Report of the Working Party on Lighting and Light-signalling Equipment on its April 2014 session.

Document prepared by the Secretariat in order to inform GRE about complaints, which do not seem to be isolated, concerning the intensity of LED brake lights in non-emergency braking situations.

Correction to paragraph 6.2.7.6.1. where the reference should read Annex 13 instead of Annex 12.

Correction to the proposal for Supplement 17 to Regulation No. 50 (to introduce the possibility of interdependent lamps for dedicated motorcycle lamps). Annex 1, Paragraph 4., should read: “However, in the case where a device is intended to be installed with its H plane at a mounting height less than 750 mm above the ground, the angle of 15 10° below the horizontal may be reduced to 5°”

Proposal from the secretariat to delete the reference to Category 3 and 4 from Annex 1, item 9, of UN R6 since these two categories appear to have been reintroduced by mistake through Amendment 3 to Revision 5 of the regulation.

Proposal to insert the IEC cap sheet numbers assigned for the new light categories WT21W, WTY21W, WT21/7W and WTY21/7W.

Proposal to insert the IEC cap sheet number for the new light category LW2 into the regulation.

Proposal to delete the requirement that the total objective luminous flux of all LED modules producing the principal passing (main low) beam of a headlamp be greater than or equal to 1000 lumens. France argues that the requirement is design-restrictive, unnecessary given the objective criteria for luminous output and photometric grid points of the regulation, and obsolete given improvements in LED technologies.

Proposal to delete the requirement that the total objective luminous flux of all LED modules producing the principal passing (main low) beam of a headlamp be greater than or equal to 1000 lumens. France argues that the requirement is design-restrictive, unnecessary given the objective criteria for luminous output and photometric grid points of the regulation, and obsolete given improvements in LED technologies.

Discussion document on tell-tale requirements in Regulation No. 48 versus Regulation No. 121 and consideration of establishing a task force to further discuss the issues involved. Pursuant to discussions at the previous two GRE sessions concerning the use of the term “failure tell-tale” in relation to daytime running lamps and adaptive front lighting systems (AFS) in UN R48 and the potential impact on UN R121 concerning the “location and identification of hand controls, tell-tales and indicators”, the Netherlands proposes the formation of a special task force to study the issues and propose draft amendments for lighting regulations as warranted.

Document to correct the original proposal to introduce the possibility of interdependent lamps for dedicated motorcycle lamps by including an omitted diagram and highlighting the marking clause.

Updated document to correct the original proposal to introduce the possibility of interdependent lamps for dedicated motorcycle lamps by including an omitted diagram and highlighting the marking clause.

Document GRE/2013/62 concerning electronic light source control gear proposed to introduce requirements to avoid intentional non-approved (voltage) variation of the principal passing beam using halogen light sources and to harmonize them with the operating voltage requirements in UN Regulation No. 48. The objective of this proposal is to restrict the voltage at headlamps equipped with (halogen) filament lamp light sources in order to avoid excessively high or low (semi-) permanent luminous intensity of the headlamp and consequently shorter lifetime of the halogen light source. This submission takes into account the positions presented in documents GRE/2013/44, GRE/2013/62, GRE-70-17, and GRE-70-34.

After examination of the draft revision of UN Regulation 86 (document GRE/2014/2), the Italian experts believe it necessary to make six further changes, including definition of “textured lens” and clarifications of certain paragraphs.

Status report on efforts to resolve concerns related to automatic headlamp leveling provisions and their impact on visibility and on-coming driver glare.

Outcome of the first meeting of interested experts to explore ways to reduce the administrative and regulatory burdens associated with the current structure of lighting regulations, including difficulties in transposing UN lighting regulations into local legislation in the EU and Japan. The experts recommend reactivation of the “Horizontal Reference Document” initiative.

GTB white paper on priorities and objectives for the simplification of lighting regulations, especially regarding reduction of the current burdens associated with the necessity of collective amendments in the development of these regulations and the longer-term difficulties to be overcome in restructuring these regulations and their legal framework.

Proposal to extend the modifications that introduced provisions for interdependent direction indicator lamps in the 06 series of amendments to UN R48 to the 04 and 05 series in order to avoid an unjustified design restriction for approvals under the earlier versions of the regulation.

Request to extend the work of the AVLI group in order to develop amendments that would apply UN R86 to agricultural trailers and towed machinery.

WP.29 secretariat update on the development and implementation of the DETA system.

Draft scope and objectives for the proposed program to restructure and simplify UN lighting and light-signaling equipment regulations.

Concordance of technical definitions used across UN lighting regulations.

GTB discussion paper to focus attention on defining the problem(s) to be resolved through a the simplification of UN lighting regulations.

Proposal to introduce flashing side marker lamps for vehicles of categories N₂, N₃, O₃ and O₄. The objective of this provision is to improve the safety of vulnerable road users by better informing them about the intention of a heavy goods vehicle to make a turn. Germany believes this to be a simple measure that will improve the safety level especially for cyclists and pedestrians located in the blind spot area of a heavy goods vehicle.

