Vol. 151, No. 9 — May 3, 2017

Registration

SOR/2017-57 April 13, 2017

MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY ACT

Regulations Amending the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (Standards 111, 123, 126, 205, 206 and 301.3)

P.C. 2017-380 April 13, 2017

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport, pursuant to subsections 5(1) (see footnote a) and 11(1) (see footnote b) of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (see footnote c), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (Standards 111, 123, 126, 205, 206 and 301.3).

Regulations Amending the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (Standards 111, 123, 126, 205, 206 and 301.3)

Amendments

1 Section 3 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (see footnote 1) is replaced by the following:

3 For the purposes of subsection 3(2) of the Act, on request from a company, the Minister may authorize, in the form set out in Schedule II, the company to apply the national safety mark.

2 Section 111 of Part II of Schedule IV to the Regulations is amended by adding the following after subsection (13):

(13.1) As an alternative to the rearview mirrors required by subsection (13), a motorcycle may be equipped with rearview mirrors that conform to paragraph 16 of United Nations Regulation No. 81, Uniform Provisions Concerning the Approval of Rear-view Mirrors of Two-wheeled Power-driven Vehicles with or without Side Car, with Regard to the Installation of Rear-view Mirrors on Handlebars (United Nations Regulation No. 81), as amended by any amendment prior to the 01 series of amendments.

(13.2) Despite paragraph 16.2.1 of United Nations Regulation No. 81, all two-wheeled vehicles with a maximum speed of 50 km/h or less shall be equipped with two rearview mirrors.

(13.3) For the purposes of subsections (13.1) and (13.2), a reference in United Nations Regulation No. 81 to “two-wheeled vehicle” or “three-wheeled vehicle” is to be read as a reference to “motorcycle”, and a reference to “maximum designed speed” is to be read as a reference to “maximum speed”.

3 Section 123 of Part II of Schedule IV to the Regulations is replaced by the following:

General

123 (1) Every motorcycle, except those designed and sold exclusively for use by law enforcement agencies, shall conform to the requirements of Technical Standards Document No. 123, Motorcycle Controls and Displays (TSD 123), as amended from time to time.

(2) Instead of conforming to subsection (1), motorcycles, except those designed and sold exclusively for use by law enforcement agencies, may conform to the requirements of paragraph 5 of United Nations Regulation No. 60, Uniform Provisions Concerning the Approval of Two-Wheeled Motor Cycles and Mopeds with Regard to Driver-Operated Controls Including the Identification of Controls, Tell-Tales and Indicators (United Nations Regulation No. 60), as amended by any amendment prior to the 01 series of amendments.

(3) Every motorcycle shall be equipped with a horn.

(4) The symbols and abbreviations used to identify the controls and displays of a motorcycle shall be provided in the English and French versions of the owner’s manual, accompanied by a full explanation.

(5) In the case of analogue speedometer displays, the kilometre-per-hour scale shall increase in a clockwise direction. Major graduations and numerals shall appear at 10 or 20 km/h intervals and minor graduations at 5 or 10 km/h intervals.

(6) An odometer or trip odometer installed on a motorcycle adjacent to the speedometer shall display distances in the same unit of measure as that of the predominant speedometer scale. If the odometer or trip odometer is not adjacent to the speedometer or switches between kilometres and miles independently of the speedometer, the odometer or trip odometer shall display distances in kilometres or miles and shall identify the unit of measure used.

(7) A turn signal lamp display fitted on a motorcycle shall be green or yellow.

(8) For the purposes of subsections (10), (11), (16) and (17), wherever the term “motorcycle” is used in International Standard ISO 6727, Road vehicles — Motorcycles — Symbols for controls, indicators and tell-tales (ISO 6727), as amended from time to time, it has the same meaning as motorcycle in subsection 2(1) of these Regulations.

TSD 123

(9) Item 12 of Table 3 to TSD 123 applies to manual fuel tank shutoff valves only.

(10) Any control or display that is not listed in Table 3 to TSD 123 and for which no other identification requirements are specified in these Regulations shall, if identified, be identified by the corresponding symbol set out in ISO 6727.

(11) Any control or display for which a symbol is not specified in Table 3 to TSD 123 or in ISO 6727 may be identified by a symbol designed by the manufacturer in compliance with the principles specified in ISO 6727.

(12) Despite the requirements of item 8 of Table 3 to TSD 123, a speedometer fitted on a motorcycle shall be calibrated in kilometres per hour or in kilometres per hour and miles per hour. Digital speedometers that switch between kilometres per hour and miles per hour are permitted if the unit of measure is identified.

