Working Party on Brakes and Running Gear | Session 82 | 20-23 Sep 2016
Geneva
Agenda Item 4.
Regulation No. 55 (Mechanical couplings)

16. The Chair of the IWG on Regulation No. 55 presented (GRRF-82-02) a proposal (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRRF/2016/28) introducing amendments to Regulation No. 55 on secondary coupling and the attachment points. The expert from Italy responded to the proposal (GRRF-82-05). GRRF supported this proposal as amended and reproduced in GRRF-82-33.

17. The Secretary of the IWG introduced ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRRF/2016/29 (amended by GRRF-82-27) with technical requirements for coupling devices for the purpose of modular vehicle combinations as well as “in-use” requirements for the combination of vehicles. The proposal, supported by GRRF, received some comments about the possibility to verify, at the time of type approval, the compliance with these “in use” requirements. GRRF questioned whether a driver could be requested to verify during a coupling phase the compatibility requirements defined in the proposal. The expert from CLEPA showed that calculation tools were available on the website of his company (www.vbg.se) and argued that it would be possible. GRRF agreed that this aspect of the proposal would need further consideration by the IWG who should recognise that new measures must be enforceable via type approval.

18. The Chair of the IWG presented ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRRF/2016/30 introducing a procedure to identify permissible performance values combinations for drawbar coupling equipment. GRRF supported this proposal.

19. The Chair of the IWG introduced ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRRF/2016/31 (as amended by GRRF-82-28) proposing clarifications and an amendment to the worst cases identification provisions. GRRF supported the proposal.

20. The expert from Germany volunteered to prepare a consolidated document encompassing all documents above (see paras. 16-19) while addressing the comments received. GRRF requested for this new document to be brought to the next session.

21. The expert from Poland introduced ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRRF/2016/32 proposing to introduce requirements in Regulation No. 55 imposing that a coupling device can only be installed on an M1 vehicle which was designed for its installation. The intention of the proposal received a general support. The expert from Denmark proposed that it should also apply to vehicles of category N1. The experts from the Netherlands and Spain noted that the text of the Regulation already contained provisions in that sense (a list with such provisions is available in the IWG working paper R55-07-06). GRRF supported the idea proposed and agreed to revisit this item at its January 2017 session on the basis of a revised proposal that the experts from Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain volunteered to prepare.

22. The expert from Germany introduced the proposal for Terms of Reference of IWG on the Agricultural Coupling Devices and Components revised by the IWG (GRRF-82-30). GRRF adopted the proposal, reproduced in Annex II. The expert from Germany submitted GRRF-82-37 to GRRF, providing a status report of the IWGs’ activities.

Documentation
GRRF-82-02 Proposal for amendments to Regulation No. 55 (VBG)
GRRF-82-05 Current provisions in Annex 5 of Regulation No. 55 (01 series) (Italy)
GRRF-82-27 Proposal for amendments to ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRRF/2016/29
GRRF-82-28 Proposal for amendments to ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRRF/2016/31
GRRF-82-30 Proposal for ToR and RoP for the IWG on Mechanical Couplings for Agricultural Vehicles (Russia)
GRRF-82-33 Amendment to ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRRF/2016/28 agreed during the session
GRRF-82-37 Status report of the informal working group on Agricultural Coupling Devices and Components
GRRF/2016/28 Proposal for amendments to Regulation No. 55
GRRF/2016/29 Proposal for amendments to Regulation No. 55
GRRF/2016/30 Proposal for amendments to Regulation No. 55
GRRF/2016/31 Proposal for amendments to Regulation No. 55
GRRF/2016/32 Proposal for an amendment to Regulation No. 55 (Poland)
R55-07-06 Modular vehicles and in-use requirements