Motor industry slams speed-curbing trial

A fuel-limiting device being trialled in NSW to reduce speeding is defective and its introduction should be stalled, the car industry says.

The technology is on trial in the Illawarra region where intelligent speed adaptation devices have been fitted to 100 vehicles.

It is linked to a GPS navigation system and sounds a chime if the car exceeds the limit. It can cut fuel supply to the engine, reducing speed, if the driver fails to slow down.

But the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) says it's concerned the automatic nature of the device could jeopardise driver safety.

"The driver needs to be in control of the vehicle," FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar told AAP.

"We maintain, in some situations, that drivers will be put in more danger in situations where they have to avoid obstacles or shift out of the way of oncoming vehicles.

"If they don't have immediate response it could lead to catastrophic outcomes."

The devices are reported to include an override switch for emergency situations so drivers can resume full control.

But Mr McKellar said such a mechanism would be useless in circumstances that require an instantaneous response.

"In hazardous situations, (drivers are) dealing with fraction of a second responses where they don't have time to flick on the emergency response, they don't have time to kick down a switch," he said.

NSW is the only state currently contemplating introducing the device.

The FCAI says introducing a state system for a global industry would create a legal and bureaucratic mess.

"Going down the track and implementing this uniquely is impractical and highly undesirable," Mr McKellar said.

"In the automotive industry, systems need to be implemented on a national position and not a piecemeal basis."

With more than 75 per cent of cars sold in Australia each year imported from overseas, NSW drivers would bear the cost of having such devices installed, he said.

Meanwhile, the NSW opposition says the trial is just a distraction from Labor's poor road safety record.

Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell believes the trial will have little benefit for the state's motorists.

"(NSW Roads Minister) Michael Daley's trial of 100 speed limiters is of little comfort to people using the roads today when there are millions of cars, trucks out there not being picked up because of this state government's failure to ensure proper enforcement," he said.

He said the government should be focusing on better policing of the roads, more truck checks and driver education.

"(There's been) an 80 per cent reduction in truck checks. We've seen police being pulled off highway patrols in order to do community policing," he said.

"This is Labor at its best, Labor at its worst, trying to distract from its own record but not actually doing anything to improve the situation."

Mr O'Farrell said the technology would only be useful if it was introduced nationwide.

"There might be merit, but the benefits could only be delivered in the long term future ... and this year we're facing a death toll on our roads which is escalating," he said.

"This is a proposal which would require a national effort and it would require the car companies to cooperate and that's why it's a Labor stunt."