In 2014, the European Union revised its legislation on periodic inspections to ensure the roadworthiness of motor vehicles (Directive 2014/45/EU). The WP.29 secretariat has prepared this document to encourage consideration of ways to align the 1997 Agreement on vehicle technical inspections with the EU legislation towards facilitating broader participation among nations in the agreement.

Certain UN Regulations contain provisions to allow for local divergence from the uniform requirements they present. The draft Revision 3 of the 1958 Agreement refers categorically to these “special provisions”. Since such provisions work against the principles of harmonization and mutual recognition of approvals, the IWVTA informal group proposes to clarify that the 1958 Agreement recognizes such provisions as existed prior to Revision 3 without institutionalizing the recourse to such deviations as a regular part of the UN regulatory process.

Voting form for consideration of amendment 2 to GTR 3 on motorcycle brakes and amendment 3 to GTR 4 on heavy-duty vehicle emissions test procedures.

Final version of the informal group working draft subject to resolution of open issues (in square brackets) where guidance from the World Forum/WP.29 has been requested.

Status report on the work to harmonize definitions and terms.

Reference prepared by the WP.29 secretariat

Updated draft set of guidelines prepared by the WP.29 secretariat concerning the submission and adoption of modifications to UN Regulations, especially taking into consideration the pending Revision 3 to the 1958 Agreement which envisions, among other things, the acceptance to multiple “versions” of each regulation. This document covers: amendments resulting from draft Revision 3; publication of new series of amendments; long transitional provisions; versions of UN Regulations; use of cross-references; amendment commencement dates; consolidation of amendments to once per year; and use of “compilations” of modifications.

On 7 October 2015, the UNECE will hold its annual flagship ITS workshop in conjunction with the 22nd ITS World Congress in Bordeaux. The subject of the conference will be “ITS for Sustainable Mobility and the Mitigation of Climate
Change”.

Proposal to clarify that type approval under the International Whole Vehicle Type Approval System does not invalidate the obligation to meet additional regional or national requirements that may apply.

Proposal for a “joint task force” involving all stakeholders to consider the impact of automated/autonomous driving on the regulation of vehicles, traffic, and road infrastructure in order to develop coordinated and mutually acceptable responses towards improving overall road safety.

Table on the status of the proposals adopted at the November 2014 WP.29 session. These proposals, with one exception, became binding on 15 June 2015 following the six-month statutory waiting period.

Information on WP.29 plans to introduce an automated system that would generate consolidated versions of UN Regulations and GTR, including all amendments and corrections, at the time each enters info force. This system may also allow for the generation of earlier versions of each regulation according to the past date selected.

Template for following the vote to include the proposed national regulations in the compendium of regulations for consideration as part of any related future GTR development work.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework through which the delegates to the World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) and other interested stakeholders can examine the experience with the 1998 Global Agreement and agree on ideas and processes for improvement in its implementation.

Summary of UNECE activities related to automated vehicle systems and driving.