Proposal to clarify guidance on reporting unauthorized modifications to the ADS by deleting “Such an occurrence is expected to be reported in case of” and replacing it with “Examples of unauthorised modifications to the ADS could include”, deleting “Sensor tampering; obstruction;” and inserting language to specify that ADS-relevant software or hardware tampering, or third-party hardware interfering with ADS, could constitute unauthorized modifications affecting intended functionality.

Proposal to clarify guidance on reporting maintenance and repair issues by deleting “Such an occurrence is expected to be reported in case of” and inserting “Examples of maintenance or repair issues could include”, adding “safety-critical” before “software”, adding “potential” before “safety”, deleting “implications” and inserting “consequences, or”, deleting “Fitted hardware not compliant to safety performance specifications” and inserting “Not following the repair instructions given by the manufacturer.”

This document proposes guidance on reporting cyber security issues affecting autonomous driving systems safety. The proposal modifies the description of reportable cyber security incidents to replace “Safety-relevant ECU compromised” with “Any cybersecurity threat identified to safety relevant ECU, or” and deletes “ADS control channel manipulated.” The text also clarifies that reporting must align with UN R155 where this Regulation is applied, replacing the reference to “CSMS procedure where R155 is applied.”

Proposal to introduce guidance on reporting the average feature engagement time. The average engagement time is a statistical measure of how long an ADS feature stays engaged per activation, computed as cumulative time divided by number of activations. The average is expected to be computed in an aggregated manner over the whole fleet of vehicles having the same ADS feature, representing the average duration between activations and deactivations of a feature.

Proposal to amend the guidance on reporting safety-relevant communication issues by deleting “Such an occurrence could be reported in case of” and replacing it with “Examples of communication issues could include”, deleting “The remote interaction is unavailable” and replacing it with “Interruption of remote interaction,”, replacing “Information” with “Communication”, adding “the” before “safety threshold”, and adding “(if indicated in the safety case)” after “safety threshold”, and replacing the period after “unavailable” with “, or”.

Proposal to add animals and children to examples of safety-relevant objects in para. 6.1.2.8. The revision inserts “Animals and children (in or adjacent to the roadway, under the vehicle carriage, etc)” into the illustrative and non-exhaustive list of safety-relevant objects. The proposal removes ambiguity for manufacturers developing safety cases and ensures consistent treatment across ADS requirements, making explicit that animals and children are safety-relevant objects even though they cannot be expected to respond predictably based on vehicle signals, traffic rules, or common conventions.

Proposal to add animals and other road users as examples of entities an ADS may encounter in driving situations and test scenarios. The revised text adds “animals, or other road users” to the illustrative example in para. 2.33 and para. 2.34, and replaces “pedestrians” with “these entities” in the corresponding sentence about scenario design. This ensures scenario design used to demonstrate ADS competency explicitly accounts for animal encounters alongside pedestrians and other road users.

Proposal to remove brackets from the ODD paragraph in section 7.3.1.3. The proposal removes square brackets that were included as a result of the ADS-20-46/Rev.3 discussion. The bracketed text addresses scenarios where a new area falls within existing ODD bounds, where deployment in that area might not require ODD modification, and where modifications to the area of operation would not require ODD modification provided conditions and environment in new areas of operation have been considered, but where operation in an area with different traffic laws or behaviour than those for which the ADS’s ability to comply has been demonstrated would require an amendment to the safety case.

Proposal to clarify guidance on reporting of system failures that compromise DDT performance by amending the description of reportable system failures, including modifying language regarding loss of redundancy or reduction in capabilities of ADS features to perform the entire DDT, replacing “failure in an actuator used by the ADS” with “hardware failure that compromises the capability of an ADS feature to perform the entire DDT,” and retaining the existing provision regarding degradation in computational capability.

Proposal to clarify para. 6.1.3.3.2. to specify that the requirement provides an exception for instances where there is a need to move the ADS vehicle before the operational state of its ADS can be verified, remove reference to fallback user since the requirement explicitly refers to ADSF-2, replace “Hand-over to fallback user” with “Allow an appropriate ADS user to take over control”, and clarify that the road safety agent may be permitted to drive the ADS vehicle manually.

