Ok, so the headline of the story is a little misleading, of course, Daimler Truck is not saying we need to go out and rip the exhausts off of our existing rigs to achieve “more noise”.
What they are saying though is that the next generation of trucks, those powered by electricity and batteries, need to not be quite so quiet.
There are new Australian Design Rules which say that from November 2025 electric trucks operating on our roads must have an AVAS.
What is an AVAS? It’s an Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System…in other words, it is a module that emits sound to alert pedestrians of the truck’s presence (as seen above).
The Fuso eCanter already has the device and new electrified Mercedes-Benz models that are about to be launched will also have it fitted.
Daimler Trucks Australia Pacific boss Daniel Whitehead tells us it was a good move to mandate the AVAS, but more can be done to protect the most vulnerable of road users.
“All our electric trucks feature radar systems that can automatically stop the truck for pedestrians in harm’s way in front of the truck and even down the left side of the vehicle.”
“Many of our competitors, especially in the small electric truck space, don’t even offer this as an option.
“Whether they just don’t have the capability to offer this advanced technology or they are just saving money, the end result is that they don’t have it.”
