The informal working group on Equitable Occupant Protection will hold its 16th meeting on 18 May 2026 from 10.00 to 12.00 CET via TEAMS. The preliminary agenda includes adoption of the agenda, approval of minutes from the 15th meeting, review of the Progress Dashboard, status review of task forces, a report to GRSP 79th session, discussion of upcoming meetings and workshops, and conclusion.

The Equitable Occupant Protection Informal Working Group to GRSP pursues equitable and enhanced protection of a diverse population through robust regulatory solutions addressing rear-end and frontal impacts. Strategic goals include reducing injury risk for restraint systems, assessing currently not considered injury types with high frequency and risk of Permanent Musculoskeletal Impairment, and avoiding bias in protection. The group established task forces on rear impact seat assessment focusing on soft tissue neck injuries, virtual crash testing, frontal impact and restraint system requirements, and extension of assessment towards currently not considered injury types. Upcoming workshops are scheduled for June online, September in Munich, and November in Tokyo. Next steps include prioritization and categorization of identified topics into short-term, mid-term, and long-term timeframes within respective task forces.

The IWG EqOP held its 16th meeting on May 18, 2026, with 40 online participants from Contracting Parties and Industry. The agenda and minutes of the 15th meeting were approved. Three Task Forces—Rear-end assessment, Virtual crash testing, and Frontal impact and restraint systems—are operational with meetings planned in June 2026. A preliminary report to GRSP 79th session was presented and revised. Upcoming meetings include TF3 on June 11, TF4 on June 25, and TF2 on June 29-30. Each Task Force is invited to structure identified topics by prioritizing them and assigning short, medium, and long-term horizons, and to map contributions within the Task Force.