All new automobiles offered in Australia might quickly report proof of their drivers breaking the regulation, due to world rules within the works to be adopted regionally.
Since July 2022, new automobiles launched in nations that are signatories to the United Nations’ World Harmonisation of Car Rules (WHVR) – akin to Australia – have been geared up with ‘Occasion Information Recorders’ (EDRs).
EDRs act equally to an aeroplane’s black field by recording sure driver inputs, speeds and even seat positions, storing data captured within the 5 seconds previous to a crash and 0.3 seconds after an impression.
This may permit crash investigators to find out whether or not the automobile concerned was at fault in a collision, or demonstrating a driver was exceeding the pace restrict within the lead as much as a crash – not solely making them extra more likely to face a high quality, however be vulnerable to insurance coverage being voided resulting from breaking the regulation.
Whereas EDRs have been geared up in new automobiles since as early because the late Nineties, the system will probably be a requirement for all new automobiles offered in WHVR-aligned nations from July 2024 – even when they have been launched previous to the July 2022 cut-off.
However whereas Australia is a signatory to WHVR, that doesn’t essentially imply it has to implement the rules.
A spokesperson for the Division of Infrastructure and Transport instructed CarExpert the Federal Authorities is at present investigating whether or not to make the fitment of EDRs necessary in Australia, citing native privateness legal guidelines as a priority.
“It’s Australian Authorities coverage to harmonise ADRs [Australian Design Rules] with the worldwide requirements set by the United Nations to make sure automobiles with the newest security applied sciences might be equipped in Australia on the lowest worth,” mentioned a authorities spokesperson.
“Work has begun inspecting how UN Regulation 160 might be carried out in Australia. A variety of issues will must be thought of together with entry to, and the administration of EDR information and privateness implications of EDRs inside the context of Australia’s privateness legal guidelines.
“Any resolution to control EDRs in Australia would observe the Australian Authorities’s commonplace coverage on creating regulation, which incorporates contemplating totally different coverage choices, how these choices impression the general public and companies together with prices and advantages, and the outcomes of public session.”
It’s value noting that whereas EDRs report information, they differ from the ‘black field insurance coverage’ – or telematics – units provided to UK motorists, which actively ship information again to an insurance coverage firm, affecting a driver’s premiums primarily based on their driving habits.