Proposal to add an interpretation of the term “other road user” in para. 2.21. of Definitions. The proposal defines “other road user” (ORU) as any entity making use of publicly accessible road infrastructure, covering users making intentional use of roadways with knowledge of traffic rules and other sentient entities that might be found in vehicle paths but cannot be expected to respond predictably based on vehicle signals or traffic rules, such as children and animals. The safety case would address both classes of ORU with appropriate adaptation to account for lower predictability of child and animal behaviours where relevant to the ODD of an ADS feature. The proposal was withdrawn for reconsideration during the further development of GTR 26 and UN Regulation 185.

Proposal to simplify text on AV screening in the GID Introduction section. The revised text condenses the explanation that AV screening amendments to WP.29 Regulations are outside the scope of the GID. The original lengthy paragraph explained WP.29’s screening process, task forces, and technical requirements for systems such as braking, steering, and lighting. The revised text concisely states that WP.29 has updated its regulations concerning aspects of the DDT to enable their application to ADS vehicles, and these AV-related amendments are outside the scope of this document.

Proposal to specify GTR number 26 and UN Regulation number 185 to the Introductory Text.

Proposal to replace “all entirely” with “solely” in the Introduction.

Proposal to delete the final sentence of the Introductory Text of the GID, which states “Nonetheless, the amendments to these other regulations, including those that enable performance of the DDT, are outside the scope of the ADS regulations and of this document.” The deletion removes redundant language already conveyed in the preceding text that modifications of other regulations related to ADS are outside the scope of this document.

Proposal to clarify in the introductory text that the document does not limit requirements or introduce new requirements, update the reference to WP.29 adoption of the Regulations under the 1958 and 1998 Agreements, and add explanation that interpretation examples are not exhaustive, definitive, or compulsory and that each safety case must be tailored to the characteristics of the automated driving system, its features, their operational design domain, and assessed on its own merits.

Proposal to delete text from the draft Introduction section of the Guidance and Interpretation Document on ADS Regulation. The formal submission to GRVA produced in June was based on the Workshop information document that contained additional explanations on the status of work. These contents are not appropriate for the final version of the Guidance and Interpretation Document.

Proposal to delete the interpretation in para. 7.2.1.9.1. The Testing sub-group decided not to provide additional guidance regarding approaches for criticality. The topic is already covered in the Guidelines and Recommendations for ADS Safety (WP.29/2024/39). Several options were proposed but none achieved consensus, and potential compromise solutions did not provide a worthwhile addition on top of existing guidance already available in WP.29/2024/39.

The proposal revises para. 7.2.1.4.1. to replace the original text on personnel competencies with revised text that focuses on demonstrating confidence in personnel competence to support appropriate use of simulation results rather than prescribing specific qualifications, role profiles, or individual assessment criteria. Documentation may be supported through organisational or system-level arrangements including defining responsibilities, identifying knowledge and skills needed, providing training and supervision, maintaining records of experience and qualifications, and providing evidence of accreditations and management systems.

Agenda includes status of work on GTR and UNR proposals and the Guidance and Interpretation Document (GID), and proposals to resolve open items concerning:

• The baseline document integration of GTR provisions,
• Introduction to the GID,
• Terms and definitions,
• ADS operational states,
• DDT requirements,
• Other ADS requirements,
• Safety of interactions between the ADS and its user(s),
• Safety cases and their assessment,
• SMS requirements and their assessment,
• Test environment requirements and their assessment,
• In-service monitoring and reporting requirements and related annexes,
• Approvals and related annexes,

Proposal to modify the explanation on performance issues constituting an unreasonable risk to safety by specifying that this occurrence should be understood as deviations, degradations, or performance limitations shown by an ADS feature that affect its ability to perform the DDT within the declared ODD, triggered by events that present an unreasonable risk to safety and/or are beyond expected variability or acceptable degradation, replace “may” with “might” in references to discrete failures and risk existence, replace “Violation of” with “Non-compliance with respect to the”, delete references to identified reduction in safety margins and exceeding overall hazard exposure thresholds, replace “the rate of hazardous event occurrences” with “hazardous event exposure:”, and replace “suggests” with “could suggest”.

