Younger regional Victorians being paid to trade-in their outdated clunkers

The Victorian State Authorities is paying cash-strapped younger drivers, primarily based in regional areas, $5000 to ditch their unsafe outdated automotive and substitute it with one thing newer. 

Minister for Roads Ben Carroll just lately introduced the plan to increase a taxpayer-funded trial program that kicked off final yr within the regional centres of Ballarat and Bendigo. 

This system is relatively unusually referred to as ‘unsafe2safe’, and is now taking functions throughout all of nation Victoria, that means areas that aren’t in Larger Melbourne.

This newest part of the trial program will give a $5000 subsidy to 150 younger drivers aged 18 to 25 with VicRoads accounts, serving to them ditch their outdated clunker aged 16 years or over for one thing newer – and most likely safer. The cutoff this time is September 4.

The advantageous print stipulates relevant clunker autos should not solely date to 2006 or earlier, however should additionally have a crash rating of 1 or two stars – or be unrated.

The substitute newer automobile should in flip be lower than 10 years outdated, value lower than $30,000, not be a repaired write-off, and carry a high ANCAP rating or a used car safety rating of at the least 4 stars.

The used automotive score program is a product of the Monash College Accident Analysis Centre.

The 150 individuals might be chosen at random – relatively than means examined – from the checklist of candidates, at which level they will take their relevant automotive to a taking part vendor and commerce it for a more moderen mannequin. 

These chosen will then pay the distinction between the vendor worth and the $5000 subsidy, with the outdated automotive taken away and scrapped.

This implies if mentioned older automobile is price greater than $5000, the younger driver in query could be higher off promoting it themselves and side-stepping this system. 

“Scrapping removes the automotive from the fleet that means we don’t switch the protection danger to a different particular person,” an explainer video embedded above claims. 

The total $6.9 million trial’s final intention, says the State Authorities, is to switch as much as 1000 vehicles which might be greater than 16 years outdated, and have poor security rankings.

Victoria’s Street Security Technique 2021- 2030 focuses on teams which might be over-represented in street trauma: teams resembling younger drivers, who’re statistically on the best danger of being concerned in a crash of their first few years of solo driving.

The rationale for the agricultural focus? Crash stats present younger regional Victorians driving older vehicles are 15 instances extra more likely to be killed in crashes in contrast with the general State common. 

“We all know that value is an actual barrier for a lot of younger Victorians in relation to selecting a secure and trendy automotive – that’s the reason this program is crucial in guaranteeing they decide a automobile with options that would in the end save their life,” argued Minister Carroll. 

“Round 70 per cent of people that have misplaced their lives on our roads had been in autos greater than ten years outdated and being in a safer automobile could make the distinction between ending up in hospital or avoiding a crash altogether.”

Including to this was the top of Victoria’s Regional Transport Division Paul Northey, who mentioned “From Bannockburn and Buloke throughout to Gippsland and Shepparton, younger regional Victorians can now apply to participate within the unsafe2safe trial and head out on the roads extra safely.”

“We’ve a world-class Graduated Licensing System that ensures drivers progressively construct the abilities wanted to drive safely, combining this with trendy automobile security options means we are able to decrease the chance of younger folks being harm or killed on our roads,” he added.

Whereas this isn’t sometimes the place for editorialising, it’s our view that Australia’s licensing system is flawed. You possibly can learn our look into the necessity for higher concentrate on driver coaching packages for younger drivers here, in our talk with driver trainer and media persona Steve Pizzati. 

Even with vehicles getting safer with each passing yr, Victoria’s street toll is tragically up this yr to 148 deaths to date in 2022, in comparison with 130 folks on the similar time in 2021. 

You possibly can learn all of the FAQs and apply here.