66th ECE Commission Geneva, 14-16 April 2015

Connectivity and Competitiveness for Sustainable Lives

Sustainable Connectivity Includes Safe Mobility Which Also Requires Safe Vehicles

Presentation by: David Ward , Secretary General, Global New Car Assessment Programme

The Decade’s goal is to ‘stabilize and thenreduce the level of road fatalities’ equivalentto a 50% reduction in the forecast level of fatalities by 2020. This would avoid 5 million deaths, 50 million injuries . The Decade is supported by a Global Plan with five pillars:

1. Building Management Capacity2. Encouraging Safer User Behaviour3. Building Safer Vehicles4. Building Safer Roads 5. Improving Post Crash Care

The Decade Plan includes seven recommended activities in ‘pillar three’ to promote vehicle safety;such as applying minimum crash test standardsand promoting NCAPs in all world regions. This wasendorsed by the UN GA in a resolution in April 2014.

UN Decade of Action for Road Safety

ECE - Promoting Global Vehicle Safety Standards

General Assembly Resolution 68/269Improving global road safety, April 2014

Reaffirms the role and importance of the United Nations legal instruments on road safety, such as…the 1958 and 1998 agreements of the World Forumfor Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, in facilitating road safety at the global, regional and national levels, and encourages Member States that have not yet done so to consider becoming contracting parties and, beyond accession, applying, implementing and promoting their provisions or safety regulations…

The most important car safety UN Regulations are:

Reg. 14 Seat belt anchoragesReg. 16 Safety belts & restraintsReg. 94 Frontal collisionReg. 95 Lateral collisionReg.13H (GTR 8) Electronic stability controlReg.127 (GTR 9) Pedestrian protection

In high income countries the combination of safety standards and consumer information have made passenger cars safer than ever before. This is the positive result of “regulatory push” and “demand pull”.

The challenge now is to extend this progress to the rapidly motorising low and middle income countries which now account 50% of car sales and production…and over 90% of road fatalities.

Today millions of new cars sold in low and middle income countries fail to meet minimum UN crash test standards, have no air bags, and no electronic stability control (ESC).

Vehicle Safety’s Winning Formula: Regulatory Push & Demand Pull

Changing Geography of the Global Car Market

Top 10 Car Producing Countries/regions 2013

Crash Worthiness: Front & Side Occupant Protection

Crash tests for front and side impact are themost important assessment tools for occupantprotection; and are used both in legislation and consumer information programmes.

The frontal impact simulates a car to car crashin which the test vehicle hits a barrier that replicates the soft front end of the other vehicle. The impact is ‘offset’ with a 40% overlap.

The UN Reg. 94 test speed is 56 km/h whilst NCAP tests usually use 64 km/h (the speedat which fatalities are most likely).

The side impact test uses a trolley that hits thevehicle just above the door sill area at 50 km/h.

Crash Avoidance: First Generation ‘eSafety’ Technologies

Three key crash avoidance systems are today’s priority technologies for passenger cars, buses, commercial vehicles and motor cycles:

Electronic Stability Control (ESC) anti-skid system with capacity to reduce up to 40% of run-off road crashes. Now mandatory in most high income countries.

Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) uses laser & radar to automatically apply the brakes if the driver does not react and can cut collisions at low speed by20%. Pedestrian systems are also appearing and will become an important injury prevention technology.

Motorcycle Anti-lock Brakes (ABS) helps reduce stopping distances. Motorcycles equipped with ABShave rate of fatal crashes 37 per cent lower than same models without.

• Calls for the ‘democratisation ‘of car safety by the combination of stronger consumer information and universal application of minimum UN standards for crash protection and avoidance.

• Proposes ten key recommendations including the phased application by 2020 to all new cars of the UN’s front, side ,and pedestrian impact crash tests and the anti-skid system, electronic stability control.

• These actions, together with measures promoting safer roads and road users, are needed to meet the UN Decade of Action target to cut forecast road deaths in 2020 by 50%; and also contribute to the post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are likely to include road safety and a new casualty reduction target.

Democratizing Car Safety: A Road Map for Safer Cars 2020

• The drive for safer vehicles is both affordable and necessary to achieve UN sustainable mobility goals

by 2030. Meeting minimum crash standards can cost less than US $200 per vehicle.

• The growth of ‘eSafety’ technologies will require further regulatory support and action to promote their application in rapidly motorising regions.

• Universal implementation of UN standards for crash protection and avoidance will bring economies of

scale, reduce cost, and promote fair competition .

• The UNECE serves as the custodian of the global motor vehicle regulatory system and this role needs stronger support and recognition.

• All UN Member States (especially vehicle producers) should use it to promote safer mobility worldwide.

Connectivity and Competitiveness for Safe Mobility

Thank You!

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