Steering Wheel Controls and Driver Safety

This page explains why integrated steering wheel controls are a genuine driver safety upgrade rather than a convenience feature, how they reduce the time a driver spends with a hand off the wheel and eyes off the road, and what the Australian Design Rules require of any steering wheel that carries those controls. It also sets out the PVS Automotive approach, in which audio, cruise, and phone controls run through the PVS wireless control module so the factory clockspring and the supplementary restraint system circuit are retained untouched.

Why Hands-on-Wheel Control Matters

Driving a vehicle safely depends on the driver keeping both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road. Every function the driver can operate without reaching away from the rim, such as adjusting audio volume, setting or cancelling cruise control, or answering a call, is a function that does not require the driver to look down at the dash or centre console and reach across the cabin.

This matters most in heavy four wheel drives and on long touring distances. A loaded 70 Series or 200 Series LandCruiser carries significant mass, has a higher centre of gravity than a passenger car, and is frequently driven on unsealed roads, in convoy, or while towing. The margin for a momentary lapse in attention is smaller, and the consequences of losing directional control are greater. Over a long touring day, the cumulative number of times a driver reaches for a dash control can run into the hundreds. Bringing those functions to the wheel removes that reaching action from the drive.

Integrated controls are therefore consistent with the same safety principle that underpins the road rules on driver distraction in every Australian state and territory. The objective is to keep the driver in command of the vehicle, with hands on the wheel and attention on the road ahead.

How Removing a Hand From the Wheel Increases Risk

When a driver reaches for a control on the dash or centre console, three things happen at once. The driver removes one hand from the wheel, reducing steering authority if a sudden correction is needed. The driver's eyes leave the road for the time it takes to locate and operate the control. And the driver's attention shifts from the driving task to the secondary task. Each of these increases risk on its own, and they occur together.

At highway speed a vehicle covers a large distance in the short time it takes to glance down and operate a dash control. On a corrugated dirt road or a winding mountain pass, the loss of a hand and a forward glance at the wrong moment is more serious again. In a heavy 4WD that does not respond as quickly to a correction as a light car, recovering from a wander or a wheel dropping off the edge of the bitumen depends on the driver having both hands ready and eyes forward.

Steering wheel controls do not eliminate the secondary task, but they keep the driver's hands on the rim and shorten the glance, because the controls are in a fixed, learned position under the thumbs. The driver does not hunt across the dash. This is the practical safety benefit that the modification delivers.

ADR Considerations for Steering Wheel Controls

Adding controls to a steering wheel is a modification to a safety component, so it must be done in a way that preserves the vehicle's compliance with the Australian Design Rules that govern the steering wheel and the occupant restraint system. The relevant standards are set out below.

The common thread is that the controls must be reachable and useful without introducing new hazards. They must not create a sharp or hard protrusion inside the cabin, must not interfere with the horn, and must not compromise the airbag or the steering. A control set that meets the safety objective on the road but fails any of these construction and restraint requirements is not a compliant modification.

How PVS Keeps the Airbag and Clockspring Intact

The most important compliance question for any steering wheel control retrofit is how the control signals get from the rotating wheel to the fixed vehicle wiring without disturbing the airbag circuit. There are two ways to do this, and they have very different compliance outcomes.

The clockspring is the rotary electrical connector behind the wheel that maintains the airbag circuit through the full range of steering rotation. It is vehicle-specific. Many aftermarket control kits route the new control wiring through a replacement clockspring, which means cutting into and substituting the original safety connector. Replacing the clockspring with a generic unit breaks the vehicle's original supplementary restraint system circuit integrity and is a compliance problem under ADR 69/00 and ADR 10.

PVS Automotive does not do this. PVS steering wheel controls run through the PVS wireless control module. The control signals are transmitted wirelessly from the wheel to a receiver, so there is no new wiring spliced into the clockspring. The factory clockspring is retained, untouched, which means the airbag circuit, the horn circuit, and all factory restraint system wiring remain factory-original. The vehicle keeps the occupant protection it was built and certified with.

For a full technical explanation of the clockspring, why a generic replacement is a compliance and safety problem, and how the wireless approach avoids it, see Clocksprings and Airbag System Compliance. For the broader compliance picture on replacement steering wheels, see ADR Steering Wheels.

Controls on the Wheel Compared With Reaching for the Dash

The table below compares operating a function from the steering wheel against reaching for the same function on the dash or centre console, on both the safety and the compliance angle.

Which Functions You Keep

A PVS steering wheel control retrofit is designed to be matched to the specific vehicle and to be plug and play. The controls bring the everyday functions to the rim so the driver can operate them without reaching for the dash.

• Audio volume, track, and source selection
• Cruise control set, resume, and cancel where the vehicle is equipped
• Phone answer and end for a paired hands-free connection
• Voice command activation where supported by the head unit
• Horn, which continues to operate through the retained factory wiring

Because the controls run through the PVS wireless control module rather than a replacement clockspring, the airbag, the horn, and the factory restraint wiring all keep working as the manufacturer intended. The driver gains the controls without giving up any factory safety function.

Vehicle Coverage and Products

PVS steering wheel upgrades with integrated controls are matched to the specific vehicle. The products below are the current range, each designed to retain the factory clockspring and route controls through the wireless module.

The 70 Series upgrade kits and the 200 Series upgrade kit bring full audio, cruise, and phone controls to the rim while retaining the factory clockspring. The LC200 control set adds integrated controls to the 200 Series wheel. The carbon fibre paddle shifters for the Nissan R35 GT-R bring gear selection to the wheel so the driver shifts without removing a hand from the rim. If your specific variant or build year is not listed, contact our team before ordering so clockspring and control compatibility can be confirmed per variant.

Certification and Insurance

Fitting a steering wheel with integrated controls is a modification to a safety component, so it should be treated like any other safety modification for certification and insurance purposes.

• NSW: Certification under NSW VSCCS may apply. Independent engineering assessment documentation is available on request.
• VIC: Victoria VASS certification may be required for modifications affecting safety systems. Assessment documentation is available on request.
• QLD: The Queensland Approved Person Scheme administered by TMR may apply for complex modifications. Contact TMR for guidance on your specific situation.
• SA, WA, TAS, NT, ACT: Refer to the relevant state or territory scheme.

Because the PVS approach retains the factory clockspring and leaves the supplementary restraint system circuit factory-original, the modification keeps the vehicle within the occupant protection specification it was certified with. Independent engineering assessment documentation is available on request to support certification and insurer disclosure in any state. See State and Territory Certification Requirements for detail on each scheme, and use Find an Automotive Engineer to locate a licensed engineer in your state.

A change to your vehicle's specification should be disclosed to your insurer. A PVS control upgrade that retains the factory restraint system and is supported by assessment documentation is a documentable modification that can be disclosed with confidence. Always confirm the requirements that apply to your vehicle with a licensed automotive engineer and your insurer before relying on any modification. For the wider compliance framework, see the ADR Compliance Overview and What are Australian Design Rules?