Government proposes mandatory AEB

Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) could become mandatory on all new cars sold in Australia within two years.

That’s what is proposed in what’s called a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) just released by the federal government.

The RIS recommends the introduction of a new Australian Design Rule (ADR) specifying car-to-car and pedestrian-detecting AEB be standard on all new models launched from July 2022 and all new vehicles sold from July 2024.

That’s the same timeframe as proposed by regulators in Europe.

While some safety features already required by law via ADRs – such as anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC), which became mandatory for new cars in 2011 – the fitment of AEB has so far been voluntary.

In recent years more and more car-makers have adopted AEB, which is regarded by many industry experts as significant as seat belts, ABS and ESC in terms of automotive safety, especially since independent vehicle safety authority ANCAP now makes it all but impossible to achieve a maximum five-star safety rating without auto-braking.

ANCAP analysis conducted in April 2020 estimated that AEB is now fitted as standard to 186 – or 66 per cent – of all new light vehicle models (passenger cars, SUVs and light commercial vehicles) sold in Australia.

Of the 348 light vehicle models available, 22 or 10 per cent only offered AEB on higher grade variants (AEB was not available on the base variant), eight models or six per cent offered AEB as an option and 11 models or 16 per cent were not available with any form of AEB.

Of the top 100 selling models, which accounted for 88 per cent of total light vehicle sales in April 2020, 63 models (58%) came with AEB as standard, 12 models (11%) was not available in the base variant, four models (7%) offered it as an option and 21 models (16%) did not make AEB available.

The highest selling light vehicle models that do not offer any form of AEB are utilities.

AEB has been found to reduce police-reported crashes by 55 per cent, rear-end crashes by 40 per cent and vehicle occupant trauma by 28 per cent.

Latest generation AEB systems have the ability to prevent or reduce the severity of vehicle-to-vehicle crashes (forward and reverse) and collisions with pedestrians and cyclists, both day and night.

“The proposal released today by the Australian Government to mandate AEB is a welcome announcement,” said ANCAP Director – Communications & Advocacy, Rhianne Robson.

“The proposed regulatory move will help close the gap among vehicle models that are yet to voluntarily include AEB, and we encourage the introduction of an ADR that mandates AEB in the same timeframe as the EU to ensure all new car buyers benefit from this important technology.”