Authorities have introduced a “compulsory” new rule impacting popular car models being imported into Australia to alert people to oncoming dangers.
From this month, all new-model EVs, as well as hybrid or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, will be fitted with an Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) to ensure the cars make noise while travelling at lower speeds.
The change will mean pedestrians and other road users will hear the otherwise silent cars, and hopefully boost the safety of school zones, car parks and city streets.
Authorities assured the AVAS will be no noisier than a standard internal combustion engine vehicle, and the sound will be easily identifiable to pedestrians. The initiative will also significantly boost the safety of blind or visually impaired pedestrians.
“I’m thrilled that as of today, you won’t just see a growing number of electric and hybrid vehicles on Australian roads, you’ll hear them too,” Catherine King, the Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister, said on Monday.
“AVAS has proven to be clear and effective in keeping people safe, so we’re making it compulsory.
“Some vehicle manufacturers have already introduced AVAS in inventive ways, with orchestral sounds and whirrs warning pedestrians and other road users when the car is approaching.”
Authorities predict mandating the technology will prevent one fatality and 75 serious injuries every year, with up to 68 fatalities and over 2,600 injuries dodged by 2060.
Drivers who already own an EV or hybrid will not need to modify their vehicle to make it compliant.
Aussie authorities continue to grapple with skyrocketing death toll
The new EV mandate is the latest in a long line of road safety initiatives pushed by authorities, with jurisdictions across the country ramping up road surveillance cameras in a bid to deter poor driving behaviour.
The ACT has just upgraded mobile phone detection cameras to now detect seatbelt offences and authorities have warned that fines of $574 will be issued to wrongdoers. Drivers in other states and territories have already been copping fines for this for years, with authorities also increasing the use of AI in newly installed road cameras.
Last year in Queensland alone, phone and speed cameras issued roughly 114,000 fines, amounting to $137 million. Across the country in Western Australia, 380,000 offences were detected in an eight-month trial period of new phone and speed cameras along high incident highways.
The crackdown on road safety comes as the national death toll continues to climb, with 1,350 people losing their lives on Aussie roads in the last 12 months — 6.8 per cent higher than the same time last year, according to the federal government. This equates to approximately five people a day.
With the Electric Vehicle Council announcing that EV ownership has rapidly increased in Australia, with the first six months of 2025 seeing an almost 25 per cent increase in EV sales compared to the same time last year, authorities are doing their best to improve EV safety where possible to boost overall road safety.
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