THREE NEW GLOBAL VEHICLE REGULATIONS ADOPTED
Geneva, 12 December 2006 -- At its 140 th session, the World
Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) adopted three new
global vehicle regulations, one on motorcycle brakes, another on heavy-duty
vehicle emissions and a third one on on-board diagnostics, bringing to
five the total number of global regulations adopted so far.
“These new global regulations will be extremely important for the
safety of motorcycle users and for the protection of the environment on
the global level, since they will be applied by vehicle manufacturers all
over the world”, said Mr. José Capel Ferrer, Director of the
Transport Division of the United Nations Economic commission for Europe
(UNECE).
The new global regulation on motorcycle brake systems incorporates specifications
for improved disk braking systems and requirements for anti-lock brake
systems (ABS) and combined brake systems (CBS) of front and rear wheels.
To comply with the prescriptions of the new regulation, future motorcycles
will have to be equipped with more effective braking systems.
The new global technical regulation on the heavy-duty vehicle certification
procedure specifies new test cycles for the measurement of pollutant emissions
from heavy-duty vehicles. These new test cycles represent better the actual
driving conditions in real traffic. The new regulation reflects new exhaust
emission measurement technologies with the potential for accurately measuring
the emission of pollutants from future low emission engines.
Finally, the third new global technical regulation specifies requirements
for on-board diagnostics (OBD) for heavy-duty vehicles, with a view to
identifying improper functioning of the engine as well as of other vehicle
emission systems, and to informing the driver and the vehicle maintenance
staff thereon. Furthermore, with the help of these OBD systems, the compliance
of engine emissions can be demonstrated for proving roadworthiness. Although
tailored for emission performance of heavy-duty vehicles, the regulation
has been structured in a manner that allows OBD application to vehicle
safety systems and to other categories of vehicles.
The new regulations have been adopted by the World Forum for Harmonization
of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29), with the participation of vehicle manufacturers,
users and consumers, and in the framework of the 1998 Global Agreement
on vehicle regulations, concluded in 1998 under the auspices of the UNECE.
27 States and the EU are currently Parties to the 1998 Agreement.
For further information, please contact:
José Capel Ferrer, Director, or
Juan Ramos García, Chief of the Technology Section
UNECE Transport Division
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0) 22 917 2400, 917 1998
Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 0039
E-mail: [email protected] -
[email protected]
Website: http://www.unece.org/trans/main/welcwp29.htm
Ref: ECE/TRANS/06/P08