The Australian Government has introduced a new Australian Design Rule that will require electric vehicles to make more noise.
The Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS) is a safety alert or sound, emitted when an electric vehicle is travelling at low speeds in car parks, intersections, and driveways.
Quiet vehicles such as electric, hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles travelling at low speeds are harder for pedestrians to hear compared to noisier vehicles with conventional petrol or diesel engines.
This increases the risk of being involved in a collision, and this risk is greater for people who are blind or have poor vision who rely on sound to negotiate the road network independently.
AVAS technology is already mandated in the European Union, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea and the United States.
The new Australian Design Rule (ADR) will require new electric, hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell cars, trucks and buses to be fitted with an AVAS from November 2025.
AVAS will make these vehicles easier to hear by emitting a sound when the vehicle is travelling at low speeds in car parks, intersections and driveways.
A vehicle fitted with an AVAS will not be any noisier than a conventional petrol or diesel vehicle.
The Government consulted on a draft Impact Analysis proposing a mandate for AVAS for light vehicles and it was strongly supported by state and territory governments, the blind and low-vision community, and vehicle manufacturers.
The new ADR is expected to avoid around 68 fatalities, 2675 serious injuries and 2962 minor injuries by 2060 and is estimated it will save the Australian community AU$208 million.
“As more and more Australians choose to drive EVs we are committed to ensuring that they are safe for both drivers and others using the road,” said Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King.
“This is a significant win for those in the blind and low-vision community who have long been advocating for alert systems like this to be introduced in Australia.”
