A safety feature that might have saved the life of a Canberra boy must be installed in all new models of heavy vehicles from November next year as part of a federal government mandate.
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The move to mandate autonomous emergency braking has been welcomed by the parents of Blake Corney, who was killed when a truck ploughed into the back of their family car on the Monaro Highway in 2018.
ACT Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker found last year that Blake, 4, might have survived if such technology had been installed in the truck that caused the crash.
Autonomous emergency braking systems detect likely collisions ahead and give the vehicle's driver a warning. If the driver does not respond, the brakes are automatically applied.
Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister Kevin Hogan announced both the braking technology and electronic stability control would be required in new heavy vehicles as of November 2023.
"Mandating this technology for heavy vehicles is expected to save around 100 lives and avoid over 2300 serious injuries over 40 years," Mr Hogan said.
He added that autonomous emergency braking systems were expected to reduce crashes involving trucks rear-ending other vehicles by up to 57 per cent.
"We have listened and we have acted on the calls by road safety advocates, the states and territories, and Australians directly affected by these types of heavy vehicle crashes, to mandate this technology to prevent tragic outcomes," Mr Hogan said.
Blake's parents, Andrew Corney and Camille Jago, have advocated for road safety changes like the mandating of autonomous emergency braking in the wake of their eldest son's death.
In a piece published this week as part of Blake's Legacy, an ACM campaign for safer roads, they wrote of their desire to stop others being made to walk in their shoes.
On Wednesday, Mr Corney described Mr Hogan's announcement as "good news".
"It's greatly encouraging that the Commonwealth jurisdiction is taking this on," he said.
Ms Jago said she hoped to soon see steps taken in relation to fatigue and distraction detection technology, whether that was in the form of a similar mandate or greater incentives for trucking operators to install it.
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