Archive
Oct 2006
NHTSA Says Auto Makers Must Use 5th Percentile Females in Belted 35mph Crash Tests from September 1st, 2009.
NHTSA has published a Final Rule which will require manufacturers to also meet the same high speed test requirements for 5th percentile female dummies as they will be required to do for 50th percentile male dummies under the "advanced air bag rule" currently being phased into effect.
Sep 2006
EU Proposes New Legislation for Hydrogen Fuel Systems.
The European Commission have formulated a preliminary draft proposal on the safety performance of hydrogen fuel systems, as part of a consultation exercise to gather views from interested parties before finalising their proposal on this subject.
Jul 2006
Australia Aligns Requirements with ECE.
In a move towards harmonisation with Europe, the Australian Government has recently updated a number of the Australian Design Rules (ADR's) to align their requirements with those of the equivalent United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Regulations.
Jun 2006
NHTSA Says New Light Truck CAFE Regs Will Save 10.7 Billion Gallons of Fuel.
On April 6, 2006, NHTSA published a Final Rule that reforms the structure of the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) program for light trucks and establishes higher CAFE standards for model years 2008-2011. NHTSA says that reforming the CAFE program will enable it to achieve larger fuel savings, while enhancing safety and preventing adverse economic consequences.
May 2006
California Adopts OBD Regulations For Heavy-Duty Engines From 2010.
The California Air Resources Board has adopted new regulations for On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) systems for Heavy-Duty Engines for the 2010 and subsequent model years. The new section is CCR 13 Section 1971.1.
Apr 2006
New ECE Regulations on Heating Systems and the Identification of Controls.
Two new ECE Regulations have been published under the 1958 Agreement. These Regulations, ECE 121.00 on the identification of controls and ECE 122.00 on heating systems, provide ECE equivalents to two European Union Directives which have existed for many years.
Mar 2006
EPA Publishes Final Rule for Emissions Durability Test Procedures.
This completes a regulation that instructs automotive manufacturers how to conduct the emission durability procedures used to predict the useful emissions life of new vehicles.
Mar 2006
Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Component Durability Test Procedures.
The EPA has published an SNPRM to request comments on options for addressing component durability during the vehicle emissions certification process.
Feb 2006
NHTSA Publishes Long Awaited Proposal For Re-Write of Cumbersome USA Lighting Regulation.
The agency is proposing to amend FMVSS 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment", by reorganizing the regulatory text and directly importing requirements from historical, but still applicable, SAE standards currently incorporated by reference into the regulation.
Jan 2006
EU Introduces Recyclability Type Approval Directive.
After many years of discussion and negotiation between the European Commission and vehicle manufacturers, the relevant type approval requirements for reusability, recyclability and recoverability have now been published as 2005/64/EC.