16 th Meeting of the UN Road Safety Collaboration Geneva, Switzerland. Report of the Project Group: Safer Vehicles Friday, 16 November 2012

Transcription

1 Chair: Mr David Ward, FIA Foundation Participants: 16 th Meeting of the UN Road Safety Collaboration Geneva, Switzerland Report of the Project Group: Safer Vehicles Friday, 16 November 2012 Mr Shungo Akizuki, International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (IMMA) Mr Edwin Bastiaensen, International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (IMMA) Mr Paul Boase, Transport Canada Mr Joop Goos, La Prévention Routière Internationale (PRI) Ms Shakireh Ispahani, Global NCAP Mr Iain Levy, Mobileye Mr Dmitry Sambuk, FIA Foundation Ms Laura Sminkey, WHO Ms Michelle Viegas, Inter-American Development Bank The minutes of the meeting held at the World Bank on April 18 th 2012 were approved. Mr David Ward provided an update of Pillar 3 Activities: (a) Global NCAP Annual Meeting of May 23rd 2012 There was an Annual meeting of all the NCAPs that took place in Melaka, Malaysia which was a very gratifying event. Global NCAP had convened the meeting and all nine NCAPs came, which was unprecedented. This includes the youngest NCAPs; Latin NCAP and ASEAN NCAP. China NCAP was also represented. They also confirmed that they were changing their test protocol to embrace the Offset Deformable Barrier (ODB) test, which is the main test conducted at 64kph, taking them up to the best practice in frontal impact testing. Their previous impact test was at a much lower speed, which caused confusion with their test results as there was variation in their version of a 5 star car and that of the other NCAPs. The Malaysian government also had their inaugural crash test at the meeting. Next year s Annual Meeting will take place at the ESV Conference in Seoul, South Korea. (b) Seminar on Vehicle Safety in the UN Decade of Action on May 24th 2012 David Ward drew the Group s attention to the summary of the Seminar discussions which took place in Malaysia on 24 th May He said that there had been a very good contribution from a wide variety of speakers. One item which had been on the Project Group initial draft Work Plan was a seminar on Vehicle Safety, so this had already been done. (c) Phase 3 Latin NCAP Crash test results on November 13th 2012 David Ward informed the Group that the Latin NCAP test results were launched in Buenos Aires on 13 th November These results were from Latin NCAP s third phase of testing and two cars got a 1 star result, which means that they wouldn t have passed ECE Regulation 94 and would have been illegal in the EU and North America. To pass ECE Regulation 94 the car would need to be at least a 3 star car. Major vehicle manufacturers are producing cars like that in Latin America partly because, to date, none 1

2 of the countries adhere to the ECE Regulations. Absence of regulations has allowed production quality to sink to the lowest common denominator and this was the case until the creation of Latin NCAP. The latest set of results showed good progress with five cars tested achieving 4 stars. Two manufacturers agreed to make airbags standard for the models tested with immediate effect. This is ahead of the legislation which from 2014, in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, is making airbags mandatory. So Latin NCAP is having the effect of raising technology levels faster than the regulations. However it was disappointing to see major manufacturers still producing 1 star cars when they are fully capable of achieving much better results in Europe and elsewhere. One of the 1 star cars (the JAC from China) had two air bags as standard but still performed badly due to the weak structural integrity of the body shell. This result shows why it is so important that all passenger cars pass the relevant crash test standard (ECE Reg 94) which requires the combination of good structural integrity as well as an airbag. The problem of Latin America s lack of participation in WP29 was also highlighted as an underlying cause of the region s unsafe vehicle fleet. The launch was attended by the Argentinian government and was held in INTI which is the main technical institution in the country. They are now talking seriously about building a laboratory and joining WP29. There are similar conversations in Brazil which have been stimulated by Latin NCAP. (d) Any other developments David Ward stated that new ISO road safety management standard is an extremely good initiative which encourages fleet managers to buy the best vehicles. It highlights the role that NCAPs can play and is also relevant to the UNRSC Fleet Safety Project Group. Edwin Bastiaensen mentioned that the International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association were participating as observers and were very interested in joining the UNRSC. They are a global association representing manufacturers of two wheelers producing annually more than 50 million two wheelers. David Ward thanked them for their interest in the Project Group and said that they might also be interested the Safer User Behaviour Project Group in relation to the promotion of wearing helmets and protective clothing. Iain Levy introduced his organisation, Mobileye, and mentioned that they work with 90% of car manufacturers on advanced crash avoidance technologies. As of next year Euro NCAP will give 5 stars only to cars with Advanced Driver Assistance (ADA) and Mobileye, together with Continental and Bosch are the main producers of this system. Mobileye is the only company that produces an after-market Advanced Driver Assistance System that can be fitted into any vehicle. The system also identifies motorbikes and bicycles and provides collision detection and avoidance for these vulnerable road users, which is the only system in the market with such capabilities. Many governments are not aware that this retro-fitting technology is available. David Ward agreed that the current policy making is often behind the curve of new technology. He mentioned that in mature vehicle markets we have reached near the maximum potential for occupant protection during a crash. For them the next frontier with the greatest gain will be crash avoidance systems. One example is the anti-skid technology, Electronic Stability Control which is easily the most important safety feature system since the seatbelt. Hopefully by 2020, 100% of all new vehicles will have ESC. This is ambitious but realistic. It will require universal use of ABS first but the additional cost of ESC is quite modest especially as global penetration will reduce unit costs. China already has ABS in 2