Proposal to add examples to the guidance on reporting noncompliance with DDT performance requirements under para. 6, specifying that failures include systematic or repeated deviations from DDT performance requirements defined under para. 6, non-compliance with respect to DDT performance requirements and requirements on interactions between the ADS and its user or other requirements under para. 6, and deviation from Remote Interaction/Intervention as described in the Safety case, with a note that some examples can reveal unreasonable risk to safety requiring only a single report noting this aspect.

Proposal to establish a Guidance and Interpretation document supporting implementation of the proposed UN Global Technical Regulation and UN Regulation on Automated Driving Systems. The document, based on informal document GRVA-25-20 reviewed at GRVA’s twenty-fifth session, provides draft guidance as of the seventeenth GRVA Workshop on ADS (27 April–1 May 2026), with restructuring and refinement expected for submission to GRVA at its twenty-sixth session (14–18 September 2026), to facilitate interpretation of ADS requirements, provide evidence guidance, and harmonize application across manufacturers, authorities, and inspection bodies.

GRVA reviewed the advance copy of ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2026/137 circulated in April 2026 and proposed modifications integrated in the final version in June 2026. The amendments replace [ADS], [This Regulation], [XXX], and [number of this Regulation] with [185]; amend Contents, paragraph references, and numbered paragraphs; add periods and remove brackets; renumber paragraphs 1.4.11.5, 1.4.11.5.1., and 1.4.11.5.2. as 1.4.12., 1.4.12.1., and 1.4.12.2.; replace square brackets with parentheses and examples in tables; and amend fallback requirements and data recording specifications.

The 20th ADS IWG and 17th GRVA Workshop on ADS convened in Bangkok from April 27 to May 1, 2026. OPIs consolidated draft text for the Guidance and Interpretation document (GID) on ADS, addressing DDT performance, application for approval, user interactions, SMS, ISMR, safety case, and assessment provisions. The GID would be submitted to GRVA in May and WP.29 in June as an informal document, then officially in September and November. Numerous amendment proposals were discussed, including clarifications on crash causation, priority vehicles, road safety agents, MRC requirements, remote assistance, and scenario testing. The next session in Brussels (July 14-17) aims to finalize the GID, with Phase 2 work items to be considered thereafter.

Proposal to amend ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2026/139 and ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2026/1:

• Insert new paragraph 5.2.1.8.1 requiring manufacturers to document the scope of each simulation toolchain and identify its limitations,
• Remove paragraph 5.2.1.3.1.,
• Amend paragraph 5.3.1.16. to describe how the ADS feature responds to failure situations including fallback operation, redundancy, diversity of systems, or removal of automated driving functions,
• Amend paragraph 6.3.2.2.3. to read assessment instead of approval authority or its designated technical service,
• Amend paragraph 6.3.3.3.1. to clarify that paragraphs 6.3.3.3.2. to 6.3.3.3.9. apply when confirmatory track testing is conducted or required,
• Amend Annex 5 table 3 to replace bracketed values with examples,
• Replace square brackets with parenthesis in Annex 5 table 4 row 2,
• Remove square brackets from Annex 5 table 4 row 3,
• Amend Annex 7 table 5 rows 2 and 3 column 7 to describe fallback to mitigated risk condition and deceleration limits,
• Correct reference in Annex 6 table from 7.3.1.15 to 5.3.1.15,
• Remove brackets in Annex 6 paragraph 5.3.1. and amend paragraph 5.3.2. to remove brackets around table and record visual images mandatory from -7 to +7 seconds,
• Amend paragraph 137 in ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2026/1 to describe the seventeenth workshop in Bangkok and agreement to finalize remaining open items at the July 2026 Brussels workshop.

The sixteenth GRVA Workshop on ADS was held online on 20 March 2026 with 52 participants. The workshop adopted the agenda and minutes of the previous workshop. Experts presented updates on the guidance document covering testing provisions, In-Service Monitoring and Reporting, user interactions, Operational Design Domain, approval sections, and Safety Management System. The next workshop would be organized as a joint meeting with the IWG on ADS in Bangkok.

