Australian Law To Require EV Cars To Be Noisy For Blind People
An Anonymous Coward writes:
New law makes electric vehicles safer for pedestrians in Australia
With claims that a new law 'will save lives' a new Australian law will require all new electric vehicles to emite sound at low speed. Vision Australian claim that 35 percent of people who are blind or have low vision 'have had a collision with a silent vehicle'. Of the 27.2 million people in Australia an estimated 453 thousand have low vision of which 66 thousand are blind with more than 70% of people affected being over 65 years old. Public view on the matter ranges from both ends of the spectrum with many people asking why a better system could not be found for which is not more noise pollution.
Australia's electric cars will no longer move in silence, with a long-awaited safety law now in effect requiring all new EVs to emit an audible sound when travelling at low speeds.
From November 1, every new electric vehicle sold in Australia must be fitted with an Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS), which produces a recognisable sound when the car is moving at or under 25km/h, a move advocates say will save lives.
Vision Australia's general manager of corporate affairs and advocacy, Chris Edwards, said the new rule marked a major victory after years of campaigning.
"Vision Australia has been calling for an acoustic vehicle alerting system to be introduced in Australia since 2018," Mr Edwards said.
He said their research found that 35 per cent of people who are blind or have low vision have had a collision with a silent vehicle.
"Further reporting shows that pedestrian road crashes cost the Australian community over $1.2bn each year," he said.
"With electric vehicles predicted to make up 90 per cent of Australia's vehicle fleet by 2050, we knew there couldn't be any further delay to mandating AVAS.
"All pedestrians should have the right to feel safe and confident when navigating public spaces, and this mandate will ensure they will. AVAS will save lives."
The new legislation brings Australia in line with other major jurisdictions including the European Union, the United States and Japan, where similar sound requirements have been in place for several years.
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