The EqOP-TF4 held its 5th meeting on June 25, 2026, with 41 participants. The agenda was adopted with one item removed, and previous minutes were approved. The chair presented an updated priority table assessing injury relevance, regulatory gaps, test capabilities, and potential safety benefits for prioritizing future frontal impact safety requirements. Japan will report on submarining and female injury patterns. A workshop is scheduled for November 4–6, 2026, in Japan. The next meeting is September 7, 2026.
Proposed prioritization framework for future frontal impact safety enhancements. A holistic assessment tool to evaluate candidate topics, identify regulatory gaps, and define priorities for future frontal impact requirements. Draft table template includes topics such as soft tissue neck, chest, abdomen, foot and ankle, hand and arm, submarining, rear seat row, driver seat, front passenger seat, low speed, robustness, multi-scenario testing, and virtual testing with human body model. The framework considers equity issues, relevance, current UN Regulations, available test and criteria, and identifies volunteers to prepare topics.
The agenda includes a progress-dashboard review, an updated study presentation on rear row and abdominal injuries, and preparation for a Japan Workshop in Tokyo in November 2026, covering priority table alignment, robustness definition and alignment, workshop agenda, pre-workshop preparation, and practical arrangements.
Regarding buses and coaches scope, delegates supported defining school buses as Special Purpose Vehicles, enabling inclusion without creating a harmonized international category. Comments are due by 14 August. The draft light vehicle UN Regulation was uploaded for review with comments due before or during the September in-person meeting in France. An in-person meeting is scheduled for September 2026.