The car you drive has a direct bearing on the risk of death and injury to you as a driver - an especially important concept for young drivers, who are inherently more likely to crash than experienced drivers.

So, what are the safest first cars for young drivers?

For less than $30,000 there are 20 small and light new cars available in the Australian market with a five-star safety rating.

Having five stars is important: for every 10 peaople who die in crashes in a one- or two-star car, five would have survived if they had been in a five-star car.

The safest first new cars are currently:

Citroen C4
Fiat Ritmo
Fiat Punto
Fiat 500
Ford Fiesta
Ford Focus
Holden Cruze
Hyundai i30
Kia Soul
Mazda2
Mitsubishi Lancer
Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback
Peugeot 207
Peugeot 308
Renault Clio
Renault Megane
Subaru Impreza
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Yaris
Volkswagen Golf

For more information on star ratings: www.ancap.com.au