Extract from Agenda:

• Previous CLEPA document GRRF 66-08 will be a good base for brake issues.
• Work is going on in the R55 group on couplings

• The proposal GRRF-66-08 has been drafted in 2007/2008 in a group with Mercedes Trucks, Knorr, Haldex, Wabco and TUV Nord.
• Some basic requirements from the proposal (among a number of requirements):
  • A towing trailer shall be equipped with an electric control line
  • Motor vehicle Parking brake shall activate the trailers braking system
• Comments to Wabco presentation:
  • VBG: Proposal to amend Annex 2 with “Motor vehicle authorized to tow more than one trailer” is not sticking to the ambition that the truck should be independent from the number of trailers behind.
  • MAN: even if the electric control line is required on the truck, what would prevent from using a truck without electric control line to tow several trailers.
  • A general answer from the floor is that this is in-use requirement, not for type approval.
  • DK: if we want to convince that MVC is safe, we should not keep only the minimum requirements but try to enhance them to give confidence in that MVC is safe.
  • CLEPA clarifies that proposal “A towing trailer shall be equipped with an electric control line” does not apply to the towed trailer nor to motor vehicle.
  • DK in in favour of requesting it on all vehicles in the MVC.

• Informal Group on UN R55 is including a number of items; one of them is clearly addressing Modular Vehicle Combinations; thus there is a clear link with the task of our IG group on MVC.
• A focus is done on performance and in-use requirements in UN R55, and why both are needed. UN R55 already include in-use requirements and the proposal is adding missing formulas to cover MVC cases not covered today; ISO 18888 is referred in a new Annex containing all existing and new in-use requirements.
• Discussion on the link between R55 and MVC informal group
  • Chair proposes MVC group to be an umbrella and could address new points to the R55 IG; the issue is then that the TOR of the R55 group are frozen.
  • Is R55 IG covering the complete MVC item in R55?: VBG believes some items like the approval of towing trailers are not addressed in the R55 group.
  • VBG agrees to take the task of identifying what is missing in UN R55 IG to fully address MVC in R55.
  • Based on this analysis, we could then define how to address the point.