3 70% of vehicles. After ESC the next important development is likely to be Autonomous Emergency Braking. Evidence shows that drivers often fail to brake hard enough in a crash and AEB compensates by applying the maximum braking effort before the impact. The system uses sensors to detect the distance between vehicles. Iain Levy explained that Long Range Vision uses a radar system and then later a camera system to see what the object actually is, and then slows the vehicle down. Laura Sminkey said that in Sweden where the death rate is 3 in 100,000 population deaths, all the future gains are now expected to come from advanced crash avoidance technologies. David Ward agreed that new technology is very important, especially for pedestrian protection. The approach so far had been a crash protection requirement which raised the gap between the bonnet lid and engine structures and softened the bumper requirements. These are intended to reduce injury on impact and are included in the relevant global technical regulation. However, it is clearly far better not to be hit by a car, which is why crash avoidance technology such as AEB systems that can detect pedestrians and reduce impact speeds will be increasingly relevant. The Group then discussed the Work Plan identifying lead partners & activities where relevant. For Activity 1 the Lead Partner would clearly need to be WP29 but encouraging UN Member States to use their regulations should be a priority, also for Global NCAP (and their associated NCAPs), for the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) in their capacity building activities and for vehicle manufacturers in support of global harmonisation. For Activity 2 it was agreed that Global NCAP was already playing a leading role in this process. Cooperation with vehicle manufacturers was also important provided that the NCAP process remain independent to ensure their credibility with consumers. The MDBs could also be very helpful, for example, as is already the case of IADB with Latin NCAP. Paul Boase suggested that consumer groups could also be helpful in spreading information. David Ward agreed and mentioned that International Consumer Research & Testing (ICRT) was very involved in NCAPs, such as Latin NCAP and that Proteste, the consumer organisation of Brazil, was also participating. For Activity 3 it was agreed to highlight the special importance of the following vehicle safety regulations: ECE Reg 14 Seat belt anchorages ECE Reg 16 Restraint systems (Plus ECE Reg 44 Child Restraint Systems (CRS) including ISOFIX) ECE Reg 94 Frontal Impact protection ECE Reg 95 Lateral Impact protection GTR 8 Electronic Stability Control GTR 9 Pedestrian Protection David Ward explained that the FIA Foundation had conducted a survey of vehicle safety experts with the University of Michigan Transport Research Institute (UMTRI) to discover what the most important global standards were and the above regulations had been selected. Global NCAP will be using the same top six standards in a Buyer s Guide for fleet purchasers and consumers to be published next year. He also suggested that these regulations could be used as performance indicators to assess progress of the 3

4 Decade s Global Plan. It would be possible, for example, to monitor the number of governments that have signed up to these regulations. In addition market penetration of technologies relevant to the regulations (such as airbags, ABS & ESC) will also provide a fairly reliable measure of progress. He then presented a graph (see attached) which showed the growth of the vehicle fleet in the European Union over the last 15 years and the penetration of ECE Regulation 94 and 94 which became mandatory in By 2010 there was 100% penetration. According to the European Transport Safety Council 100,000 deaths in the EU have been avoided during the period and 40-50% of this improvement can be attributed to increased vehicle safety as a result of front and side crash test standards (ECE Reg 94 & 95) and the positive effects of the Euro NCAP. For Activity 4 it was agreed that the penetration rates of air bags, ABS (both in 4 and 2 wheelers), and ESC would help to measure progress. As regards emerging technologies, AEB, Alco-locks, and data recorders should be considered. Edwin Bastiaensen said that EU type approval requirements are currently undergoing a review. For motorcycles above 125 cc, Anti-Lock Braking system (ABS) will be mandatory from 2016 for new type approvals and from 2017 for all new vehicles. For light motorcycles (vehicles up to 125 cc, excluding mopeds) manufacturers will be required to install Anti-Lock Braking system (ABS) or Combined Braking System (CBS). By 2020, basing itself on accident data to be provided by Member States, the European Commission shall report on the cost/effectiveness of a possible extension of mandatory ABS to light motorcycles. This new EU type approval regulation, already voted by the European Parliament, is expected to be formally confirmed by Council end of 2012 said that in the EU from 2014 all new powered two wheelers would have ABS. Member states will study whether this should be applied in future for vehicles under 125cc. For Activity 5 it was proposed that the Group examine how the insurance industry can contribute to the acceleration of safer vehicles in the market. The role of insurance based incentives such as reduced premiums warranted attention. The same approach could also be applied to fiscal systems of UN Member States. This was important as often the difference in cost between a car that exceeds the requirements of ECE Reg 94 & 95 is less than the level of applied vehicle taxes (such as sales and registration). It would be possible, therefore, for Governments to use fiscal incentives to stimulate safer vehicles at no additional cost to the consumer. For Activity 6 it was agreed that future research efforts should continue to prioritise crash avoidance technologies like ESC, AEB and pedestrian protection. For Activity 7 it was agreed that the new ISO road safety management standard and NCAPs should be encouraged to play a leading role in this area. The Project Group proposed that the draft Work Plan template be completed on the lines agreed above and submitted to the UNRSCC. David Ward closed the meeting and thanked participants for attending. 4

5 Addendum 1: 16 th Meeting of the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration Project Group: Safer vehicles Friday 16 November :15 11:15 C102 Chair: David Ward Rapporteur: TBD Agenda: 1. Meeting Minutes of the Pillar 3 Project Group on 17 th April Update in Pillar 3 Activities : (a) Global NCAP Annual Meeting of May 23 rd 2012 (b) Seminar on Vehicle safety in the UN Decade of Action on May 24 th 2012 (c) Phase 3 Latin NCAP Crash test results on November 13 th 2012 (d) Any other developments 3. Discussion of the Workplan 4. Report back to UNRSC Materials for meeting (Copies will be provided) (1) Minutes of the meeting on 17 th April 2012 (2) Project Workplan (3) Summary of the Seminar on Vehicle Safety on 24 th May 2012, prepared by Seminar Chair, Lauchlan McIntosh, Chairman of the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) 5