The Automobile Association (AA) has welcomed proposed changes to vehicle safety regulations in South Africa, describing them as a significant step towards improving road safety.
The proposed regulations would introduce stricter safety requirements for vehicles, including improved airbag systems, stronger side-impact protection and electronic stability control.
While supporting the changes, the AA is calling for the new safety standards to apply across all vehicle models and derivatives, including entry-level vehicles.
AA CEO Bobby Ramagwede says manufacturers should not be able to use gaps in legislation to avoid introducing important safety features in cheaper models.
“This is an important step for vehicle safety because the biggest challenge we have is that motor vehicle manufacturers use legislation as a clutch,” Ramagwede said.
He explained that this allows some manufacturers to delay or avoid applying higher safety standards to entry-level vehicles.
Under the proposed changes, all passenger vehicles are expected to comply with the required safety standards by June next year.
Ramagwede said the AA hopes the stricter regulations will contribute to a reduction in road crashes, serious injuries and fatalities.
He also described the proposed changes as a major advancement for South Africa's vehicle safety landscape.
“There isn’t a direct correlation between recalls and the safety standards, but from a safety standards perspective, this is a quantum leap,” he said.
According to Ramagwede, the new requirements could also allow South Africa to benchmark its vehicle safety regulations against standards applied in countries such as those in Europe and Australia.