New EU General Safety Regulation Published

The original General Safety Regulation, EC Regulation No. 661/2009, was published on 31st July 2009 and was entitled "type approval requirements for the general safety of motor vehicles, their trailers and systems, components and separate technical units intended therefor". This Regulation repealed a large number the "separate" EC Directives and replaced them with references to the corresponding United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) Regulations. It also mandated the fitment of a number of "new technology" systems, such as electronic stability control (ESC) systems, lane departure warning systems (LDWS) and advanced emergency braking systems (AEBS).

Included within the Articles of (EC) No. 661/2009 was a requirement for the European Commission to monitor the development of any new safety features and, where appropriate, to propose amendments to the General Safety Regulation to mandate the fitment of such features. As part of their work to address this requirement, in March 2015, the European Commission published a study which identified 50 potential safety measures which could be implemented to improve vehicle occupant and pedestrian safety. Over the following two years, more detailed feasibility and cost benefit studies were carried out on these potential safety measures and 19 measures were identified as being feasible and cost effective for implementation.

To implement these new measures, the European Commission drafted a completely new version of the General Safety Regulation which would repeal and replace the existing General Safety Regulation ((EC) No. 661/2009). This draft new Regulation was the subject of a public consultation exercise during 2018 and, in parallel, was subjected to review and scrutiny by both the European Parliament and the European Council. As a result of the discussions and negotiations that took place within the European Parliament and the European Council, the number of new measures introduced by the draft new Regulation increased beyond the original 19 and it took until April 2019 for the European Parliament and the European Council to agree on a final text for the new Regulation. However, it was not until 16th December 2019 that the new Regulation was finally published in the Official Journal of the European Union as EU Regulation No. 2019/2144.

The main changes introduced by the new General Safety Regulation generally fall into one of the following four categories:

1. New UN ECE Regulations on Components Introduced

The list of UN ECE Regulations which apply on a compulsory basis is expanded to add the following UN ECE Regulations:

• ECE 45.01 on headlamp cleaners.
• ECE 108.00 on retreaded tyres for passenger cars and their trailers.
• ECE 109.00 on retreaded tyres for commercial vehicles and their trailers.
• ECE 114.00 on replacement airbags.
• ECE 115.00 on LPG and CNG retrofit systems.
• ECE 124.00 on replacement wheels.
• ECE 126.00 on partitioning systems.
• ECE 129.00 on enhanced child restraint systems.

2. New UN ECE Regulations on Occupant Protection Introduced

The list of UN ECE Regulations which apply on a compulsory basis is expanded to add the following UN ECE Regulations:

• ECE 135.01 on pole side impact performance.
• ECE 137.01 on frontal collision with a focus on the restraint system (full width barrier impact), with the scope expanded to include both M1 and N1 category vehicles.

3. Scope of Existing UN ECE Regulations Expanded

In the following instances, the scope of existing UN ECE Regulations is expanded:

• ECE 34.03 on the prevention of fire risks - scope of rear impact testing expanded to include all M1 and N1 category vehicles with a maximum mass not exceeding 3,500 kg.
• ECE 94.03 on the protection of occupants in the event of a frontal collision - scope expanded to include all M1 and N1 category vehicles with a maximum mass not exceeding 3,500 kg.
• ECE 95.03 on the protection of occupants in the event of a lateral collision - scope expanded to include all M1 and N1 category vehicles, regardless of the height of the R points above the ground.
• ECE 125.01 on forward field of vision - scope expanded to include all M1 and N1 category vehicles.

4. New Features Requiring New Regulatory Requirements to be Developed

The new General Safety Regulation mandates the fitment of a number of new features for which detailed technical requirements and test procedures do not currently exist. It is envisaged that, in most cases, these new requirements will be developed within the UN ECE framework. However, the European Commission will develop specific EU Delegated Regulations on any subjects where the UN ECE are unable to support the European Commission’s requirements and timescales.

In majority of cases, the new General Safety Regulation specifies that any new technical requirements and test procedures will be published at least 15 months before compliance with them is mandated. However, in the case of the direct vision requirements for M2, M3, N2 and N3 category vehicles, a lead time of at least 36 months is specified.

The new features required by the draft new Regulation can be summarised as follows:

• Advanced emergency braking systems (AEBS) for M1 and N1 category vehicles capable of detecting moving vehicles and stationary obstacles.
• Advanced emergency braking systems (AEBS) for M1 and N1 category vehicles that are capable of detecting pedestrians and cyclists.
• Blind spot information systems and pedestrian / cyclist collision warning systems for M2, M3, N2 and N3 category vehicles.
• Direct vision requirements for M2, M3, N2 and N3 category vehicles.
• Reversing detection systems (e.g. revering cameras) for all categories of vehicle.
• Emergency lane keeping systems for M1 and N1 category vehicles.
• Tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) for all vehicle categories other than M1 category.
• Intelligent speed assistance (ISA) systems for all M and N category vehicles.
• Emergency stop signals for all M and N category vehicles.
• Alcohol interlock installation provisions for all M and N category vehicles.
• Driver drowsiness and attention detection systems for all M and N category vehicles.
• Advanced driver distraction recognition systems for all M and N category vehicles.
• Event data recorders (EDR) for all M and N category vehicles.
• Protection against cyber-attacks for all M and N category vehicles.
• Enlarged pedestrian protection head impact protection zone for M1 and N1 category vehicles.

In preparation for the introduction of autonomous / automated vehicles, the draft new Regulation also specifies the fitment of the following features / systems to such vehicles, regardless of their vehicle category:

• Driver availability monitoring systems.
• Systems to replace the driver’s control.
• Systems to monitor the area surrounding the vehicle.
• Systems to provide safety information to other road users.
• Communication systems and protocols for platooning.

The dates from which compliance with these new and revised requirements become mandatory are summarised in the table below.

Important Note: This article only provides a brief summary of the main points from this new EU Regulation. Readers should be aware that this Regulation introduces a significant number of new and revised requirements that have implications for all vehicles categories and for components fitted to those vehicles.