Text originally prepared by Belgium to propose amendments to Regulation No. 107 to align the additional safety prescriptions for trolleybuses (Annex 12) with the corresponding electrical standards (see document GRSG/2013/16). During discussion in the October 2013 session of GRSG, some Contracting Parties felt that the prescriptions for electromagnetic compatibility of trolleybuses belong in Regulation No. 10. So these prescriptions are taken out of the amended proposal (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRSG/2014/19) and are proposed here for consideration by GRE for further action.

Document GRE/2014/13 proposes to ensure that the introduction of the new class F marking materials does not conflict with the mandatory requirements for existing class C materials. The addition of Class F brings markings required under certain countries’ national legislation within the UN regulatory system. However, Japan actually prohibits the use of white retro-reflective markings on the rear of vehicles. Therefore, Japan proposes the addition of a footnote confirming the right of Contracting Parties to prohibit the use of Class F markings under national legislation.

Document GRE/2013/65/Rev.1 proposes a new class F of marking materials designed with chevron type pattern to be applied to special utility vehicles or trailers not ordinarily covered by standard contour marking materials. The proposal also attempts to harmonize a number of national requirements. Japan, however, prohibits white retro-reflecting materials at the rear of vehicles for safety reasons. Therefore, Japan proposes to clarify that the approval of Class F retro-reflective markings is dependent upon their definition within national regulatory requirements.

Presently, UN R48 requires that reverse lights be switched off when cornering lights are switched off. OICA argues that the simultaneous lightning of both cornering lamps for slow maneuvers in forward motion (e.g., while parking a vehicle) can increase safety by improved illumination of surroundings. Therefore, OICA proposes that cornering lights be allowed to remain on as long as the vehicle speed does not exceed 10 km/h.

In document GRE/2014/7, IMMA proposed to introduce the possibility of interdependent lamps for dedicated motorcycle lamps as Supplement 17 to Regulation No. 50. The concern was that the rear trunk lid commonly used for four-wheeled vehicles may be adapted for future scooter type motorcycles to secure the storage space for helmet, etc. Current lamp requirements impose design constraints that may hamper the proper development of such storage features. In this document, India proposes to clarify that the installation height of the device must be less than or equal to 750 mm.

In document GRE/2014/9, IMMA proposed the use of different brake lamp activation methods and the introduction of high-mounted stop lamps to improve the conspicuity of “powered two-wheelers” under Regulation No. 53. In this document, India offers a number of editorial recommendations.

Brief presentation raising question over the necessity to have triangular reflectors on the rear of large trailers and seeking greater flexibility in such rear reflectors.

Document prepared by the AVLI informal working group highlight the changes between documents GRE/2014/30 and GRE/2014/2. These two documents proposed to update and revise Regulation No. 86. This document is identical to the text proposed in the official document GRE/2014/30.

Summary of the background and aims of the EU proposal to restructure and simplify automotive lighting regulations.

Comments from the European Commission in response to the proposal of the GRE Informal Group on Agricultural Vehicle Lighting Installation (AVLI) to introduce new categories of vehicles, namely agricultural trailers and towed machinery, into the Consolidated Resolution on the Construction of Vehicles (document GRSG/2014/25).

German proposal amending its earlier draft supplement to UN R48 that would introduce provisions for flashing side marker lamps for M2, M3, N2, N3, O3 and O4 category vehicles in order to promote the safety of vulnerable road users by informing them about the intended turns of buses and heavy goods vehicles and their trailers. The change would exempt the proposed requirement from the transitional provisions of the 06 series of amendments.

Proposal to require that side marker lamps mounted on M2, M3, N2, N3, O 3 and O4 vehicles flash simultaneously with the direction-indicator lamps. The aim is to prevent death and injury to cyclists by improving their reaction time through clearer indication of the intended turn of a longer vehicle.

During the 71st session of GRE, the experts from GTB presented the outcome of a study on visibility and glare of automotive low beam headlamps; see informal document GRE-71-32. The study concentrated on levelling in relation to load. The major objectives of the study were to improve the understanding of different factors that influence visibility and glare and to identify results of the study that might reveal alternatives for automatic static levelling. The deciding factors in headlamp glare have been determined to be the vehicle pitch angle, loading conditions and initial headlamp aim. Therefore, this proposal looks at replacing the light source technology and the light source 2,000 lm criterion in UN Regulation No. 48 as criteria for the requirement for automatic levelling with performance requirements based upon these deciding factors.

Documents GRE/2014/20, GRE/2014/24 and GRE/2014/29 propose to add light categories to UN Regulation Nos. 37, 99, and 128; however, since the amendment or extension of an IEC60061 cap sheet results in a change to the sequence number of the sheet, all light source category sheets that refer to that IEC sheet need an update. Therefore, the IEC proposes the necessary changes to the text of the above proposals.