(13) Despite S5.2.3(c) of TSD 123, the words and abbreviations that are required to be displayed under this section shall be displayed in both official languages. However, if there is insufficient space to display the words or abbreviations identifying the ignition, tachometer or fuel tank shutoff valve in both official languages in a readily visible manner, they may be displayed in one official language only.

(14) S5.2.4 of TSD 123 does not apply to motor tricycles.

(15) Despite S5.2.5 of TSD 123, it is not necessary for a footrest for a passenger on a motorcycle to fold rearward and upward when not in use.

United Nations Regulation No. 60

(16) Despite the second paragraph of paragraph 5.1 of United Nations Regulation No. 60, any control, tell-tale or indicator for which a symbol is not identified in Table 1 of United Nations Regulation No. 60 and for which no other identification requirements are specified in these regulations, shall, if identified, be identified by the corresponding symbol set out in ISO 6727.

(17) Despite the second paragraph of paragraph 5.1 of United Nations Regulation No. 60, any control, tell-tale or indicator for which a symbol is not specified in Table 1 of United Nations Regulation No. 60 or in ISO 6727 may be identified by a symbol designed by the manufacturer in compliance with the principles specified in ISO 6727.

(18) For the purposes of paragraph 5 of United Nations Regulation No. 60, if words or abbreviations are used, they shall be displayed in both official languages. However, if there is insufficient space to display the words or abbreviations identifying the ignition, tachometer or fuel tank shutoff valve in both official languages in a readily visible manner, they may be displayed in one official language only.

(19) In addition to meeting the requirement set out in the column under the heading “Operation” opposite 10 in the column under the heading “No” of Table 1 of United Nations Regulation No. 60, a speedometer fitted on a motorcycle shall be calibrated in kilometres per hour or in kilometres per hour and miles per hour. Digital speedometers that switch between kilometres per hour and miles per hour are permitted if the unit of measure is identified.

(20) Despite the second paragraphs set out in the column under the heading “Location” opposite each of 11 to 13 in the column under the heading “No” of Table 1 of United Nations Regulation No. 60, the controls for the audible warning device, driving beam and passing beam shall only comply with the requirements of the first paragraph of each number.

(21) Despite the third paragraph set out in the column under the heading “Operation” opposite 32 in the column under the heading “No” of Table 1 of United Nations Regulation No. 60, the foot selector manual gear shift control on vehicles with an engine capacity of less than 200 cubic centimetres shall comply with the requirements of the second paragraph of that column.

(22) For the purposes of subsections (16) to (21):

4 Subsection 126(2) of Part II of Schedule IV to the Regulations is replaced by the following:

(2) Instead of conforming to the requirements of subsection (1), every passenger car, multi-purpose passenger vehicle, truck and bus with a GVWR of 4 536 kg or less, may comply with the requirements set out in Annex 9 of United Nations Regulation No. 13H, Uniform provisions concerning the approval of passenger cars with regard to braking, as amended by any amendment prior to the 01 series of amendments, with the following adaptations:

5 Subsection 205(3) of Part III of Schedule IV to the French version of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

(3) Sous réserve des paragraphes (4) à (13), chaque pièce de vitrage destinée à être utilisée dans un véhicule, à l’exception d’une remorque autre qu’une remorque-autobus, doit être conforme aux exigences de la norme de sécurité ANSI Z26 — 1996.

6 Paragraph 206(1)(b) of Part III of Schedule IV to the Regulations is replaced by the following:

7 Subsections 301.3(5) and (6) of Part IV of Schedule IV to the Regulations are replaced by the following:

(5) Instead of complying with subsection (3), a motorcycle that is equipped with a fuel system that uses a fuel with a boiling point of 0°C or higher as a source of energy for its propulsion may meet the requirements of Annex IX of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 44/2014 of November 21, 2013, supplementing Regulation (EU) No. 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the vehicle construction and general requirements for the approval of two- or three-wheeled vehicles and quadricycles, as amended from time to time.

8 The Regulations are amended by replacing “ECE” with “United Nations” in the following provisions:

Coming into Force

9 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are published in the Canada Gazette, Part II.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

As part of the Canadian-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations, three United Nations (UN) regulations were identified as being suitable to be used as alternatives to current Canadian requirements. These three UN regulations are already highly aligned with current Canadian standards; however, manufacturers currently need to meet both standards to certify vehicles in both markets.

In addition to incorporating three new UN regulations, several references to existing UN and European standards require updates and minor clarifications. Finally, minor corrections are needed in several other standards.