Proposal to amend guidance on continuous improvement processes in para. 7.1.8.2. by inserting text stating that post-deployment safety analyses are systematically performed for all occurrences; however, their conclusions do not necessarily result in the identification of a corrective action from the manufacturer, modifying text to state that not all identified corrective or preventive actions need to be implemented in order to close an occurrence, and replacing text to state decisions on what to address and how are based on an overall assessment of the consequences and the impact of implementing a change.

Proposal to amend explanatory text for UNR paragraph 3.2.3. (b) to clarify that the manufacturer should explain how they determine and apply the concept of the safety level of the ADS being at least to the level of a competent and careful human driver, accounting for national specificities, and that there may be different approaches used in applying this concept, including reference driver based approaches and behaviour-based approaches.

The Eighteenth GRVA Workshop on ADS will be held on 1 June 2026 from 12:30–14:30 Geneva time online via MS Teams. The workshop will adopt the provisional agenda and minutes of the 16th GRVA workshop on ADS. Participants will receive briefing on highlights from the informal part of the 25th GRVA held in Montreal from 18–22 May 2026. The workshop will review the timeline for delivering the Guidance and Interpretation Document as an informal document at the 200th WP.29 session and as an official document for consideration at the March 2027 session. OPIs will inform participants on their development activities for the guidance and interpretation document.

For the purposes of type approval under any UN Regulation requiring the verification of the timing of a system intervention, manufacturers shall provide to the approval authority or its designated technical service information on the method by which the initiation of any system intervention can be objectively identified and retrieved, including specific flags, status bits, event codes on in-vehicle networks, or visual indications on screens; clear instructions and all necessary tools for the Technical Service to extract, access and interpret the signal identifying the initiation; documented procedures including corresponding data sources, resolution, and timing accuracy appended to the type approval test report; and, where a visual indication displayed on a screen is used, documented latency between the earliest internal point at which the system initiates the function and the moment the visual indication becomes visible on the screen, expressed as a fixed value with associated uncertainty, with the documented latency value used to correct the observed timing of the screen indication appended to the type approval test report.

The document requests guidance on the legal basis for provisions within UN Regulations extending beyond the End-of-Production date and which authority such provisions address. Examples include UN R171 requirements for manufacturers to demonstrate safety management systems to the Type Approval Authority every three years and report annually on Driven Coded Auxiliary System operation until production is discontinued, and UN R155 requirements for Cyber Security Management Systems to apply to the post-production phase when vehicles remain operational but are no longer produced. The document poses an additional question regarding vehicle safety when manufacturers cease operations and cannot fulfill post-deployment safety provisions.

The CS/OTA Task Force held its thirty-seventh session on 21-22 April 2026 by video conference. The group adopted the provisional agenda and minutes from the thirty-sixth session. Discussions addressed proposals for amendments to UN R155 concerning multi-stage vehicle approvals and separate technical units, for which a subworking group was established. Proposals were also considered on type approval authority responsibility for cyber security management systems and remote operation of automated driving systems. The group reviewed cyber and software requirements in the ADS GTR and WP.29/2022/60 as amended by WP.29/2023/87, and discussed application of RXSWIN to UN Regulations, selecting option 2 for presentation to GRVA with R155, R156, and R89 square bracketed. The IWG mandate renewal was discussed, with potential new items including component and STU approval and software numbering proposals.

Proposal to develop UN GTR for both assisted and automated parking. The document presents parking product classifications in China, including assisted parking (park-in/park-out, cruising capability, remote-control variants) and automated parking systems. Current UN Regulations lack specific technical requirements, test methods, and test scenarios for parking functions. China is developing national standards GB for parking combined driver assistance systems and automated parking systems, with approval expected by end of 2026 and early 2027 respectively. The proposal suggests establishing a Task Force to study applicability of current UN Regulations to parking products, then determining whether to establish an IWG or formulate new regulations.

Proposal to amend ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2026/137 to replace placeholder text “[ADS]”, “[XXX]”, and “[number of this Regulation]” with the UN Regulation number upon adoption, amend the cross-reference in paragraph 1.2. to “7.2.3.17.”, amend paragraph 6.2.2.3.8.1. subparagraph (b) to specify gaze directed to “the” driving task relevant area, remove brackets around “7.4.” in paragraph 11.2., add a period after the number in Annex 1 paragraph 5.1., amend Annex 1 Appendix 1 paragraphs 1.4.5. and 1.4.7., renumber paragraphs 1.4.12., 1.4.12.1., and 1.4.12.2. as 1.4.11.5., 1.4.11.5.1., and 1.4.11.5.2., amend Annex 1 Appendix 2, amend Annex 7 table 5 rows 1 and 2 column 7, remove brackets in Annex 8 paragraphs 5.3.1. and 5.3.2., and insert “Mandatory” in Annex 8 table row 1 column 2.

