Proposal to raise requirements for the attachments and fittings of the seat (as a prelude to the eventual deletion of static test methods in favor of dynamic testing).

26. The expert from Germany informed GRSP that TF on UN Regulation No. 80 had not started work due to the absence of new proposals as an alternative to the previous proposal ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRSP/2018/10, that had aimed at removing Appendix 5 (static test requirements and procedure) from UN Regulation No. 80. The expert from OICA introduced GRSP-65-29-Rev.1 which proposed a compromise to the complete deletion of the static test as the static test will provide the basis for a simpler testing of small projects or Class I vehicles. He proposed a two-step approach: (a) the first step was presented with GRSP-65-29 Rev.1 with more stringent requirement for the attachments and fittings of the seat and (b) the second step would be a revision of the static and dynamic test. The expert from the United Kingdom acknowledged the need of small manufacturers to retain a static test as alternative and supported the proposal as a viable compromise. The experts from Finland, Italy and Russian Federation expressed similar views. The expert from Germany acknowledged that GRSP-65-29-Rev.1 had partially solved the problem of construction and fixation, and thus should be intended as a compromise that could be improved in the future. The expert from the Netherlands suggested that in the future, only the dynamic test should be used. Finally, GRSP adopted GRSP-65-29-Rev.1, as reproduced in Annex IV of the session report. The secretariat was requested to submit GRSP-65-29-Rev.1 as new 04 series of amendments to UN Regulation No. 80, for consideration and vote at the November 2019 sessions of WP.29 and AC.1.

Proposal to delete Appendix 5 and thereby end static testing as a compliance option. In addition, this proposal amends Appendix 1 by reducing the forward movement of the head of the manikin to 1.2 m in alignment with UN Regulation No. 14. Further, the proposal would limit the movement of the seat anchorages to 100 mm to ensure a minimum residual space for the passenger between the seats. Lastly, to ensure that seat fixations are reliably fastened after relocation, the proposal would require the necessary information to be marked directly on the seat and provided in the owner’s manual.

24. GRSP resumed discussion on the proposal tabled by the expert from Germany (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRSP/2018/10), aimed at removing the static tests and improving the dynamic test on seat anchorages. The expert from Germany continued provide evidence to GRSP through a new presentation (GRSP-63-32 and a Video Presentation No. 1) to support his proposal. He stated that the current requirements of the UN Regulation allows the approval of seat systems in busses on the basis of a static test procedure which does not provide an adequate level of protection compared with the dynamic procedure. He added that tests with one seat model showed that occupants could be exposed to a high risk of death or serious injury in an accident from the collapse of the seat fixation. Finally, he informed GRSP that comparable seat fixations failure had been observed in bus accidents, and occupants had already been killed or seriously injured. He added that the German administration is concerned that these severe accidents could happen again in the future. The expert from the Russian Federation proposed to postpone the decision to the December 2018 session of GRSP. He justified his recommendation on the lack of research on the issue. He added that the Russian Federation considered it premature to exclude static tests from UN Regulation No. 80 and proposed to revise this type of test. He also suggested amending the dynamic test methodology according to ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRSP/2018/10 and to the outcome of research conducted in the Russian Federation. Finally, he announced his intention to present these research results, accompanied with a draft amendment to UN Regulation No. 80 at the December 2018 session of GRSP. Several experts raised a study reservation to verify further statistical data. The expert from OICA also requested more time to prepare a revised proposal and requested to keeping GRSP-63-17 as a reference in the agenda of the next session.

25. GRSP agreed to resume discussion at the December 2018 session and invited experts to reach an agreement on this subject at that session.

26. The expert from Germany informed GRSP that TF on UN Regulation No. 80 had not started work due to the absence of new proposals as an alternative to the previous proposal ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRSP/2018/10, that had aimed at removing Appendix 5 (static test requirements and procedure) from UN Regulation No. 80. The expert from OICA introduced GRSP-65-29-Rev.1 which proposed a compromise to the complete deletion of the static test as the static test will provide the basis for a simpler testing of small projects or Class I vehicles. He proposed a two-step approach: (a) the first step was presented with GRSP-65-29 Rev.1 with more stringent requirement for the attachments and fittings of the seat and (b) the second step would be a revision of the static and dynamic test. The expert from the United Kingdom acknowledged the need of small manufacturers to retain a static test as alternative and supported the proposal as a viable compromise. The experts from Finland, Italy and Russian Federation expressed similar views. The expert from Germany acknowledged that GRSP-65-29-Rev.1 had partially solved the problem of construction and fixation, and thus should be intended as a compromise that could be improved in the future. The expert from the Netherlands suggested that in the future, only the dynamic test should be used. Finally, GRSP adopted GRSP-65-29-Rev.1, as reproduced in Annex IV of the session report. The secretariat was requested to submit GRSP-65-29-Rev.1 as new 04 series of amendments to UN Regulation No. 80, for consideration and vote at the November 2019 sessions of WP.29 and AC.1.