Informal document N° 8

(67th WP15, 8-12 November 99

agenda item 3 (d) (i))

OICA COMMENTS ON THE RESTRUCTURING OF ADR

NECESSARY TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

IN THE TYPE APPROVAL SYSTEM OF ADR BASE VEHICLES

In most cases, the production of a base vehicle intended for the transport of dangerous goods will be a series production in a commercial vehicle manufacturer's plant.

Then an internationally recognized type approval will ensure optimized safety through, for instance, a standardized production control of the compliance with soundly discussed technical provisions.

However, technical progress must be taken into account, and permanent needs to improve safety or environment protection are continuously pressing for improving the vehicle performances.

Any change to a series production, following a feasibility survey, needs detailed design work, new tooling machinery, possibly new equipment or materials to be bought, new production plant features, financial investments, new administrative documentation, developments and type approval testing.

All these steps in addition to certification procedure require time, depending on the specific technical modification to be effected on a vehicle.

Thus, enforcement of amended regulatory provisions needs transitional provisions.

For this purpose, further amendments to Regulation N°105 will comprise detailed transitional provisions as any of the ECE Regulations.

The GRSG (Working Party on General Safety Provisions) had been entrusted by WP29 in the year 1993 with drafting general guidelines for transitional provisions in UN/ECE Regulations (document TRANS/SC1/WP29/383 attached).

The relevant dates to be mentioned in the transitional provisions will be established following consideration of priority decided by governments, and of industry capabilities.

As a consequence, the bi-annual publication of the ADR Agreement when referring to Regulation N°105 would implicitely refer to its transitional provisions.

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