SAFETYNEWS 09/07/2024
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Empowering Engineers, Automated Driving, Vehicle Safety, Virtual Testing, Legal Requirements, Consumer Protection
Take a look at the latest SAFETYNEWS! Here are two important updates for your start:
NEW UN REGULATIONS TARGET PEDAL MISAPPLICATION AND USHER IN NEW GENERATION OF BRAKING SYSTEMS FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES
The United Nations’ Working Party on Automated/Autonomous and Connected Vehicles (GRVA) has adopted the new regulation for Acceleration Control for Pedal Error (ACPE), and regulatory provisions for the introduction of a new generation of braking systems for electric vehicles.
The new UN regulation is expected to significantly improve road safety, while the regulatory provisions for the new braking systems in electric vehicles aim at improving energy efficiency.
Pedal misapplication more frequent among older drivers
Drivers sometimes press the acceleration pedal instead of the brake pedal by mistake, causing serious accidents. Relevant data from Asia and Europe suggest that older drivers tend to make this error more often than young drivers. For example, in Japan, they are 8 times more likely to make that mistake than other generations, leading Japan to propose a draft UN regulation to address this issue.
With population ageing affecting Europe, North America and most of Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, and estimates indicating that the number of people aged 65 years or older worldwide will more than double by 2050 the number of older drivers is also expected to rise. For example, in Japan, the number of driving license holders older than 75 is projected to increase from 4% in 2009 to 9.2% in 2025.
According to the United Nations, persons aged 65 years or above account for 30% of the overall population in Japan, 23% in Germany, 22% in France, 20% in Canada, 19% in the Republic of Korea, 18% in the United States, and 15% in China.
Given the suggested correlation between pedal misapplication and age, these figures imply a potentially increased risk of accidents in the future.
Another factor likely to contribute to this increased risk is the global rise in sales of vehicles with automatic transmission. Crash data from Japan and the United Kingdom reveal that such vehicles are more frequently associated with pedal misapplication cases. For example, in the United Kingdom, 7 out of 8 pedal misapplications with associated gear confusion are automatics.
The new UN regulation will therefore only apply to passenger cars with automatic transmission. Expected to enter into force in June 2025, the new regulation introduces a system designed to detect an object in front and rear of the vehicle and then prevent sudden acceleration.
New generation of braking systems for electric vehicles to boost energy efficiency
The continued growth of electric car sales, and estimates that it could reach 45% of the market share in China, 25% in Europe and 11% in the United States in 2024, has revealed a need to optimize the energy consumption necessary for them to brake.
Hydraulic systems, typically used in passenger cars, rely on the muscular energy of the driver for the basic braking function, but may use reserves of stored energy for advanced safety features. Braking systems using compressed air (trucks and buses), and the advanced functions of passenger cars, rely on the energy converted from fossil energy. However, in electric vehicles, it is not efficient to convert electrical energy from batteries to stored energy (pressurized fluids) and then apply the brakes.
A new braking technology, employing stored electrical energy for both the control transmission and the energy transmission, aims to be more energy efficient for electric vehicles and is seen as an important element to advance the transition from vehicles employing internal combustion engines to alternatives powered by electric energy.
The hydraulic and pneumatic braking systems currently regulated by UN Regulations No. 13 (heavy vehicle braking) and No. 13-H (light vehicle braking) have reached a high level of safety, reducing the risk of dangerous crashes, especially when it comes to heavy-duty vehicles and those transporting dangerous goods.
The UNECE Working Party on Automated/Autonomous and Connected Vehicles has reviewed potential layouts for the new braking system in both light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles, and it has defined relevant technical provisions to provide a comparable level of safety.
The new regulatory provisions will be adopted as amendments to UN Regulations No.13 and No.13_H. They are expected to enter into force in June 2025, while some manufacturers are anticipated to introduce new braking systems in compliance with the provisions already by end of 2025.
