Modular Vehicle Combinations | Session 1 | 2-3 Jul 2014
Gothenburg
Agenda Item 6.
What regulations need to be amended?

Extract from Agenda:

  • Previous CLEPA document GRRF 66-08 will be a good base for brake issues.
  • Work is going on in the R55 group on couplings

UN R13
Presentation by Christoph Adam (Wabco) of CLEPA proposal on UN R13
  • The proposal GRRF-66-08 has been drafted in 2007/2008 in a group with Mercedes Trucks, Knorr, Haldex, Wabco and TUV Nord.
  • Some basic requirements from the proposal (among a number of requirements):
    • A towing trailer shall be equipped with an electric control line
    • Motor vehicle Parking brake shall activate the trailers braking system
  • Comments to Wabco presentation:
    • VBG: Proposal to amend Annex 2 with “Motor vehicle authorized to tow more than one trailer” is not sticking to the ambition that the truck should be independent from the number of trailers behind.
    • MAN: even if the electric control line is required on the truck, what would prevent from using a truck without electric control line to tow several trailers.
    • A general answer from the floor is that this is in-use requirement, not for type approval.
    • DK: if we want to convince that MVC is safe, we should not keep only the minimum requirements but try to enhance them to give confidence in that MVC is safe.
    • CLEPA clarifies that proposal “A towing trailer shall be equipped with an electric control line” does not apply to the towed trailer nor to motor vehicle.
    • DK in in favour of requesting it on all vehicles in the MVC.

UN R79: see notes from discussion under paragraph 4.
UN R55:
Presentation of work status of the UN R55 informal group on MVC (B.Svensson – VBG):
  • Informal Group on UN R55 is including a number of items; one of them is clearly addressing Modular Vehicle Combinations; thus there is a clear link with the task of our IG group on MVC.
  • A focus is done on performance and in-use requirements in UN R55, and why both are needed. UN R55 already include in-use requirements and the proposal is adding missing formulas to cover MVC cases not covered today; ISO 18888 is referred in a new Annex containing all existing and new in-use requirements.
  • Discussion on the link between R55 and MVC informal group
    • Chair proposes MVC group to be an umbrella and could address new points to the R55 IG; the issue is then that the TOR of the R55 group are frozen.
    • Is R55 IG covering the complete MVC item in R55?: VBG believes some items like the approval of towing trailers are not addressed in the R55 group.
    • VBG agrees to take the task of identifying what is missing in UN R55 IG to fully address MVC in R55.
    • Based on this analysis, we could then define how to address the point.

Documentation
GRRF-66-08 Draft Proposal for Amendment to Regulation No. 13 (CLEPA)
MVC-01-04 Brake Systems in Modular Vehicle Combinations (WABCO)