Background

Global competition in the motor vehicle industry is a driving force towards “world” cars. As a result, there is growing pressure to align Canadian motor vehicle safety regulations with those of the United States, as well as with those of countries outside of North America. To do so, Transport Canada experts and experts representing over 40 national governments, as well as many key road users and industry organizations, meet at the United Nation’s World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) and its six working parties dealing with specific areas of vehicle safety, environmental protection and theft protection. This work is governed by two international agreements; namely, the 1958 Agreement, under which the UN regulations are developed, approved and introduced, and the 1998 Agreement, that establishes a process for developing the UN Global Technical Regulations (UN GTR).

The set of UN regulations typically form the national regulations for countries that are contracting parties to the 1958 Agreement. Each of the UN regulations forms a treaty that the contracting party is obligated to introduce if it has a desire for mutual recognition of conformity testing.

UN GTR are different in that they contain safety provisions unanimously agreed to by all experts representing countries that signed the 1998 Agreement. The main obligation under the 1998 process is that all GTR must be proposed to be introduced by contracting parties that vote in favour of adoption. When a UN GTR is incorporated into the national safety regulations of individual contracting parties, it may be adapted to fit local needs and policies. Typically, UN regulations are aligned with new or amended UN GTR to assure that the two sources of international provisions for vehicle safety do not contradict each other.

Canada is a signatory of the 1998 Agreement and Transport Canada participates in the work of WP.29 and its working parties, taking an active role in the development of UN GTR. Although Canada is not part of the 1958 Agreement, Canadian experts also take part in the development of the UN Regulations, sharing Canadian experience and concerns. UN Regulations are well known to Transport Canada; therefore, Canadian safety standards refer to the UN Regulations that provide the same or higher safety level to Canadians.

In 2011, the Administrative Committee of WP.29 initiated a project to update the nomenclature for naming regulations. Regulations under the 1958 Agreement were originally called “ECE Regulations” referring to the United Nations’ Economic Commission for Europe. This caused confusion as it was expected that the UN Regulations were just for use by European countries. These regulations are now referred to as “UN Regulations” to reflect the fact that these regulations are now commonly adopted not only in Europe but throughout the world.

Work on the CETA dates back to 2007 when Canadian and EU leaders agreed to conduct a joint study examining the costs and benefits of pursuing a closer economic partnership. Formal negotiations began in 2009 and the final agreement was signed during the EU–Canada Summit on October 30, 2016. More details regarding the CETA, including the cooperation in the field of motor vehicle regulations, can be found at http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/ceta-aecg/index.aspx?lang=eng.

Objectives

The objective of the amendment is to introduce the technical requirements of three UN regulations, as alternatives to current Canadian requirements, and updating existing references to previously referenced UN regulations. Two of the new UN regulations are based on UN GTR which were developed with Canada’s assistance. The other UN regulation closely aligns with the current Canadian requirements. This amendment satisfies the negotiated terms of the CETA and ensures that all existing references to UN regulations and European standards are up to date. Finally, this amendment corrects a typographical error in Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 205 and clarifies an issue identified by the Standing joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations (SJCSR).

Description

The amendment modifies Schedule IV of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations by revising three CMVSS. This allows manufacturers to meet either United Nations or Canadian requirements.

The amendment modifies CMVSS 111 Mirrors by incorporating by reference UN Regulation 81 (Motorcycles Mirrors) as an alternative to the current Canadian requirements. CMVSS 111 sets installation and visibility requirements for mirrors on a broad range of vehicles including the requirements for mirrors on motorcycles. The requirements of these two standards are closely aligned. However, the current Canadian requirement for the installation of two mirrors on two wheeled vehicles that do not exceed a maximum speed of 50 km/hr now also applies to the UN Regulation 81 requirements should a manufacture choose to follow the UN Regulations.

The amendment modifies CMVSS 123 Motorcycle Controls and Displays by incorporating an alternative set of requirements based on UN GTR 12 through the incorporation by reference of UN Regulation 60. The requirements of UN Regulation 60 are already closely aligned with the current Canadian requirements, with the exception of several Canadian specific requirements. A requirement to follow International Standards Organization (ISO) symbols for symbols not listed within the regulation and the previous version of subsection (2) of CMVSS 123 contained several mandatory controls. This amendment maintains the CMVSS reference to ISO symbols and the requirement for mandatory installation of a horn. Exceptions to Technical Standards Document (TSD) 123 that are currently required in CMVSS 123 including requirements for bilingual words and abbreviations, and for the speedometer to be calibrated in kilometres per hour, are also applied to the incorporation of UN Regulation 60.

The Technical Standards Document 123 is being updated to align with UN GTR 12 by clarifying that the ignition must be clockwise from the off to the on position only if a rotary switch is used.

