Prepare for the future, but deal with the present

This story first appeared in the february issue of Evtalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE

A look at the recent EVtalk headlines presents us with a fascinating vehicle future:

Australian EV incentives suggested / Big strides in EVs forecast by 2030 / Flying PAV passes first test / Solar EV road-ready this year? / Hydrogen may power British trains / Advanced EVs planned under Lotus/Williams partnership.

Much of the debate revolves around how long until these high-tech cars are everywhere.When people aren’t arguing about that, they question what value EVs and AVs will provide to society and who will still have a job because of them.

But all this debate about the future of transport is masking the fact that we still need to come to grips with technology here in the present.There are technological features of our current transport system, especially vehicle safety functions, that we need to regulate.

The Ministry of Transport’s current Safer Journeys Action Plan (2016-2020) proposes investigating compulsory ABS for motorcycles and mandating side-protection standards and AEB for light and heavy vehicles.Little has been done to advance those investigations and that plan is now under review.

Since the plan was first released, a wide range of other safety features are now rolling out as standard on new cars – things like blind spot monitoring, lane-keeping, and intelligent cruise control.

When asked to write this article, I wondered if I should take the approach of calling for a swifter assessment of the benefits of mandating these features and even requiring retrofitting of some safety systems.

However, it struck me that a more pressing concern was how we ensured the safety of the complex, technology-laden vehicles already on the road.

Let’s consider New Zealand’s key measure of in-service vehicle safety – the Warrant of Fitness.Since its introduction in 1937, the WOF has stood as a robust, point-in-time check of the road-worthiness of our vehicles.

It has never been a replacement for vehicle owners’ obligation to maintain their vehicle in a safe condition (remember to see your local MTA mechanic at least once a year between WOFs for a service or simple safety check).But it is a key measure for car owners about the state of their vehicle.

There is one inspection process for light vehicles – the Vehicle Inspection Requirements Manual (or VIRM) – and the same test is applied to your 1950s Cadillac as it is to your 2015 Mazda CX-5.

While both vehicles may be structurally sound, one of them comes with a range of electronic safety systems that the other doesn’t.And the VIRM does not test for them at all.

While we sit gazing out to the future and wonder about how to regulate the fantastic machines that might move people and goods about the countryside in 20 years’ time, we are failing to address the need to oversee the complex vehicles on our roads.

We need to review the WOF inspection process and ensure that all vehicles and all safety features are properly tested.