Note to editors
The UNECE World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) is a unique worldwide regulatory forum hosted within the institutional framework of the UNECE Inland Transport Committee. Overall, the regulatory framework developed by the World Forum WP.29 allows the market introduction of innovative vehicle technologies, while continuously improving global vehicle safety, and vehicles’ environmental performance.
GRVA is the Working Party preparing draft regulations, guidance documents and interpretation documents for adoption by the parent body, WP.29. GRVA deals with safety provisions related to the dynamics of vehicles (braking, steering), Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, Automated Driving Systems and well as Cyber Security provisions.
GRVA meets three times a year, with around 160 experts present at each session. It gathers the decision makers (the representatives of Countries and REIOs – “the Contracting Parties”) as well as many stakeholders having a technical interest in the work of GRVA: the vehicle manufacturers (cars, trucks, buses etc.), the suppliers, the motorists, the test houses, the consumers representatives to name a few.
More Information: unece.org
Author/Source: UNECE
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NEW STANDARD FOR TESTING CHILD CAR SEATS
VTI tests child car seats and we are ready to conduct tests following the latest European safety standards. VTI has one of the few independent crash safety laboratories in Sweden. It is the only one accredited to carry out crash testing of child car seats, crash barriers and other road equipment.
UN ECE R129 – is the name of the latest European safety standard for child car seats. VTI can now carry out these tests thanks to major investments in the form of a new restraint system, new test benches, and crash test dummies.
Since last year, the older standard is being phased out. R129 replaces R44. Both of these child car seats are still type-approved and in use. The sale of R44 child car seats in the EU will, as things look today, be banned from 1 September 2024.
In the new standard, the seat is approved based on the child’s height, in the old one it was based on the child’s weight. It will be easier to buy a child car seat of the right size and they will provide better head and neck protection.
The new standard means that the child car seats have undergone more rigorous testing. Compared to before, side-impact tests have been added along with several advanced measurements of crash test dummies. Research engineer Emily Uddman is responsible for child car seat testing. She can list no less than 25 parameters covered by the tests. These include, among other things, how the crash tests are conducted along with durability and abrasion testing.
“We are very much governed by Regulation 129 and have tried to update the equipment we have to the extent possible. What has taken time, but which is also really positive, is the new restraint system that allows us to produce almost identical tests. Our margin of error has been reduced and the restraint is easier to handle,” she says.
The in-house knowledge that exists has come in handy to produce drawings and manufacture the parts needed, thanks to a competent workshop that can help with modifications and the manufacture of new parts. The investment in crash test dummies was necessary to be able to meet the new measurement requirements.
Anyone who buys a child car seat needs to give the highest priority to safety by following the regulations. Choosing the wrong child car seat can lead to a fine and, above all, that the child risks injury. The child car seat must have a label with a capital E in a circle that shows that it is type-approved. It also states details as to which standard the child car seat has been tested.
"Size is a part of R129 and means that both the child car seats and the cars are certified. The i-Size certification aims to make it easier to choose the right child car seat and to fit it correctly. ISOFIX is a solution used to install the seat.
VTI has a good reputation and a long history when it comes to child car seats. Testing began as early as 1975 with the T-approved standard, where T stood for Trafiksäkerhetsverket (the Swedish Transport Safety Agency). R44 was created by Sweden together with the Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, and other countries. A specific detail that was added thanks to Sweden was the support leg that most child car seats are now equipped with, as it makes the seats significantly safer.
UNECE, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe is behind the European regulation R129. The decisions themselves are taken by WP.29, the UNECE World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulation. The proposals are being prepared by GRSP, the Working Party on Passive Safety.
The tests of child car seats are carried out both as basic tests, for the child car seats to be approved, and as so-called Plus tests. These have been developed by VTI and entail stricter requirements and improved protection for children. The Plus tests have also been upgraded thanks to the introduction of R129.
Translation: CBG
More Information: vti.se/news
Author/Source: VTI
The text, images, graphics, sound files, animation files, video files and their arrangement on the news sites are all subject to Copyright and other intellectual property protection. The author resp. the authors can be find on the more information link.
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