Appendix ANNEX I Technical provisions for the testing of vehicles and frontal protection systems

For the purposes of this Annex, the following definitions shall apply:

‘bonnet leading edge’ means the front of the upper outer structure, including the bonnet and wings, the upper and side members of the headlight surround and any other attachments;

‘bonnet leading edge reference line’ means the geometric trace of the points of contact between a straight edge 1 000 mm long and the front surface of the bonnet, when the straight edge, held parallel to the vertical longitudinal plane of the vehicle and inclined rearwards by 50 ° and with the lower end 600 mm above the ground, is traversed across and in contact with the bonnet leading edge. For vehicles having the bonnet top surface inclined at essentially 50 °, so that the straight edge makes a continuous contact or multiple contacts rather than a point contact, the reference line is determined with the straight edge inclined rearwards at an angle of 40 °. For vehicles of such shape that the bottom end of the straight edge makes first contact, then that contact is taken to be the bonnet leading edge reference line, at that lateral position. For vehicles of such shape that the top end of the straight edge makes first contact, then the geometric trace of 1 000 mm wrap around distance will be used as the bonnet leading edge reference line at that lateral position. The top edge of the bumper shall also be regarded as the bonnet leading edge for the purposes of this Regulation, if it is touched by the straight edge during this procedure;

‘1 000 mm wrap around distance’ means the geometric trace described on the frontal upper surface by one end of a 1 000 mm long flexible tape, when it is held in a vertical fore and aft plane of the vehicle and traversed across the front of the bonnet bumper and frontal protection system. The tape is held taut throughout the operation with one end held in contact with the ground reference level, vertically below the front face of the bumper and the other end held in contact with the frontal upper surface. The vehicle is positioned in the normal ride attitude;

‘bonnet top’ means the outer structure which includes the upper surface of all outer structures except the windscreen, the A-pillars and structures rearwards of them; it therefore includes, but is not limited to, the bonnet, wings, scuttle, wiper spindle and lower windscreen frame;

‘frontal upper surface’ means the outer structure that includes the upper surface of all outer structures except the windscreen, the A-pillars and structure rearwards of them;

‘ground reference level’ means the horizontal plane parallel to the ground level, representing the ground level for a vehicle placed at rest on a flat surface with the hand brake on, with the vehicle positioned in its normal ride attitude;

‘normal ride attitude’ means the vehicle attitude in running order positioned on the ground, with the tyres inflated to the recommended pressures, the front wheels in the straight-ahead position, with maximum capacity of all fluids necessary for operation of the vehicle, with all standard equipment as provided by the vehicle manufacturer, with a mass of 75 kg placed on the driver’s seat and with a mass of 75 kg placed on the front passenger’s seat, and with the suspension set for a driving speed of 40 km/h or 35 km/h in normal running conditions specified by the manufacturer (especially for vehicles with an active suspension or a device for automatic levelling);

F1‘windscreen’ means the frontal glazing of the vehicle situated between the A-pillars;

‘Head performance criterion’ (HPC) means a calculation, over a specified time period, of the maximum resultant acceleration experienced during the impact. It shall be calculated from the resultant of accelerometer time histories as the maximum (depending on t₁ and t₂) of the equation:

In that formula, ‘a’ is the resultant acceleration as a multiple of ‘g’ and t₁ and t₂ are the two time instants (expressed in seconds) during the impact, defining the beginning and the end of the recording for which the value of HPC is a maximum. Values of HPC for which the time interval (t₁ – t₂) is greater than 15 ms are ignored for the purposes of calculating the maximum value;

‘radius of curvature’ means the radius of the arc of a circle which comes closest to the rounded form of the component under consideration.

The following tests are required to be performed on vehicles:

Legform to bumper:

One of the following tests is required to be performed:

1. (a)

   lower legform to bumper:

   the test is performed at an impact speed of 40 km/h. The maximum dynamic knee bending angle shall not exceed 21,0 °, the maximum dynamic knee shearing displacement shall not exceed 6,0 mm, and the acceleration measured at the upper end of the tibia shall not exceed 200 g;

2. (b)

   upper legform to bumper:

   the test is performed at an impact speed of 40 km/h. The instantaneous sum of the impact forces with respect to time shall not exceed 7,5 kN and the bending moment on the test impactor shall not exceed 510 Nm.

