2. The Chair of WP.29, Mr. A. Erario (Italy) welcomed delegates to the 182nd session of WP.29 and opened the meeting. He recalled the exceptional circumstances of this session due to the Covid-19 outbreak. He invited the Director of the UNECE Sustainable Transport Division Mr. Yuwei Li, to deliver the opening remarks.

3. The Director of the UNECE Sustainable Transport Division welcomed delegates to the 182nd session of the World Forum and announced that the Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA – United States of America Department of Transport) would be taking part in the session.

4. He welcomed Dr. Owens, emphasizing the position of the United States of America as member of UNECE and one of the founding contracting parties of the UN 1998 Agreement, commending the leadership of the United States of America in the development of UN Global Technical Regulations (GTRs) under the 1998 Agreement.

5. He thanked the United States of America delegation to WP.29 for strong cooperation in the harmonization of vehicle regulations to make vehicles safer and more environmentally friendly worldwide, for the diplomacy, technical approach and professionalism together with all other delegations to contribute to the worldwide recognition of WP.29 as a vector of vehicle safety and the world economy.

6. The Director stressed that the 2030 Strategy of the Inland Transport Committee (ITC), adopted in 2019, fully recognized the role of ITC and its working parties as the UN platform for inland transport, enabling policy dialogue, harmonizing legal frameworks, promoting new technologies and enhancing connectivity. He concluded by stating that the full implementation of the Strategy will enable ITC and its working parties to significantly contribute to further development of inland transport in a sustainable way – safe, environmentally friendly, resilient, efficient, low cost and socially inclusive.

7. The representative of the United States of America, Dr. James C. Owens, Deputy Administrator of NHTSA extended greetings to WP.29 delegates on behalf of the Transportation Secretary of the United States of America, and thanked Director Li for enabling his participation at the session by videoconference.

8. In his address (WP.29-182-20), he highlighted the work of the World Forum, its global reach and the resulting worldwide impact on vehicle and pedestrian safety, emphasizing the unique position of WP.29 to build a coalition around efforts to improve the safety of all road traffic participants by bringing countries together to share their knowledge, their expertise, and their perspectives.

9. The Deputy Administrator stated that automated vehicle technologies hold the promise to help prevent fatal crashes, save lives, and reduce the severity of the crashes that do occur, and that the United States of America is accelerating innovation and facilitating the smooth deployment of automated driving systems (ADS).

10. He highlighted that NHTSA rulemaking processes are based on the principles of sound science, transparency and inclusive and open consultative processes, explaining that NHTSA has yet to issue performance standards for ADS technologies as they are still very new, rapidly evolving and not fully understood – as such unsuitable for being the subject matter of performance standards and regulations.

11. Mr. Owens emphasized that all motor vehicles are subject to an existing standard in the United States as a result of which they cannot create an unreasonable risk to safety. He stressed however that implementing performance standards prematurely on developing technologies may limit their potential to improve safety performance of vehicles and could lead to unexpected negative consequences of their applications.

12. He underlined that performance standards if implemented prematurely will hamper innovation, limit testing in different environments, and ultimately serve as an unwarranted barrier to trade. The auto industry is global in nature and has significant impact everywhere. Promising lifesaving technology should be allowed to develop and reach its potential and should not be constrained by trade barriers.

13. The Deputy Administrator advised WP.29 to consider NHTSAs approach in the development of a globally harmonized technical regulatory framework, concluding by reiterating the commitment of the United States of America to continued collaboration on activities of the World Forum.

14. A question and answer session ensued with questions addressed to the Deputy Administrator by representatives from Germany, Canada and the European Commission.