Stability control will save lives: ATA

Safety measures could save 148 lives and stop 1496 serious injuries

The Australian Government could save 148 lives in the coming years by mandating stability control for new trucks and trailers, ATA Chair Geoff Crouch announced last week.

Mr Crouch (pictured) was releasing the ATA’s response to the Government regulatory impact statement on mandating stability control for heavy vehicles.

The RIS proposes that stability control should be required for new prime movers weighing more than 12 tonnes and new trailers weighing more than 10 tonnes. The technology would not need to be fitted to new rigid trucks.

The ATA submission recommends that the Government should go much further.

“The Government should lean in on safety and mandate stability control for all new trucks and trailers, including rigid trucks, with only narrow exceptions,” Mr Crouch said.

“The ATA approach would save 148 lives and stop 1496 serious injuries. It would save 24 more lives and stop 412 more serious injuries than the narrow approach recommended in the RIS,” he said.

Converter dollies would be exempt from the ESC requirement, because of issues with the technology in rough conditions.

Of course, many trucks like the Mercedes-Benz Actros (pictured) already have advanced safety features like stability control and autonomous braking.

Stability control will save lives: ATA

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