Proposal to amend WP.29/2026/139 to amend para. 4.2.2.3.8.1. subparagraph (b) regarding user engagement to resume the DDT, insert new para. 5.2.1.8.1. requiring manufacturers to document simulation toolchain scope and limitations, amend para. 5.2.1.3.1. regarding manufacturer management of relevant data, amend para. 5.3.1.16. describing ADS responses to failure situations, amend para. 6.3.2.2.3. regarding scenario assessment, amend para. 6.3.3.3.1. regarding confirmatory track testing provisions, amend Annex 5 Tables 3, 4, and 5 regarding scenario specifications and risk manoeuvre conditions, and amend Annex 6 para. 5.3.1. and 5.3.2. regarding DSSAD recording requirements and intervals.

The ADS informal working group status report to GRVA documents progress since the 24th GRVA session in January 2026. The group accepted proposals to make minor amendments to GTR and UNR, and accepted proposals to amend GTR and UNR to introduce DSSAD provisions. Working documents WP.29/2026/139 (GTR) and WP.29/2026/137 (UNR) were submitted for WP.29’s 199th session. For the 25th GRVA session, GRVA-25-21 and GRVA-25-22 were submitted as informal documents to amend WP.29/2026/137 and WP.29/2026/139. GRVA seeks a 3-year extension of the IWG-ADS mandate, with revised Terms of Reference to be prepared for GRVA-26 in September 2026.

Proposal to amend para. 137 to describe the seventeenth workshop organized in Bangkok, Thailand, together with the twentieth session of the IWG on ADS, where participants reviewed updates to the GID document sections prepared by the OPIs, resulting in a revised version of the GID document considered mature enough for presentation at the twenty-fifth GRVA session, with agreement that remaining open items should be finalized at the July 2026 workshop in Brussels, Belgium, and several minor amendments to the draft GTR/UN-R text derived from the Bangkok meeting discussions modified the text of the draft GTR/UN-R.

This Guidance and Interpretation Document (GID), based on GRVA/2026/3 as amended by GRVA-24-29 and WP.29-198-09, supports implementation of proposed UN Global Technical Regulation and UN Regulation on Automated Driving Systems. The GID, structured in table format with regulatory text and explanatory guidance with examples, facilitates interpretation of ADS requirements when applying them to particular vehicles or vehicle types. The document addresses ADS safety, system descriptions, operational design domains, performance in nominal, critical, and failure situations, interactions between ADS and users, manufacturer safety management systems, test environments including simulation credibility frameworks, safety cases, post-deployment safety monitoring, and compliance assessments including confirmatory testing. Materials will be restructured and refined for submission to GRVA’s September 2026 session.

Since the 24th session of GRVA, the Workshops on Automated Driving Systems held four sessions, with meetings in Shanghai and Bangkok. Administrative requirements for the draft UNR/GTR ADS require no further discussion. Task 3 developed interpretations and guidance for implementation, consolidated in a draft Guidance and Interpretation Document presented as informal document GRVA-25-20, with remaining items for refinement at a July Brussels hybrid joint IWG/WS session. The GID will be made available in English, French, and Russian, with the IWG ADS maintaining it. Formal adoption is projected for November WP.29 following September GRVA discussion.

This document is a draft Guidance and Interpretation Document (GID) for UN Global Technical Regulation and UN Regulation on Automated Driving Systems, based on GRVA/2026/3 as amended by GRVA-24-29 and WP.29-198-09. The GID provides explanatory text, guidance, and examples to support implementation of ADS requirements without introducing new obligations. It covers scope, definitions, application for approval, approval procedures, ADS performance requirements in nominal, critical, and failure situations, interactions between ADS and users, safety management systems, test environments including simulation credibility frameworks, safety case requirements, post-deployment safety monitoring with reportable occurrences, and compliance assessment procedures. The document clarifies terminology including operational states of ADS features, critical occurrences, driving situations, and mitigated risk conditions, and provides detailed guidance on ODD definition, safety case structure, confirmatory testing approaches, and in-service reporting templates with threshold definitions for critical occurrences.

