Announcement date
26 July 2023
Link to announcement
https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/brown/media-release/mandating-reversing-vehicle-aids-save-lives-and-around-australian-roads
Problem being addressed
Reversing collisions involving a vehicle and a pedestrian or a vulnerable road user such as a cyclist are generally rare occurrences with low number of cases reported each year. However, the prevalence of such collisions tends to be underestimated as the majority of these collisions and injuries sustained are often outside the scope of official road injury record systems, which are focussed on public roads.
Pedestrians form the largest single road user group and have no protection against vehicle impacts. Reversing collisions often affect small children and the elderly who may be less aware of their surroundings and are particularly vulnerable to sustaining fatal or severe injuries when hit. Often such incidences create a particularly distressing situation for the parties involved, as well as the broader community due to the age and vulnerability of the victims and the driver is often a close family member of the victim.
Currently the installation of reversing technologies is not mandated, with voluntary fitment of reversing aids occurring either during vehicle manufacture or in-service through aftermarket modifications.
Proposal
Reversing technologies increase the driver’s awareness or vision of vulnerable road users behind a vehicle, reducing the number of reversing collisions with pedestrians that result in severe or fatal injuries. The Impact Analysis (IA) prepared by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (the Department) presented two alternative options (in addition to the status quo) designed to reduce reversing collisions in Australia:
- Option 1: No Regulatory Intervention (business as usual or status quo)
- Option 2: Introduce a new national road vehicle standard (also known as Australian Design Rule or ADR) aligned with United Nations Regulation No. 158 for light and heavy vehicles (the recommended option)
- Option 3: Introduce a new ADR aligned with United Nations Regulation No. 158 for light vehicles
Assessed Impact Analysis outcome
Good practice
Assessment comments
To have been assessed as ‘exemplary’ under the Australian Government Guide to Policy Impact Analysis, the IA would have benefited from:
- Better aligning the stated objectives with the rationale for the best option; and
- Including metrics for evaluation for the stated objectives or alternatives, and for relevant success measures.
Regulatory burden
The Department estimates an increase in regulatory costs of $12.3 million per year, averaged over ten years.