Upper legform to bonnet leading edge:

The test is performed at an impact speed up to 40 km/h. The instantaneous sum of the impact forces with respect to time should not exceed a possible target of 5,0 kN and the bending moment on the test impactor shall be recorded and compared with the possible target of 300 Nm.

This test shall be completed for monitoring purposes only and the results shall be fully recorded.

Child/small adult headform to bonnet top:

The test is performed at an impact speed of 35 km/h using a 3,5 kg test impactor. The HPC shall not exceed 1 000 over 2/3 of the bonnet test area and 2 000 for the remaining 1/3 of the bonnet test area.

Adult headform to windscreen:

The test is performed at an impact speed of 35 km/h using a 4,8 kg test impactor. The HPC shall be recorded and compared with the possible target of 1 000.

This test shall be completed for monitoring purposes only and the results shall be fully recorded.

The following tests are required to be performed on vehicles:

Legform to bumper:

One of the following tests is required to be performed:

1. (a)

   lower legform to bumper:

   the test is performed at an impact speed of 40 km/h. The maximum dynamic knee bending angle shall not exceed 19,0 °, the maximum dynamic knee shearing displacement shall not exceed 6,0 mm, and the acceleration measured at the upper end of the tibia shall not exceed 170 g.

   In addition, the manufacturer may nominate bumper test widths of up to 264 mm in total where the acceleration measured at the upper end of the tibia shall not exceed 250 g;

2. (b)

   upper legform to bumper:

   the test is performed at an impact speed of 40 km/h. The instantaneous sum of the impact forces with respect to time shall not exceed 7,5 kN and the bending moment on the test impactor shall not exceed 510 Nm.

Upper legform to bonnet leading edge:

The test is performed at an impact speed up to 40 km/h. The instantaneous sum of the impact forces with respect to time shall be compared with a possible maximum of 5,0 kN and the bending moment on the test impactor shall be compared with a possible maximum of 300 Nm.

This test shall be completed for monitoring purposes only and the results shall be fully recorded.

Child/small adult headform to bonnet top:

The test is performed at an impact speed of 35 km/h using a 3,5 kg test impactor. The HPC shall comply with the requirements of point 3.5.

Adult headform to bonnet top:

The test performed at an impact speed of 35 km/h using a 4,5 kg test impactor. The HPC shall comply with the requirements of point 3.5.

The HPC recorded shall not exceed 1 000 over one half of the child headform test area and, in addition, shall not exceed 1 000 over 2/3 of the combined child and adult headform test areas. The HPC for the remaining areas shall not exceed 1 700 for both headforms.

The following tests are required to be performed on vehicles:

A reference test to identify the system operation point at which the anti-lock braking system (ABS) activates.

A test to verify that the operation of the brake assist system is correctly triggered so as to apply the maximum achievable deceleration characteristics of the vehicle.

The following tests are required to be performed on frontal protection systems (FPS):

One of the following legform tests, under points 5.1.1 or 5.1.2, is required to be performed:

Lower legform to FPS:

All the tests shall be performed at an impact speed of 40 km/h.

For an FPS approved for fitting to vehicles that comply with the requirements of Section 2 the maximum dynamic knee bending angle shall not exceed 21,0 °, the maximum dynamic knee shearing displacement shall not exceed 6,0 mm, and the acceleration measured at the upper end of the tibia shall not exceed 200 g.

For an FPS approved for fitting to vehicles that comply with the requirements of Section 3 the maximum dynamic knee bending angle shall not exceed 19,0 °, the maximum dynamic knee shearing displacement shall not exceed 6,0 mm, and the acceleration measured at the upper end of the tibia shall not exceed 170 g.

For an FPS approved for fitting only to vehicles which do not comply with either Section 2 or Section 3 the test requirements set out in points 5.1.1.1 and 5.1.1.2 may be replaced by the test requirements set out in either point 5.1.1.3.1 or point 5.1.1.3.2.

The maximum dynamic knee bending angle shall not exceed 24,0 °, the maximum dynamic knee shearing displacement shall not exceed 7,5 mm, and the acceleration measured at the upper end of the tibia shall not exceed 215 g.

