52. The expert from France introduced informal document GRSP-78-25-Rev.1 on motorcyclist protection and wearable airbags. She presented the REGAM project, which aims to develop virtual and physical evaluation tools capable of assessing the level of protection provided by wearable airbags and potentially lay the foundations for new regulations. On this topic, the expert from France sought the opinion of GRSP on whether there would be interest in developing a new UN GTR.

53. A member of the secretariat commented on the importance of this topic and highlighted that helmets are not enough to fully protect motorcycle users. He informed GRSP about MotoCAP, an Australian consumer information program run by a consortium of government agencies, private organisations and motorcycle stakeholders.

54. The expert from IMMA strongly encouraged all motorcycle users to wear certified protective equipment and emphasized the importance of continuing discussions on motorcyclist airbags as they progress within the standardization domain. IMMA discussed the activity taking place on behalf of the European Commission in the working group of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), specifically CEN/TC 162/WG 9, which focuses on motorcycle rider protective clothing. This group had already developed EN 1621 parts 1 to part 4 (the latter being on motorcyclist mechanically-triggered airbags) and was currently working on part 5 addressing electronically-activated airbags. He also explained the differences in the impact test between the CEN standard and the one currently enforced in France.

55. The expert from the Kingdom of the Netherlands argued that a potential UN Regulation should focus on performance requirements rather than on particular technologies such as wearable airbags.

56. The expert from the United Kingdom noted that motorcyclists are overrepresented in injury statistics in his country and asked if France had estimates of how many casualties could be avoided with this technology.

57. The expert from France suggested that both workstreams (CEN standardization and REGAM project) were not exclusive and could continue in parallel. A member of the secretariat welcomed the suggestion from France and underlined that GRSP was a global group whereas CEN had a European mandate. The expert from Spain encouraged experts from other regions to share their experience in this area.

58. GRSP requested the experts from France and IMMA to keep them updated on the progress of both projects.