As is the case with most of the Australian Design Rules (ADRs), the ADR on dynamic side impact occupant protection, ADR 72/00, requires compliance with the technical requirements of the equivalent United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) Regulation covering that subject. In its currently published form, ADR 72/00 requires compliance with the technical requirements of UN ECE Regulation No. 95, as amended by the 01 Series of Amendments.
Since the publication of the 01 Series of Amendments to UN ECE Regulation No. 95, UN ECE 95 has been amended and updated on numerous occasions. Of particular significance were the 03 Series of Amendments to UN ECE 95, which introduced new requirements for vehicles equipped with an electrical power train operating on high voltage, i.e. hybrid vehicles and pure electric vehicles, including requirements on the post-crash electrical safety of such vehicles.
With hybrid electric and pure electric vehicles becoming more prevalent in the Australian market in recent years, the Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts have recognised the need to update their National requirements on dynamic side impact to bring them more into line with the latest International Regulations and to ensure that hybrid electric and pure electric vehicles being placed on the market in Australia comply with the post-crash electrical safety requirements specified in those Regulations. As a result of this, on September 22, 2023, they published a draft version of ADR 72/01 for public comment.
In the draft version of ADR 72/01, compliance with the technical requirements of UN ECE 95-03, incorporating all Supplements up to and including Supplement 7, is required. This version of UN ECE Regulation No. 95 includes the post-crash electrical safety requirements for vehicles equipped with an electrical power train operating on high voltage, as well as a number of other new requirements which were introduced subsequent to the 01 Series of Amendments to UN ECE 95, e.g. requirements on the testing of vehicles equipped with automatically activated door locking systems.
With regard to mandatory compliance dates, it is proposed that compliance with ADR 72/01 would become mandatory for all new types of MA, MB, MC and NA category vehicles, i.e. passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, vans and pick-ups, from March 1, 2025 and for all new vehicles of those categories from November 1, 2027.
The closing date for the submission of comments to the Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts on the draft version of ADR 72/01 is November 17, 2023.