Proposal to clarify the positioning of lateral protection devices on central axle trailers

43. The expert from France introduced ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRSG/2018/19 to restore consistency in UN Regulation No. 73 between the provisions related to the installation of Lateral Protection Devices (LPD) of an approved type according to Part II of the Regulation and those related to vehicles with regard to their LPD. GRSG adopted the proposal and requested the secretariat to submit it to WP.29 and AC.1 as draft Supplement 2 to the 01 series of amendments and as draft Supplement 1 to the 02 series of amendments to UN Regulation No. 73 for consideration at their March 2019 sessions.

Proposal to amend geometrical criteria (dimensions and distances between lateral protection devices) and installation provisions for lateral protection barriers in order to improve their performance with regard to vulnerable road users. The proposal would

1. increase the maximum distance between lateral rails from 300 mm to 400 mm
2. redefine the limits for the lower edge from “550 mm above the ground” to definition via an isosceles triangle formed by lines drawn at 8° from the ground contact points of the vehicle tires intersecting at point “I” above the road surface where the maximum limit “I” is between 350-450 mm
3. define the upper edge as from 450 mm rather than 300 mm maximum from the vehicle structure or maximum height of the upper edge above the ground from 950 mm to 850 mm
4. update the horizontal static force requirement for lateral protection devices to 3 kN and the deflection under load criteria to 90 mm over the rearmost 250 mm of the device and 450 mm over the remainder of the device.

44. Recalling the discussion of GRSG at its previous meetings, the expert from France stated that more time was needed to find an agreement on the proposal to improve the performance level of LPD for a better protection of vulnerable road users (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRSG/2018/18). GRSG agreed to defer the discussion on this subject to its next session.

43. The expert from France informed GRSG that the proposal to improve the performance level of lateral protection devices for a better protection of vulnerable road users was in progress and that more time was needed for investigations. GRSG agreed to remove, in the meantime, the item from the agenda of the next session.