Country Reps : France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Spain, NL
NGOs: ETRTO, JAMA, OICA, WBU, ISO, Nagasaki University, IMMA, VRU (vulnerable road users), ISO (phone)

The agenda was adopted.

REG58-QRTV-06-01 | Updated draft agenda for the 6th REG58-QRTV informal group session

During its last meeting, GRB concluded that the mandate of the IWG QRTV needs to extended and the ToR need to be adopted depending on the outcome of the actual IWG QRTV meeting.

Taiwan: Category L will be implemented next year. A declaration of the manufacturer on the fulfillment of the requirements is sufficient. For the time being no concrete test procedure is determined.

Korea will accept new ECE Regulation to come. Requirements for L category vehicles may be established in addition. Timing: possibly from 2017.

China (reported by OICA): A GB-T, based on the UNECE Regulation to come, is under consideration. However, a device will explicitly be required. The higher background noise as typical for Chinese traffic (5-7dB compared to reference level used for the proposed ECE Regulation) needs to be accessed. Pause function will be optional, a frequency shift harmonized with ECE, no maximum level. The draft is expected to be completed in 2016.

Japan presents document Fatal Accident Involving a Blind Person in Japan in October 2015, which was already presented to WP29. It describes an accident with a commercial vehicle (N2, ICE) with deactivated reversing alarm involved. The background noise situation at the time when the accident happened is not clear.

As a consequence of this accident, Japan will carry out safety studies for reversing vehicles to prove if AVAS shall be mandatory and if pause switch for reversing alarm and for AVAS shall be prohibited. Also a reversing camera will be evaluated. Upon analysis of the study result, Japan will make proposals to WP29. As an initial conclusion Japan states that acoustic measures as emitted from AVAS may not be sufficient as this is a monologue only that warns the VRU but does not giving any information to the driver. However, further studies shall not postpone the introduction of QRTV Regulation in Japan. OICA pointed out that this accident shows that more studies are necessary to come to a better understanding. The reasons for switching of an AVAS can be driver annoyance as EVs are usually less insulated due to weight reduction. The Chairman pointed out that one of the backgrounds of the IWG QRTV is to determine which kind of studies and work is necessary.

REG58-QRTV-06-02 | Fatal Accident Involving a Blind Person in Japan in October 2015 Description of an accident wherein a blind person was killed by a truck backing up with its reverse-mode sound signal deactivated and of possible policy responses in Japan.

The publication of the US law is scheduled for March 2016.

Current situation among Contracting Parties:

China	USA	EU	UNR	Japan	Taiwan
Optional	Prohibited	Mandatory	Optional	Optional	Optional

Japan: about 50% of drivers use the pause switch in residential areas by night due to complaints from neighbors.

OICA: the responsibility remains with the driver in case the AVAS is turned on. OEMs must make a trade-off between driver’s request for vehicle interior quietness and safety for pedestrians. It appears strange that people in Japan complain about AVAS but not about ICE. This may be a question of sound quality. It is therefore important to have flexibility to design acceptable sounds. There are studies available that suggest that sleep annoyance due to noise by night may lead to early intestacy. GAR note: “intestacy” refers to the status of the estate of a deceased individual where no legal arrangements have been made for the disposition of the estate. Presumably, this OICA comment refers to data indicating higher rates of intestacy suggestive of early/unexpected deaths.)

Chair: today no CP wants to prohibit or mandate a pause switch. Arguments are needed to change that position. A questionnaire for EV-drivers can help better understand their habit when using the pause switch. VRU proposes to automatically switch off the pause functionality in order to avoid that the driver forgets to turn the AVAS back on again.

Current situation among Contracting Parties:

China	USA	EU	UNR	Taiwan
Optional	Mandatory	Optional	Optional	Optional

Documents ‘Concept of QRTV GTR based on R.E.3’ and ‘Perception and evaluation of Vehicle exterior noise by pedestrian in different traffic situations and different operating conditions’ were named to show potential neutral or negative impact of stationary sound, whereas WBU mentioned that numerous examples would prove the opposite. It became clear that also here further studies are necessary to come to a clear view. The chairman however pointed out that all participants must be ready to accept the conclusion of those studies, once the content is agreed upon. Germany proposed to determine a deadline of end 2017 for a revised proposal to GRB of the QRTV Regulation to come. The mandate of the IWG must be extended accordingly.

GTRQRTV-02-08 | Concept of QRTV GTR based on R.E.3 Presentation on issues for consideration in drafting the proposed Quiet Vehicles GTR in relation to the Consolidated Resolution on the Construction of Vehciles (RE3) references to approaching vehicle audible signals (AVAS).

REG58-QRTV-01-05 | Pedestrian perception of vehicle noise study presentation

Taiwan will include L category for new models from 2017 onwards. The conditions are the same as for 4 wheeled vehicles, disregarded the fact that rolling sound emissions from 2 wheelers is less compared to 4 wheelers. It is important to clearly distinguish between all vehicles that are covered by category L, as some of them are quite similar to M/N while others are completely different. Taiwan will deliver experience form their market . IMMA requires evidence that 2 wheelers need to be covered by QRTV legislation. The risk of driver annoyance is higher compared to M and N category vehicles. ISO mentioned that the test procedures have been developed not taking into account 2 wheelers and that there is no experience with regards to testing of those vehicles available. A complete revision is necessary.

WBU study shows that UN levels are too low with the biggest concern being the risk of masking. The background noise applied during testing is an important factor and it often differs from real traffic situations. OICA proposed to design an adequate background sound from real world recordings taken at different spots.

WP.29-167-23 | Quiet car research Presentation of research conducted by the World Blind Union and National Federation of the Blind in the United States to validate the effectiveness of the proposed minimum sound levels for quiet vehicles at 10 and 20 km/h. The researchers concluded that the proposed sounds levels do not add significantly to the detectability of an approaching vehicle by a blind pedestrian and that internal combustion engine vehicles were detected substantially sooner than quiet vehicles equipped with the proposed acoustic vehicle alerting system (AVAS).

No new information.

Timing : finalization end 2017
meetings : 3-4 per year, one meeting after publication of US law.
meet in GRB week
one meeting in Dresden – mid of year

European Commission mentioned that Regulation (EU) No. 540/2014 will take over the content of the UN Regulation, provided it is adopted by WP29. If GRB decided to agree on further changes, COM may include them in the EU Regulation prior to WP29 adopting them.

WBU will urge WP29 to reject the draft due to strong doubts that a revision will be done quickly even if this means that no Regulation is available.