Working Party on General Safety | Session 114 | 9-13 Apr 2018
Geneva

The deadline for the submission of official working documents for this session is 12 January 2018. At this session, GRSG is expected to consider forming a new informal working group to develop fire risk reduction requirements for M2/M3 vehicles.

Agenda Item 2. (b)
Amendments to regulations on buses and coaches: Regulation No. 118 (Burning behaviour of materials)

7. The expert from France introduced GRSG-114-11 on the two task force meetings held in Paris on 29 January 2018 and in Brussels on 13 March 2018. He added that after detailed consideration of a technical report on French accident investigations, of the synthesis of the UN Regulations Nos. 107 and 118, as well as of additional research results, the task force had concluded on the need to establish a new Informal Working Group (IWG) on the behaviour of the general construction of M2 and M3 vehicles in a fire event (BMFE). GRSG endorsed the request of the task force and welcomed their recommendations to further develop both UN Regulations, taking into account the preventative measures to mitigate and even avoid such accidents in future. The GRSG Chair thanked France for the offer to chair the IWG and OICA for the commitment to ensure the secretariat services of the IWG. He announced the intention to seek, at its session in June 2018, the consent of WP.29 to set up the new IWG on BMFE.

8. Furthermore, the expert from France presented the draft terms of reference and the rules of procedures for the new IWG on BMFE (GRSG-114-12). The expert from OICA supported the proposal and suggested further improvements to the text (GRSG-114-24). GRSG revised the proposal (GRSG-114-24-Rev.1) and adopted the terms of reference and rules of procedures as reproduced in Annex II to the session report. The expert from France thanked GRSG for the support and announced the organization of a further meeting of the task force on 15 June 2018 (venue at VDA in Berlin).

9. GRSG agreed to resume consideration of this subject at its next session.

Documentation
GRSG-114-11 Behaviour of M2 and M3 general construction in case of Fire Event (BMFE) (UTAC)
GRSG-114-12 UN R118: Terms of reference for a new informal group on M2 and M3 vehicle fire event safety (France)
GRSG-114-24/Rev.1 UN R18: OICA comments on the terms of reference for the informal group on the behaviour of M2 & M3 vehicles in case of fire event (BMFE) (OICA)