April 2018
New Brazilian Resolution on Side Impact Protection Published
On 10th January 2018, the Brazilian National Traffic Council (CONTRAN) published a new Resolution establishing vehicle occupant protection requirements in the event of a side impact. This new Resolution, CONTRAN Resolution No. 721, applies to all passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, pick-up trucks and vans that are manufactured domestically or imported. However, an exemption from the requirements of this Resolution is permitted for vehicles where the R point (seating reference point) for every seating position in the vehicle is more than 700 mm above the ground.
This new Resolution requires all passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, pick-up trucks and vans to comply with either:
- A dynamic side impact test where the vehicle is subjected to a perpendicular impact from a mobile deformable barrier travelling at 50 km/h. This test procedure and the applicable performance criteria are based on United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) Regulation No. 95, although they appear to be based on the 02 series of amendments to this ECE Regulation.
- A static side door crush test and a dynamic side impact test where the vehicle is subjected to an angled impact from a mobile deformable barrier travelling at 53.6 km/h. The test procedures and applicable performance criteria are based on US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 214, although they appear to be based on the version of FMVSS 214 prior to the introduction of the vehicle to pole test.
Compliance with this new Brazilian Resolution on side impact protection becomes mandatory for new types of vehicle from 1st January 2020 and for all new vehicles from 1st January 2023.