Considering new safety features for vehicles imported into New Zealand

We’re consulting to find out if additional safety features should be mandatory for vehicles imported into New Zealand and we would like to know your views.

If these safety features become mandatory, more vehicles in New Zealand will have them sooner. This could help lower the number and the seriousness of crashes causing most deaths and serious injuries on our roads.

We’re seeking feedback on introducing any or all the following safety features for imported vehicles.

For new and used, light and heavy vehicles:

• Automatic Emergency Braking.
• Lane Keep Support systems.
• Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (for ‘quiet’ - electric and hybrid – vehicles).

For new and used heavy vehicles:

• Electronic Stability Control.
• Anti-lock Braking Systems.

Why they’re important

• Automatic Emergency Braking for light and heavy vehicles: this feature can detect a potential hazard in front of a vehicle, warn the driver of a potential forward collision and activate the brakes if the driver doesn’t react in time.
• Lane Keep Support systems for light and heavy vehicles: this feature includes Lane Departure Warning, and Lane Keep Assist. Lane Departure Warnings warn a driver when their vehicle is about to leave its lane. Lane Keep Assist actively steers the vehicle back into its lane.
• Electronic Stability Control for heavy vehicles: this feature can control the braking of each wheel to correct a vehicle that is skidding or has lost traction. It’s been required for light vehicles entering New Zealand since 2015.
• Anti-lock Braking Systems for heavy vehicles: this feature can reduce wheel locking and aid the driver in unexpected or emergency events by making it easier to steer and slow the vehicle down.
• Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System for ‘quiet’ (electric and hybrid) light and heavy vehicles: this feature makes a sound outside of the vehicle to alert pedestrians and other road users to its presence.

This consultation is one of 3 consultations now open for feedback. Information on the other 2 consultations -  changes to light vehicle (warrant of fitness (WoF) and certificate of fitness A (CoF A)) inspections and simplifying heavy vehicle permitting – can be found in our consultation hub:

• Considering changes to light vehicle inspections
• Simplifying heavy vehicle permitting

Discussion document

Before making your submission, carefully consider the information provided in the discussion document and the effects any of the possible mandates could have on you or your organisation.

• Summary document [PDF, 208 KB]
• Discussion document [PDF, 1.2 MB]

Have your say

Share your feedback by 17 December 2025 using the online feedback form:

Online feedback form(external link)

We will consider and analyse the feedback received and use it to provide advice to the Associate Minister of Transport, who will decide whether to make any of these safety features compulsory.

Note there is no draft amendment Rule accompanying this consultation. Making these features compulsory would require changes to four Land Transport Rules:

• Land Transport Rule: Heavy Vehicle Brakes 2006
• Land Transport Rule: Light-vehicle Brakes 2002
• Land Transport Rule: Steering Systems 2001
• Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Equipment 2004.

If a decision to change any of these Rules is made, the Associate Minister of Transport is likely to use the Order in Council process. Rules made by Order in Council are signed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the relevant Minister.

The Executive Council Role in the regulations process(external link)

If you have a question about this consultation, send it to:

rules@nzta.govt.nz

This work is part of the Government’s Land Transport Rules Reform Programme:

Land Transport Rules Reform Programme (external link)

Your response and privacy

The information you send us on this in a written submission will be used by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) to help inform our consultation for considering new safety features for vehicles imported into New Zealand. NZTA may publish in part or in full the information you submit, for example in a consultation report, but we will not include any information that could be used to identify an individual person. If you have indicated you are an authorised representative of an organisation, we may publish your organisation’s name. Clearly indicate if your comments contain commercially sensitive information or, if for some other reason, they should not be disclosed.

If you would like to request official information from us, don’t include that in your submission. Instead, direct it to the project team so we can respond to it in a timely manner.

You can find more about how we hold and protect your information, and our obligations under the Official Information Act on our website.

Consultation - Privacy and Official Information requests

Note on use of AI in analysing feedback

To help us analyse the feedback we receive through this consultation, we may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools. These tools can assist us in identifying common themes and summarising responses more efficiently. Any use of AI will follow our privacy and data protection standards, and your feedback will always be reviewed by our team to ensure fair and accurate reporting.