Oz Sets Deadline for ESC, Brake Assist in LCVs

All light-commercial vehicles sold in Australia will have to include electronic stability control and a brake-assist system as of November 2015.

Infrastructure and Regional Development Assistant Minister Jamie Briggs says BAS also will be compulsory for new models of light-passenger vehicles by November 2015.

ESC already is mandated for newly introduced models of light-passenger vehicles (cars, passenger vans and SUVs). From Nov. 1, it also will be required for all newly built existing light-passenger models.

The technology automatically applies the brakes to individual wheels in an emergency to help a driver steer safely and avoid skidding.

Crash analysis at Monash University’s Accident Research Centre shows ESC is associated with a 32% reduction in single-vehicle driver-injury crashes; a 59.6% reduction in driver-injury rollover crashes; and an 81.6% reduction in all-wheel-drive rollover crashes.

Brake-assist systems detect when a driver is attempting hard braking and help stop the vehicle as quickly as possible. Briggs says the technology is particularly effective in reducing the number and severity of crashes involving vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

“Even with high voluntary rates of these brake technologies being fitted to new vehicles, mandating ESC could still save up to 29 lives and mandating BAS could save up to 10 lives as well as prevent over 200 serious injuries over a 15-year period of regulation,” Briggs says in a statement.

He says the LCV market is growing in Australia, with an increasing number being purchased as both work and family vehicles. LCV sales through September were up 5.2% year-over-year to 153,785 units.

Mandating ESC and BAS under the Australian Design Rules are major initiatives of the National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020, which aims to reduce deaths and serious injuries from traffic accidents.

Briggs says the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, representing the automakers, has been consulted in developing the initiatives and supports the timetable.