47. WP.29 received the oral report of the representative of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Co-Chair of the IWG on ITS, mentioning that the group, at its second session on 6 November 2020, (i) reviewed the draft revised UNECE Road Map on Intelligent Transport Systems and recommended its endorsement by WP.29, (ii) discussed the offer of UNECE and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to organize the first session of the 2021 Future Networked Car event, which will be dedicated to regulatory activities on automated and connected vehicles and (iii) received a presentation on Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication for Cooperative Driving Automation from the expert from Japan, Mr. N. Ogawa, working for ITS research in Technical Research department of Mazda Motor Corporation Tokyo HQ and member of the Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP) Automated Driving System for Universal Service (ADUS) initiative, which is a project of the Japanese Government.

48. WP.29 considered and endorsed the draft revised UNECE Road Map on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) proposed in WP.29-182-12. WP.29 requested the secretariat to submit it, as amended during the session, to ITC and its Bureau at its November 2020 session, for preparation of the eighty third session of ITC.

49. WP.29 proposed that delegates of the IWG on ITS and delegates of GRVA IWGs working on relevant topics, represent the World Forum at annual Future Networked Car events that are organized by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

50. WP.29 noted the information mentioned by the representative of ITU concerning the allocation of frequencies dedicated to vehicle-to-vehicle communication and decided to further discuss this point at its March 2021 session.

51. WP.29 endorsed the extension of the mandate of the IWG on ITS until November 2025.

7. The representative of the United States of America, Dr. James C. Owens, Deputy Administrator of NHTSA extended greetings to WP.29 delegates on behalf of the Transportation Secretary of the United States of America, and thanked Director Li for enabling his participation at the session by videoconference.

8. In his address (WP.29-182-20), he highlighted the work of the World Forum, its global reach and the resulting worldwide impact on vehicle and pedestrian safety, emphasizing the unique position of WP.29 to build a coalition around efforts to improve the safety of all road traffic participants by bringing countries together to share their knowledge, their expertise, and their perspectives.

9. The Deputy Administrator stated that automated vehicle technologies hold the promise to help prevent fatal crashes, save lives, and reduce the severity of the crashes that do occur, and that the United States of America is accelerating innovation and facilitating the smooth deployment of automated driving systems (ADS).

10. He highlighted that NHTSA rulemaking processes are based on the principles of sound science, transparency and inclusive and open consultative processes, explaining that NHTSA has yet to issue performance standards for ADS technologies as they are still very new, rapidly evolving and not fully understood – as such unsuitable for being the subject matter of performance standards and regulations.

11. Mr. Owens emphasized that all motor vehicles are subject to an existing standard in the United States as a result of which they cannot create an unreasonable risk to safety. He stressed however that implementing performance standards prematurely on developing technologies may limit their potential to improve safety performance of vehicles and could lead to unexpected negative consequences of their applications.

12. He underlined that performance standards if implemented prematurely will hamper innovation, limit testing in different environments, and ultimately serve as an unwarranted barrier to trade. The auto industry is global in nature and has significant impact everywhere. Promising lifesaving technology should be allowed to develop and reach its potential and should not be constrained by trade barriers.

13. The Deputy Administrator advised WP.29 to consider NHTSAs approach in the development of a globally harmonized technical regulatory framework, concluding by reiterating the commitment of the United States of America to continued collaboration on activities of the World Forum.

14. A question and answer session ensued with questions addressed to the Deputy Administrator by representatives from Germany, Canada and the European Commission.