ANCAP Finally Declares War on Annoying Car Safety Systems
ANCAP's 2026 update targets annoying alerts, mandating smarter tech and physical buttons for safer, quieter driving.
In a major win for Australian drivers frustrated by the constant chorus of beeps and bongs in modern vehicles, ANCAP has announced a comprehensive overhaul of its safety rating criteria to curb intrusive driver assistance systems.
From January 2026, the independent safety authority will penalise vehicles with driver monitoring and assistance systems that irritate rather than support the driver.
Acknowledging that some current technologies "beep too loud or too often," the new protocols aim to reward systems that operate intuitively without causing distraction or frustration.
At the heart of this change is a new concept called "Driver State Link," which encourages manufacturers to couple safety warnings with the driver’s actual level of attention.
Under these new rules, if a vehicle’s monitoring system detects that the driver is attentive and focsed on the road, it should "leave you alone"suppressing unnecessary audible alerts.
Conversely, if the car detects the driver is distracted, fatigued, or impaired, systems like Forward Collision Warning and Lane Support should step in earlier or more firmly to assist.
ANCAP has also clarified that manufacturers can choose less intrusive warning methods, noting it is "perfectly acceptable" for a steering wheel to vibrate rather than sounding an audible alarm for distraction events.
Physical Buttons and Lane Support
Beyond audible warnings, the 2026 update directly addresses the safety risks posed by burying essential controls within complex touchscreens.
To combat this distraction, ANCAP is asking car makers to restore physical buttons or stalks for critical functions including the horn, indicators, hazard lights, windscreen wipers, and headlights.
Alternatively, manufacturers must dedicate a permanently fixed portion of the cabin display screen to these primary functions so they remain immediately accessible.
The new criteria also take aim at lane-keeping technologies that fight the driver, introducing specific metrics to measure how much steering input is required to override the system.
Systems will be penalised if they are intrusive, with assessments focusing on how aggressively the car shifts position and how quickly the driver can regain control.
Severe Penalties for Critical Injuries
While driver frustration is a key focus, the fundamental ability of a vehicle to protect occupants in a crash remains the priority.
In a strict new ruling, any vehicle that records a "red" critical body region injury on a crash test dummy will be restricted to a maximum safety rating of four stars, regardless of its overall score.
The testing regime will also introduce the THOR adult male dummy into the front passenger seat and a small adult female dummy into the rear, ensuring protection is measured across a broader range of occupant sizes.
Manufacturers will also need to demonstrate that curtain airbags remain inflated long enough to cover appropriate areas during rollover incidents.
EV Safety and Post-Crash Response
Responding to the 23 per cent market share of battery-powered vehicles, the new protocols introduce specific tests for electric vehicle (EV) fire risks.
Vehicles will be assessed on their ability to prevent a disturbed high-voltage battery from propagating into a fire for up to 90 minutes post-crash.
New rules also mandate that electrically operated door handles must remain operable or accessible to first responders immediately after an accident.
Finally, ANCAP is pushing for the standardisation of eCall technology, which automatically sends crash data and location to emergency services, a feature currently missing from many new vehicles in New Zealand.
ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg noted that experts have "listened" to consumer feedback to reshape the test, giving clarity and driving manufacturers to deliver cars with greater real-world benefits.
Read their full fact sheet about the changes here.
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No, touchscreens will not be banned. However, to achieve a 5-star ANCAP safety rating from 2026, manufacturers will be strongly encouraged to use physical buttons or stalks for five critical functions: the horn, indicators, hazard lights, windscreen wipers, and headlights. If a manufacturer chooses to keep these on a screen, they must be located in a "permanently fixed" section of the display that is always visible and accessible, rather than buried in sub-menus.
The new "Driver State Link" technology connects the vehicle's safety warnings to the driver monitoring camera. If the camera detects that you are attentive and focused on the road, the system will suppress unnecessary audible alerts (beeps) for lane-keeping or potential collisions. The warnings will only activate—or activate earlier—if the car detects that you are distracted, fatigued, or not looking at the road.
This is a strict new penalty introduced for 2026. If a crash test dummy records a "red" injury level (indicating severe or fatal injury risk) to a critical body region during a test, the vehicle's overall safety rating will be capped at four stars. This applies even if the vehicle scores high enough in all other areas to warrant five stars. It ensures that a car cannot mask a fatal design flaw with high scores in other categories.
Yes. Recognizing that EVs now make up 23% of new car sales, ANCAP is introducing specific tests for high-voltage battery safety. Post-crash assessments will check if a damaged battery can prevent fire propagation for up to 90 minutes after an incident. Additionally, electric door handles must remain operable or have a manual override to ensure first responders can access the cabin immediately after a crash.
