It won’t be long until autonomous emergency braking (AEB) is mandatory before a car can receive a five-star for safety rating.
Peugeot has jumped the queue by announcing the life-saving technology will in future become standard across its entire Australian lineup.
And the NSW Government has stumped up $1.6 million in funds to update for the crash lab facility in Sydney’s west, so the testing regime can be expanded to incorporate AEB.
Roads, Maritime and Freight Minister, Melinda Pavey, said the Government understands the importance of vehicle safety in reducing road trauma, which is why driver assistance technologies like AEB, lane-keep assist and speed assistance systems are so important.
When a car is fitted with AEB it will brake automatically if the driver fails to do so in time, dramatically reducing the possibility of rear-end accidents.
The NSW Government is a founding member of the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) and through the Roads and Maritime Services’ Crashlab test facility, contributes to the ongoing testing and assessment of vehicle safety encouraging vital vehicle safety improvements.
“Expanding Crashlab’s capabilities to test new and emerging vehicle safety technologies will support ANCAP in its important role in encouraging the introduction of AEB and other life-saving technologies across the national vehicle fleet,” Mrs Pavey said.
“This means that to achieve a five star ANCAP safety rating, an effective AEB or lane support system will be required on all new vehicles rated.”
“These upgrades will see NSW offer a world class vehicle safety testing capability covering crash protection, and even more importantly, crash prevention.”
This investment comes in addition to the recent upgrade of crash test equipment and acquisition of new, more sophisticated crash dummies, catering for a broadened ANCAP safety rating program this year.