Draft minutes of the 17th meeting of the IWG EqOP held on 14 October 2026. The IWG’s strategic objective is to achieve more equitable and robust occupant protection for a diverse population through inclusive regulations and protection strategies that reduce injury risk below a tolerable threshold for as many occupants as possible. The priorities endorsed by GRSP remain rear impact protection, frontal impact restraint systems, and the assessment of injury types that are currently insufficiently addressed, particularly brain, soft-tissue neck, and lower-extremity injuries. The Chairs reviewed progress of task forces and introduced the proposed theme of the Tokyo workshop: robustness assessment of occupant protection.

The IWG on AI reports on its meetings held since July 2026 and activities including compilation of literature on regulated automotive safety systems using AI, creation of terms and definitions, listing of AI use cases, and work on an AI reference document (latest draft AI-11-03). An AI reference document is scheduled for submission as a formal working document to the June 2027 WP.29 session. Small drafting groups are creating proposed updates for introduction, section 2, and section 4 based on AI-11-03 as baseline.

Feedback from a dedicated workshop on virtual testing as an optional alternative to physical tests in UN Regulations and GTRs. The UK/EC proposal, based on UN R185 ADS, and OICA’s multi-layer approach are presented. Outstanding issues include authority and technical service qualification requirements, definitions and terminology, credibility levels, and uncertainties and safety margins. Participants proposed organizing another workshop in January, establishing a small working group, and requesting written contributions to improve the UK/EC proposal. A new status report is expected during the 201st WP.29 session.

Proposal to amend para. 2.10. to define Residual Rechargeable Electrical Energy Storage System (REESS), amend para. 4.1. of the Annex to specify REESS examples including traction battery, and amend para. 4.2. of the Annex to describe REESS management system with examples of range information, state of charge indicator, and battery thermal control. Amendments apply to both English and Russian versions to eliminate discrepancies and ensure unified approach.

Status report on PTI IWG activities. Work continues on diagnostic devices in PTI (ePTI), with proposal 99% ready. Amendment to Rule 4 for harmonization is in preparation. The group discussed PTI approaches for automated vehicles, reviewed new braking technologies (ETBS and Parking Lock Devices) with draft amendment for Rule 2 underway, and reviewed inspection challenges for LED lighting systems. Implications of new Euro 7 UN Regulations (Nos. 179 and 180) were assessed. Next activities include finalizing ePTI amendment, developing PTI approaches for automated vehicles, drafting amendment on new braking technologies, establishing coordination with GRE on lighting, and consulting relevant groups on inspection methods.

Status report on the IWG on ITS and Task Force on Vehicular Communications. The TF VC plans a virtual meeting on 13 January with presentations on processes to make communications available to support vehicle control systems. Co-chairs are UK, U.S., and Japan; vice-chair is China. An informal meeting is scheduled at ITU-R WP.5A on Friday 14:30–16:00 to discuss future vehicular communications for regulated vehicle control systems, with presentations on UN vehicle regulations and future vehicular communications.

Guidance and interpretation document to facilitate application of GTR 26 and UN R185 on Automated Driving Systems to particular ADS vehicles, provide guidance on evidencing requirements, and harmonize application across manufacturers, authorities and inspection bodies. The document addresses definitions, application for approval, approval procedures, ADS performance of the Dynamic Driving Task in nominal, critical and failure situations, interactions between ADS and users, other ADS requirements, Safety Management System processes, test environment approaches, safety case structure, and post-deployment safety monitoring.

The document outlines activities for WP.29’s 200th session on 17 November 2026 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. WP.29 held its first session from 10 to 13 February 1953 and provides a global intergovernmental framework for development and harmonization of technical requirements for wheeled vehicles, their equipment and parts under the 1958, 1997 and 1998 Vehicle Agreements. The session marks an institutional milestone to reflect on international regulatory cooperation and recognize the community sustaining WP.29’s work. Recent work includes adoption of a new UN Regulation on laboratory measurement of brake emissions from light-duty vehicles in March 2026 and establishment of a new UN Global Technical Regulation containing harmonized safety provisions for Automated Driving Systems in June 2026.