Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 4/01 – Seatbelts) 2006
Made under section 7 of the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989
Explanatory Statement
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Transport and
Regional Service
June 2006
CONTENTS
1. legislative context................................................
2. impact of the legislative instruments act 2003...........................
3. content and effect of ADR 4/01 - Seatbelts.............................
4. consultation arrangements..........................................
- legislative context
Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 4/01 — Seatbelts) 2006 is made under the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 (the Act). The Act enables the Australian Government to establish nationally uniform standards for road vehicles when they are first supplied to the market in Australia. The Act applies to such vehicles whether they are manufactured in Australia or are imported as new or second hand vehicles.
The making of the vehicle standards necessary for the Act's effective operation is provided for in section 7 which empowers the Minister to "determine vehicle standards for road vehicles or vehicle components".
Australian Design Rule (ADR) 4/01 was originally determined in Determination of Motor Vehicle Standards Order No. 3 of 1989 and has been amended in four subsequent determinations. ADR 4/01 is being remade to comply with the requirements of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (LIA) and to enable its registration in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. The remaking of ADR 4/01 has not altered the substance of the standard as last determined.
- impact of the legislative instruments act 2003
Until now ADRs have been determined in “packages”, that is, a single determination will create, amend and repeal multiple ADRs. In example, Determination 1 of 1991 amended 32 ADRs and Determination 2 of 2003 created one new ADR and amended 13. The determination is the legislative instrument, not the ADR itself.
The intent of the LIA is to allow easy access to all legislative instruments and to be able to track their history and changes. The current form of determination used to created vehicle standards does not allow for this as it is difficult to isolate the change history of individual ADRs and the legislative instruments (the determinations) do not contain the information of importance to those using the ADRs – the vehicle standards.
In consultation with the Attorney General’s Department it has been agreed that the most effective solution is to remake each ADR as a separate vehicle standard determined under section 7 of the Act. In doing this, there is no need to backcapture the old determinations and the new layout better fits the intent of the LIA. With each ADR as a separate vehicle standard it will be possible for interested parties to view the ADR and its change history on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
- content and effect of ADR 4/01 - Seatbelts
- Overview of the ADR
The function of this vehicle standard is to specify requirements for seatbelts to restrain vehicle occupants under impact conditions, to facilitate fastening and correct adjustment, to assist the driver to remain in his ‘Seat’ and thus maintain control of the vehicle in an emergency situation, and to provide protection against ejection in an accident situation.
- Changes to the ADR
The following changes have been made to the ADR:
- Format. The ADR is now presented as a single column of text rather than two columns.
- Spelling and grammar. Several typographical errors have been corrected.
- Insert the following as clause 0.
“0. Legislative provisions
0.1. NAME OF STANDARD
0.1.1. This Standard is the Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 4/01 – Seatbelts) 2006.
0.1.2. This Standard may also be cited as Australian Design Rule 4/01 — Seatbelts.
0.2. COMMENCEMENT
0.2.1. This Standard commences on the day after it is registered.
0.3. REPEAL
0.3.1. This Standard repeals each vehicle standard with the name Australian Design Rule 4/01 — Seatbelts that is:
(a) made under section 7 of the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989; and
(b) in force at the commencement of this Standard.
0.3.2. This Standard also repeals each instrument made under section 7 of the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 that creates a vehicle standard with the name Australian Design Rule 4/01 — Seatbelts, if there are no other vehicle standards created by that instrument, or amendments to vehicle standards made by that instrument, that are still in force at the commencement of this Standard. “
The text of clause 0 has been provided by the Attorney General’s Department to facilitate remaking each ADR as a separate legislative instrument. This text repeals and replaces each ADR as a vehicle standard independently of the Determination under which it was made. Once all ADRs made under a particular Determination have been remade, that Determination is repealed. The use of 0 as a clause number is to preserve the existing clause numbering of the ADR.
- Documents Incorporated by Reference
This section lists documents referenced in the vehicle standard and how they can be obtained.
- Australian Design Rules can be purchased on CD-ROM from the Department of Transport and Regional Services. As the ADRs are remade, they will also be available at http://www.comlaw.gov.au.
- Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule – Definitions and Vehicle Categories) 2005
- ADR 5 – Anchorages for Seatbelts (s4.2.1)
- ADR 68 – Occupant Protection in Buses (sB.3)
- ADR 69 – Full Frontal Impact Occupant Protection (s4.2.7.1.1)
- SAI Global can provide both Australian standards and English translations of many international standards. Their website is accessible at http://www.standards.com.au/catalogue/script/search.asp.
- AS 2597.13 - 1983: “Determination of Dynamic Performance” (s4.2.7.1)
- AS 2596 - 1983 “Seat Belt Assemblies for Motor Vehicles”. (s4.4.3)
- AS 2597.9-1983 “Preparation and Conditioning of Test Specimens for Retractor Function” (s4.8.0)
- Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards can be obtained from the US Department of Transport, http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/.
- Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 209, “Seat Belt Assemblies” current as at 13 December 1979 (s4.14.2.4)
- UNECE Regulations are available from their website, http://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp29regs.html.
- UNECE R 16/04 – Seatbelts (sB.2)
- consultation arrangements
- Specific Consultation Arrangements for this Vehicle Standard
As the changes to this vehicle standard are purely administrative (to comply with the LIA) no public consultation has been undertaken.
The Department of Transport and Regional Services has sought advice and assistance from the Office of Legislative Drafting and the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments on how best to handle the backcapture requirements of the LIA.
The Office of Regulation Review has agreed that a regulation impact statement is not required as the intent and technical content of the vehicle standard has not changed.