17. The Chair of the IWG on the Agricultural Coupling Devices and Components reported on the activities of the group (GRRF-86-06) and presented GRRF-86-02, introducing ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRRF/2018/4 with a draft Regulation on the Agricultural Coupling. GRRF received information on the texts of para. 4.5.

18. GRRF agreed that the stress weld limit should be qualified as absolute. It adopted the document and requested the secretariat make the necessary change and to submit the proposal as new draft UN Regulation on uniform provisions concerning the approval of mechanical coupling components of combinations of agricultural vehicles to WP.29 and AC.1 for consideration and vote at their June 2018 sessions.

17. The Chair of the IWG on the Agricultural Coupling Devices and Components reported on the activities of the group (GRRF-84-27) and presented ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRRF/2017/13 as amended by GRRF-84-26 with a draft regulation on the Agricultural Coupling. GRRF discussed the texts of para. 4.5. contained in square brackets and requested the group to consider working protection laws. The expert from Sweden proposed to clarify the provisions for remote coupling and remote indication. GRRF agreed that the remote indication should be located where the remote operation takes place. The Chair of the IWG volunteered to submit a revised proposal at the February 2018 session of GRRF.

19. The expert from Germany introduced GRRF-81-09 proposing ToR for a new IWG on Agricultural Coupling that would remove the Agricultural Coupling provisions from Regulation No. 55 and would include them in a new Regulation. The proposal received some comments to limit the number of classes, as reproduced in GRRF-81-09-Rev.1. GRRF agreed with the proposal for a new IWG that would take into consideration the work done by the Task Force on Agricultural Couplings (GRRF-81-10). GRRF agreed in principle with the proposal of the expert from Spain proposing generic provisions to be defined, which could be used for the approval of specific agricultural coupling at the national level. The secretariat noted that GRRF-81-10 was based on a former version of Regulation No. 55 and proposed that the new IWG on Agricultural Coupling would take into consideration the latest version of Regulation No. 55. GRRF agreed that the expert from Germany would chair the IWG and that the expert from the Comité Européen des groupements de constructeurs du machinisme agricole (CEMA) would provide the secretariat of the group. GRRF requested that the IWG would first revise and clarify the ToR of the group.