26. The expert from the United States of America, chairing the informal group on Quiet Road Transport Vehicles (QRTV), reported on the good progress (GRB-52-16) made by the group at its second and third meetings held in Washington D.C. on 3 and 4 May 2010 and in Tokyo from 13 to 15 July 2010. He recalled the objectives of the informal group on QRTV and added that the future recommendations for acoustic warning devices for electric and hybrid vehicles could be used as a candidate for a global technical regulation (gtr), subject to the decision of GRB and WP.29. He announced the intention of the informal group on QRTV to meet again in Berlin, from 27 to 29 September 2010.

27. The Director of the UNECE Transport Division welcomed the activities of GRB and its efforts to set up such recommendations for QRTV. She underlined the need to take a holistic view which includes also other measures, such as new ways of thinking in road safety and particularly in road safety education, the out-of-the-box approach to future transport infrastructure (even with the possibility of geographically separated for different users). In this respect, she invited GRB experts to cooperate with other UNECE Working Parties, first of all with the UNECE Road Safety Forum (WP.1), the Working Party on Road Transport (SC.1) and the Working Party on Transport Trends and Economics (WP.5).

28. The expert from Poland stated that the increasing number of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) resulted in higher risk for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users. The expert from the NFB referred to the technical report prepared by the US-National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the incidence of pedestrian and bicyclist crashes by hybrid electric passenger vehicles (GRB-52-17). This study showed that HEV were two times more likely to be involved in a pedestrian crash than vehicles with an internal combustion engine.

29. The expert from Japan presented GRB-52-18 listing the factors for an “ideal warning sound” and possible concepts of approaching vehicles audible systems (AVAS). The expert from CLEPA stressed the need that a safe sound should be detectable, environmentally acceptable and recognizable (GRB-52-19). He suggested using, in this respect, a broadband sound.

30. The expert from CLEPA stressed the need to raise public awareness on the risk of QRTV (GRB-52-08). He invited all GRB experts to witness, in an outdoor demonstration with a number of HEV, the effectiveness of acoustic warning devices for such vehicles and to participate in an experimental test demonstration on audibility of broadband sounds. GRB followed with great interest that demonstration, organized jointly by the experts from CLEPA and Japan.

31. Following the outdoor demonstration, the expert from Japan introduced GRB-52-03 regarding a guideline on measures ensuring the audibility of hybrid and electric vehicles. He added that this guideline entered already into force in Japan. The expert from France underlined the urgency of establishing new provisions for quiet vehicles and, in this respect, welcomed the Japanese guideline as a first set of requirements. The expert from Sweden suggested adding the guidelines listed in GRB-52-03 as an annex to the Consolidated Resolution on the Construction of Vehicles (R.E.3), currently under revision (see para. 36 below). The expert from the United States of America preferred to append the guideline to the Special Resolution No. 1 (S.R.1), linked to the 1998 Agreement.

32. GRB referred GRB-52-03 to the informal group on QRTV to discuss the best possible follow-up to the document and agreed to resume consideration of this subject at its next session in February 2011.