A pair of tests shall be performed on the vehicle, one with the FPS fitted, and a second without the FPS fitted. Each pair of tests shall be performed in equivalent locations as agreed with the relevant approval authority. The values for the maximum dynamic knee bending angle, the maximum dynamic knee shearing displacement and the acceleration measured at the upper end of the tibia shall be recorded. In each case the value recorded for the vehicle fitted with the FPS shall not exceed 90 % of the value recorded for the vehicle without the FPS fitted.

Upper legform to FPS:

All the tests shall be performed at an impact speed of 40 km/h.

The instantaneous sum of the impact forces with respect to time shall not exceed 7,5 kN and the bending moment on the test impactor shall not exceed 510 Nm.

For an FPS approved for fitting only to vehicles which do not comply with either Section 2 or Section 3, the test requirements set out in point 5.1.2.1 may be replaced by the test requirements set out in either point 5.1.2.2.1 or point 5.1.2.2.2.

The instantaneous sum of the impact forces with respect to time shall not exceed 9,4 kN and the bending moment on the test impactor shall not exceed 640 Nm.

A pair of tests shall be performed on the vehicle, one with the FPS fitted, and a second without the FPS fitted. Each pair of tests shall be performed in equivalent locations as agreed with the relevant approval authority. The values for the instantaneous sum of the impact forces and the bending moment on the test impactor shall be recorded. In each case the value recorded for the vehicle fitted with the FPS shall not exceed 90 % of the value recorded for the vehicle without the FPS fitted.

Upper legform to FPS leading edge

The test is performed at an impact speed 40 km/h. The instantaneous sum of the impact forces with respect to time, to the top and the bottom of the impactor, should not exceed a possible target of 5,0 kN and the bending moment on the test impactor should not exceed a possible target of 300 Nm. Both results shall be recorded for monitoring purposes.

Child/small adult headform to FPS

The test is performed at an impact speed of 35 km/h using a 3,5 kg headform test impactor for the child/small adult. The HPC calculated from the resultant of the accelerometer time histories shall not exceed 1 000 in all cases.

Construction and installation provisions for FPS:

The following requirements apply equally to FPS fitted to new vehicles and to FPS to be supplied as separate technical units for fitting to specified vehicles.

The components of the FPS shall be so designed that all rigid surfaces which can be contacted by a 100 mm sphere, have a minimum radius of curvature of 5 mm.

The total mass of the FPS, including all brackets and fixings, shall not exceed 1,2 % of the maximum mass of the vehicle for which it is designed, subject to a maximum of 18 kg.

The height of the FPS, when fitted to a vehicle, shall be no more than 50 mm above the height of the bonnet leading edge reference line.

The FPS shall not increase the width of the vehicle to which it is fitted. If the overall width of the FPS is more than 75 % of the width of the vehicle, the ends of the FPS shall be turned in towards the external surface in order to minimise the risk of fouling. This requirement is considered to be satisfied if either the FPS is recessed or integrated within the bodywork or the end of the FPS is turned so that it is not contactable by a 100 mm sphere and the gap between the end of the FPS and the surrounding bodywork does not exceed 20 mm.

Subject to point 6.1.4, the gap between the components of the FPS and the underlying external surface shall not exceed 80 mm. Local discontinuities in the general contour of the underlying body (such as apertures in grilles, air intakes, etc.) shall be ignored.

At any lateral position across the vehicle, in order to preserve the benefits of the vehicle bumper, the longitudinal distance between the most forward part of the bumper and the most forward part of the FPS shall not exceed 50 mm.

The FPS shall not reduce significantly the effectiveness of the bumper. This requirement shall be considered to be satisfied if there are no more than two vertical components and no horizontal components of the FPS overlapping the bumper.

The FPS shall not be inclined forward of the vertical. The top parts of the FPS shall not extend upwards or rearwards (towards the windscreen) more than 50 mm from the bonnet leading edge reference line of the vehicle with the FPS removed.

Conformity with the requirements of the vehicle type-approval shall not be compromised by the fitting of a FPS.

By derogation to Sections 2, 3 and 5, the relevant approval authority may consider the requirements for any of the tests laid down therein to be fulfilled by any equivalent testing carried out under the requirements of another test pursuant to this Annex.