The Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) has issued the following corrections to its media release “Time to Align Vehicle Safety Standards with Europe”, originally published on Wednesday April 16, 2025.
1. Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB): The original release stated that Australia has yet to adopt Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB). This was incorrect. AEB is still being introduced in Australia, years after it was mandated in the European General Safety Regulation (EU GSR II, Regulation (EU) 2019/2144). We acknowledge that this represents a delay compared to European adoption, but it is inaccurate to suggest that AEB is entirely absent from Australian regulatory planning.
2. Vehicle Safety Ratings: The statement that “some vehicles on sale in Australia have received zero-star safety ratings” should have read “some vehicles on sale in Australia have received zero- or one-star safety ratings from ANCAP. In contrast, one of these vehicles sold in Europe meets stricter vehicle design standards, achieving a three-star safety rating under the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP).” While this still reflects significant safety concerns, it is important to accurately report the safety assessments.
Its corrective statement reads in part: “We regret these inaccuracies and have taken steps to update the original release to reflect the correct information. The broader message of the release remains unchanged: ACRS continues to advocate for the urgent modernisation of Australia’s vehicle safety standards in line with international best practice to better protect all road users.”
