC to sting old-car owners
News
Friday, 03 July 2009 10:08

Motorists who drive old bangers could fork out more to stay on the road while those in the safest cars would pay less under proposals to go before an ACC review.

ACC Minister Nick Smith said the review would study whether basing the ACC levy on the safety ratings of cars could help drive down the $336 million annual cost of road crashes.

"I've seen information that the cost of motor vehicle accidents would be 40 per cent less if every vehicle on the road met a five-star safety rating. That's a huge difference and the question is whether that can be translated into a financial incentive for people to invest in safer vehicles."

It would be possible to connect vehicle registration with the make and year of a car, link that to a safety rating and a discount or extra premium.

He had also not ruled out investigating whether drivers should pay ACC levies according to their accident and infringement records, although that could be too complicated to implement without significant compliance costs.

Yesterday, he stressed that he had made no decision but said the focus would be on levies linked to car safety. However, financial incentives based on car safety ratings could be difficult to implement as New Zealand had a relatively old fleet and many people could not easily upgrade, he said.

Another stumbling block is likely to be the relatively small amount drivers would save on registration fees compared with the cost of upgrading cars.

At present, ACC levies account for $168 of the $246 annual registration fee. Only recent-model cars would be likely to meet the five-star safety standard requiring curtain-side airbags and electronic stability control.

The Government is examining whether to shift more of the ACC road levy from registration fees to fuel, so those who drive more pay more. The ACC component on petrol is 9.9 cents a litre, or $118 a year for the average motorist.

Motoring groups warned that it would be difficult to implement any safe-car incentives without penalising less-wealthy drivers.

The Automobile Association's technical services manager, Stella Stocks, said the AA welcomed initiatives aimed at improving safety, but incentives would not be easy to introduce fairly.

Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of car buyers' publication the Dog and Lemon Guide, said poor people did not buy unsafe cars because they were unsafe. "They select unsafe cars because they're the only cars that poor people can afford."

Labour ACC spokesman David Parker said he would oppose a system that saw better-off drivers pay less because they could afford better cars, but he would consider more "sophisticated" proposals.

Dr Smith said the review would also look at whether to keep extra entitlements introduced by Labour. Free physiotherapy will be axed from November 1.

SAFE DRIVING

Cars tested under the Australasian new car assessment programme (ANCAP) receive ratings based on how they perform in impact tests. The focus is on structural damage to the cars and damage to crash-test dummies. Cars without curtain-side airbags and that do not have electronic stability control cannot receive a five-star rating.

CARS WITH FIVE-STAR SAFETY RATINGS:

Fiat 500 (Pop 3 door hatch) 2008. Score: 34.91/37; Cost: From $26,990

Skoda Superb 2009. Score: 34.75/37; Cost: From $51,990

Kia Soul 2009. Score: 33.11/37; Cost: From $29,990

Hyundai i30 GLS 5-door hatch 2009. Score: 32.54/37; Cost: From $29,490


* Test results are available from www.rightcar.govt.nz/ratings/

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Pete said:

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Crazy thing in all this is NZ is fast becoming a poor third world country with upper "ruling" class who have lost touch with the people on the ground floors.

We are in a deepening depression and ACC propose such nonsense.

The thing is that running a vehicle has become so expensive that many people can no longer afford to do so.

Last year we helped out a youngish family which had been using an unregistered and unlicenced vehicle for around 4 years. (If you or I tried that we would be caught or have crash within seconds!!) and not been caught and YES! it did have to be registered as a new vehicle, should have just scrapped it)

We probably rather technically illegally confiscated the vehicle and got it roadworthy then sold it back to them for a bit less than it cost to get it roadworthy for a few dollars a week.

We told them to trade it in QUICK on a better vehicle, could have been traded at probably a good deposit and as they had shown they could repay us they could pay a car dealer a similar amount each week.

BUT NO!

They are still driving it around, although keeping it registered warranted and third party insured.

Every time I meet with them I say get rid of the damn thing, it uses petrol like an elephant and one day soon will need major repairs.

Either they feel they cannot risk the repayments "Priorities"

Or they are completely STUPID!

Now ACc in Knackworst type terms feel that increasing the cost of registering OLD cars will get them off the road.

No doubt there are already so many unliscenced and unregistered cars without warrants of fitness on the roads that there is no point in trying to fine people in such positions as they simply cannot pay fines on top of costs of running vehicles.

Seems many people out there cannot even afford to get a drivers liscence.

the answer in improving safety on the roads may lay in

as always
Education,
Making Driving Affordable

and possibly subsidizing safety checks and repairs for poor people, in much the same way we subsidize the low income people who do claim rates rebates and only pay around $200 a year.

That way instead of the ACC "Investing" Money which perhaps should be being used for rehabilitating and compensating injured persons in dud or dying flag ships employment for people looking after vehicles could be created.

Even we are now finding we can only register our vehicle for three months at a time, which is probably good as it reduces the amount of money that can be immorally put into investments by ACC considerably.

No doubt in a few years time we will have an aging expensive more modern safe vehicle fleet which because it cost people so much to buy and so much to register and keep on the road that they will not have any money for keeping the vehicles serviced and roadworthy.

user pays only when the users have enough to pay for what they should.

Noticed grocery prices have taken another HUGE jump today.
July 03, 2009

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