Since January 2026, the group accepted proposals ADS-20-15, ADS-20-16, and ADS-20-48/Rev.1 for minor amendments. Working documents WP.29/2026/139 and WP.29/2026/137 were submitted for WP.29’s 199th session. Two informal documents (ADS-20-59 and ADS-20-60) will amend these working documents. GRVA seeks a three-year mandate extension for the informal group to address identified future work items beyond June 2026.

The Informal Working Group on Automated Driving Systems identified topics for future consideration organized into four lists: items not addressed in original versions of the GTR/UNR; existing items requiring amendment or improvement; items relating to operational implementation; and other items. List 1 includes remote assistance, ODD description taxonomy, external human-machine interface provisions, and connectivity considerations. List 2 includes ADS to ADAS transitions, Data Storage Systems for Automated Driving, ADS deactivation, in-service monitoring and reporting, and safety case requirements. List 3 addresses interpretation document improvements, mutual recognition provisions review, system updates and thresholds, and practical implementation of in-service monitoring. List 4 includes text streamlining to remove duplication and improve clarity.

Proposal to amend WP.29/2026/139 to amend para. 4.2.2.3.8.1. subparagraph (b) to replace “a the driving task relevant area” with “the driving task relevant area”, amend para. 6.3.2.2.3. to replace “approval authority” with “assessment”, amend Annex 5 table 5 rows 1 and 2 column 7 to replace “minimal risk manoeuvre” with “fallback to a mitigated risk condition” and remove brackets around deceleration threshold from ⁴ m/s², remove brackets in Annex 6 para. 5.3.1., and amend Annex 6 para. 5.3.2. table to insert “Mandatory” in row 1 column 2 and remove brackets after the table.

Proposal to amend ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2026/137: replace “[ADS]”, “[XXX]”, and “[number of this Regulation]” with the UN Regulation number upon adoption throughout Contents, Appendices, and Annexes; amend para. 1.2. cross-reference to read “7.2.3.17.”; amend para. 6.2.2.3.8.1.(b) to specify gaze directed to “the” driving task relevant area; remove brackets around “7.4.” in para. 11.2.; add period after number in Annex 1 para. 5.1.; amend Annex 1 Appendix 1 paras. 1.4.5., 1.4.7., and renumber 1.4.12., 1.4.12.1., 1.4.12.2. as 1.4.11.5., 1.4.11.5.1., 1.4.11.5.2.; amend Annex 7 table 5 rows 1–2 column 7 to replace “minimal risk manoeuvre” with “fallback to a mitigated risk condition”; remove brackets in Annex 8 para. 5.3.1. and amend para. 5.3.2. table to insert “Mandatory” in row 1.

Proposal to revise the guidance on para. 6.1.2.3 of the draft UN Regulation on ADS regarding unreasonable disruption to traffic. The revision changes “prevent normal interaction” to “allow normal interaction” and “require other road users” to “may technically require other road users” to clarify that the requirement permits normal interaction with traffic, such as using on ramps, slowing for traffic lights, and waiting at unprotected turns, where other road users must adapt their speed, without violating the requirement.

Proposal to amend ADS-20-12 (consolidated guidance document). The ADS shall have strategies to detect and respond to instructions from road safety agents. For ADSF-1, this allows transfer of control to the fallback user. Manufacturers may use non-ADS strategies including remote intervention or permitting the road safety agent to drive. Examples of instructions include pull over, give way, stop after collision, move out of way, avoid specific road, and not overtake. Instructions may be issued via lights, sirens, audio messages, written signs, or light bar messages.

Proposal to amend explanation of para. 6.2.2.1.4. to clarify that ‘while’ refers to continuous presentation of information sufficient to enable a user to take over performance of the DDT such as through ambient lighting, tell-tales, or dashboard colour changes. The explanation notes that information on adapted performance is only presented if applicable.