Finally the amendment modifies CMVSS 126 Electronic Stability Control Systems by incorporating an alternative set of requirements based on UN GTR 8 through the incorporation by reference of Annex 9 of UN R13H (Uniform provisions concerning the approval of passenger cars with regard to braking) with some exceptions.

The United Nations transposed the requirements of UN GTR 8 into their respective UN R13H. This proposal would allow the option of meeting the UN R13H requirements for electronic stability control (ESC) systems as an alternative to current Canadian requirements provided several Canadian specific requirements are met.

The Canadian exceptions to Annex 9 of UN R13H include limiting several options to ensure equivalent, consistent, and repeatable test conditions of ESC systems, regardless of the method selected by a manufacturer including the following:

Both the UN and current Canadian standards include exceptions to the requirement that the ESC system must return to its default state at the initiation of a new ignition cycle. One exception, for low-speed off-road driving conditions, is partially defined by a gear reduction ratio which is currently 2.0 in Canada and 1.6 in the UN requirements. This amendment maintains the current Canadian requirement, which is harmonized with the U.S.

Several standards, including CMVSS 114, CMVSS 122, CMVSS 206, CMVSS 215 and CMVSS 1106 already reference “ECE Regulations.” To remain consistent with the UN’s new nomenclature for naming regulations the existing references will be updated by replacing “ECE Regulations” with the term “UN Regulations.”

In addition to updating the name of the regulation referenced in CMVSS 206, the series of amendments is being updated to reflect recent updates to UN Regulations 11. CMVSS 206 currently references the third series of amendments of UN Regulations 11. The fourth series entered into force June 15, 2015, and this amendment allows manufacturers the option to meet the third or the updated fourth series.

The previous version of CMVSS 301.3 Fuel Tank references Chapter 6 of European Directive 97/24/EC. This directive was repealed on January 1, 2016, and replaced by a modernized version — EC regulation 44/2014 Annex IX. Even though there are editorial changes, the technical requirements remain the same, thus the reference is being updated.

A minor translation error in subsection (3) of the French version of CMVSS 205 Glazing Material is corrected to properly reference American National Standards Institute Z26.

Finally, following clarification sought by the SJCSR, section 3 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations, National Safety Mark, is amended to clearly state that Schedule II is the Minister’s administrative form used to issue a national safety mark authorization to a company.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to this amendment, as there is no expected change in administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to this amendment, as there are no costs (or insignificant costs) on small business.

Consultation

The Government of Canada has had open consultations regarding CETA dating back to 2008 when a notice was published in the Canada Gazette seeking Canadians’ input on the possibility of negotiating a trade agreement with the EU. These consultations were open to all stakeholders and groups.

In general, the Department informs the automotive industry, public safety organizations, and the general public when changes are planned to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations. This is done, in part, through the quarterly distribution of Transport Canada’s Motor Vehicle Safety Regulatory Plan. This gives them the opportunity to comment on these changes by letter or email. The Department also consults regularly, in face-to-face meetings or teleconferences, with the automotive industry, public safety organizations, the provinces, and the territories.

Transport Canada meets face-to-face with the two automotive manufacturing associations (Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association and Global Automakers of Canada) and the Motorcycle and Moped Industry Council at least twice a year to discuss current regulations and future regulatory planning. This amendment has been part of the regulatory plan since November 2013 and no opposition has been expressed by any of the associations during these meetings.

The Department also meets regularly with the federal authorities of other countries. Harmonized regulations are key to trade and to a competitive Canadian automotive industry. The Department and the United States Department of Transportation hold semi-annual meetings to discuss issues of mutual importance and planned regulatory changes. In addition, departmental officials participate in and support the development of GTR, which are developed by the World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations pursuant to the United Nations’ 1998 Global Agreement.

Rationale

By adopting the UN regulations into the Canadian regulations as alternatives, vehicle manufacturers can eliminate duplicative testing and administrative burden while producing the same safety outcome. This amendment fulfills the commitments made during the CETA negotiations by including references to three UN regulations that are already highly aligned with current Canadian requirements.

As this amendment does not include any new requirements, it has been completed without a prepublication for consultation. This amendment includes only minor updates to clarify the incorporations of several referenced technical requirements and to allow alternative means of compliance that manufacturers may follow at their discretion.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

Manufacturers are permitted to manufacture vehicles to the alternative standards immediately on the date of publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II.

Contact

Kyle Hendershot
Senior Regulatory Development Engineer
Motor Vehicle Safety
Transport Canada
330 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N5
Email: kyle.hendershot@tc.gc.ca