Young drivers who live in regional areas of the Victorian State in Australia could get a $5,000 AUD ($3,484 USD) incentive from the local government in order to replace their old ride with a modern and safer vehicle.
The “unsafe2safe” program funded by taxpayer money started last year with a trial in the Ballarat and Bendigo areas. The new installment will affect 150 people, living across the entire region of Victoria with the exception of Melbourne. Applicants should be aged between 18 and 25 years old, while their vehicle must be at least 16 years old in order to comply. The car (model year 2006 or older) also needs to have an ANCAP score of one or two stars, or not be rated at all by the organization.
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After the applications close on September 4, the government will randomly choose 150 people who will gain access to the $5,000 AUD ($3,484 USD) subsidiary. Those youngsters will able to choose the ride of their liking – used or new – as long as it complies with a few guidelines. As reported by CarExpert, the replacement vehicle must be produced after 2012, cost under $30,000, not be a repaired write-off, and have an ANCAP rating of at least four stars.
Of course, their old car must be traded, with the dealership taking it to the crusher. This reduces the target group to those who are driving old cars with a value below $5,000 AUD ($3,484 USD) in the used car market, otherwise, it doesn’t make sense for them to apply for the program.
The goal of the Victorian State Government is to use the entire $6.9 million AUD ($4.75 million USD) grant for replacing up to 1,000 older vehicles. This move is expected to increase road safety among young drivers in regional areas, who are statistically more prone to accidents than other focus groups according to recent studies.
