The New South Wales transport department has warned the rise of AI is increasing misinformation about road rules, after false claims that drivers must legally keep their headlights on at all times spread online.
When Australians searched for “Australian road rules for headlights”, Google summarised – and linked to – a site falsely claiming that drivers will need to keep headlights on at all times or face a $250 fine from 10 November.
Transport for NSW said the claim – which appeared under the “People also ask” option – was one of several pieces of misinformation that have been circulating online about Australian road rules. Some falsely claim that stricter requirements for older drivers had been introduced, and fines increased for things like smoking while driving.
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The easily identifiable issue with each claim is that each individual state or territory sets its own road rules – rather than Australia having a nationwide regime.
The NSW transport department’s secretary, Josh Murray, said the rise of AI can generate misinformation online.
“We’ve seen that recently with claims curfews were to be introduced for drivers over 60 in NSW and large fine increases for anyone caught breaking our road rules – neither true or remotely accurate,” he said.
“Accessing accurate information about road rules and safety is critically important to ensure that we all remain safe when using the roads. We recommend relying on a trusted source, like the NSW government website, to get the right advice and correct information.”
Under NSW road rules, people cannot drive in the dark unless their vehicle has its headlights on. A fine of $140 and one demerit point applies.
Google has approached for comment.
The industry group for tech companies in Australia, Digi – of which Google is a member – recently revealed it was considering abandoning voluntary obligations to combat online misinformation in Australia, claiming that regulating such information was too “politically charged and contentious”.
Google ceased factchecking funding in Australia earlier this year, as tech companies began retreating from tackling misinformation and disinformation online following the 2024 US presidential election.
