Speed-limiters won’t be mandated Down Under – yet

Intelligent speed assistance systems will not be made compulsory for new cars in Australia any time soon, despite the technology being mandated in Europe as of July 7.

In a statement issued to carsales this week, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts said that because Australian Design Rules are harmonised with UN standards – as opposed to EU standards – this market won’t be following Europe’s lead in requiring all new vehicles to be fitted with speed-limiters by law – at this stage.

“Because vehicles from all over the world are supplied in Australia, it has been long standing Government policy to harmonise ADRs with the international standards set by the United Nations rather than standards set by any one particular market,” a department spokesperson told carsales.

“This ensures vehicles with the latest safety technologies can be supplied in Australia at the lowest price.

“While there is no current international (UN) regulation for intelligent speed assistance systems, the Australian Government will examine the road safety benefits of harmonising and adopting such an international vehicle regulation should one become available.”

Speed-limiting technology is actually already offered in a vast array of models available in Australia and, under European law, can take one of four forms if or when speeding is detected.

These include haptic warnings (pushback) from the throttle pedal, a vibrating throttle pedal or steering wheel, increasingly aggressive chimes in tandem with a visual warning, and autonomous speed reduction.

Intelligent speed alert systems – similar but without the haptic alerts or autonomous speed adjustment capability – have been mandatory in Europe since 2022, drawing heavy criticism from motoring media and consumers alike due to their distracting nature.

Somewhat counterintuitively, they can draw a driver’s attention away from the road to the dashboard or to deactivate or at least silence them, with Kia and Hyundai being two of the worst culprits.

Both Korean sister brands cited European regulations earlier this year when justifying their over-exuberant speed alert systems, the default setting for which is maximum – a loud audible chime that sounds repetitively if you stray even 1km/h over the posted speed limit.

The system reverts to its factory settings every time the vehicle is switched off, irrespective of the last input or driver profile.

Other brands instead use a simple visual cue within the instrument cluster as the default setting and many even retain the driver’s previous setting when the vehicle is switched off, while other car-makers let you alter the sensitivity of the warning.

Whether they use sat-nav data or real-time traffic sign recognition technology, speed alert systems have been part of the Australian New Car Assessment Program’s (ANCAP) testing protocols for years now, but this doesn’t reflect government legislation.

However, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and lane-keeping assistance (LKA) systems are already mandatory for all new vehicles released in Australia, with reversing cameras set to follow next year.

Thankfully, European lawmakers are aware that speed alert and assistance systems aren’t always helpful and even recommend drivers deactivate them when “false warnings or inappropriate feedback” is delivered due to “inclement weather conditions, temporarily conflicting road markings in construction zones, or misleading, defective or missing road signs”.

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