Uniting Communities highlights 5 star fleet safety.

Leading South Australian not-for-profit organisation, Uniting Communities, is the first in the country to start displaying 5 star ANCAP safety ratings on its entire fleet of owned and operated cars, highlighting its safety commitment to employees, clients and the community.

ANCAP Safety is Australasia’s leading independent vehicle safety authority. To achieve the maximum 5 star ANCAP safety rating, vehicles must perform to the highest level across crash tests and assessments.

"Uniting Communities staff travel more than two million kilometres every year to deliver our 90-plus community services programs," said Lee Sauerwald, Executive Manager Corporate Services, Uniting Communities and Vice President, Australasian Fleet Management Association (AFMA).

"Safety legislation deems a vehicle as part of the workplace. The safety of our staff and clients is paramount – just as we provide a safe workplace in our offices, our cars also need to have the highest levels of safety possible."

"As an organisation focused on providing a safe working environment for our employees, clients and the community, we are making the ANCAP safety ratings of our vehicles visible through the inclusion of ANCAP rating labels on the windscreens of all our owned and operated light passenger fleet," Mr Sauerwald said.

"100% of our light-passenger fleet are 5 star ANCAP safety rated vehicles. We have been applying the 5 star ANCAP labels to all new purchases since November 2017."

ANCAP’s safety benchmarks are continually reviewed and improved to encourage the supply of and demand for safer cars.

"Fleets play an instrumental role in improving the safety of our overall community," said ANCAP Chief Executive, James Goodwin.

"Over half of all new cars sold in Australia are purchased by fleet managers for corporations. With such large numbers of these cars on our roads, fleet purchasing has a direct impact on how safe most of Australia’s new and, eventually, second-hand cars are."

"If all fleet managers purchased 5 star ANCAP safety rated vehicles only, then over half the cars on Australian roads would be the safest available," said Mr Sauerwald.

"We’re proud to be able to approach our fleet management with safety front of mind."

"Unfortunately, motor vehicle crashes are still a harsh reality, however travelling in a 5 star ANCAP safety rated vehicle could save your life and we’re proud to promote this by displaying the 5 star ANCAP label on our fleet vehicles and strongly encourage other organisations to do the same," Mr Sauerwald added.