19. On behalf of the Task Force on UN Regulation No. 46, the expert from Japan reported on the progress made by the group during its meeting in Paris on 26-27 September 2016 (GRSG-111-22). He introduced GRSG-111-23 (superseding GRSG-110-12) proposing amendments to UN Regulation No. 46. GRSG welcomed the important work done by the Task Force led by Japan. To broaden the participation of other Contracting Parties in the discussions on this subject, GRSG agreed to set up a new Informal Working Group (IWG) on close proximity vision and obstacle detection systems. GRSG noted a first draft of the terms of reference and rules of procedure for the IWG (GRSG-111-29) and agreed to formally adopt them at its next session.

20. The GRSG Chair announced his intention to seek the consent of WP.29 at its November 2016 session to establish the above-mentioned IWG. GRSG referred GRSG-111-23 and GRSG-111-29 to the IWG for further consideration and invited the Group to take into account all relevant studies published world-wide on this subject.

18. On behalf of the Task Force (TF) on UN Regulation No. 46, the expert from Japan reported on the progress made by the group during the recent meeting held prior to the GRSG session. He gave a presentation on detailed results of a national study on fatal accidents of pedestrians with motor vehicles at low speed (GRSG-110-10). He invited GRSG experts to provide the results of similar studies in their country, if available. He concluded that a possible solution to avoid such accidents could be new requirements to ensure the driver’s view on the proximity area of the front and rear surroundings of the vehicle (GRSG-110-11). He referred to GRSG-110-12 proposing a first set of amendments to UN Regulation No. 46. GRSG welcomed the detailed information from Japan.

19. The expert from Germany reported on some investigations in his country on such accident types and expressed his preference to address this problem through a driver warning system, such as the driver assist systems so as to avoid blind spot accidents referred to in item 22 (see paras. 60-61 below), instead of a close-proximity and rear-view device proposed in GRSG-110-12. The expert from UK informed GRSG about a study of his department on the detection of vulnerable road users by vehicle sensors. He underlined that there was still a challenge to give the driver enough time for reaction to avoid a collision. The expert from Canada reported on some investigations in his country during the last five years on accidents of heavy goods vehicles with pedestrians or cyclists and expressed his full support to the GRSG activities on this subject. The expert from France endorsed the comments received and expressed his preference for a detection and driver warning system. Taking a broader view on the discussion, the expert from OICA stated that the Working Party on Brakes and Running Gears (GRRF) had already detailed considerations of obstacle detection systems when developing provisions for UN Regulation No. 131 on Advanced Emergency Brake Systems (AEBS).