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A total of 22 new UN regulations, under the World Forum for Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations (WP29), will be gazetted next year in Malaysia, according to Road Transport Department (JPJ) automotive engineering director Ir Haji Mohamad bin Dalib.

In a keynote address delivered yesterday at DreamEDGE's Empowering the Nation's Automotive Industry seminar, Mohamad said that the government, following discussions with relevant automotive organisations, has determined the phases of implementation: in addition to next year's 22 new regulations, a further 19 will be gazetted in 2017 and two more by 2020. This will make it a total of 126 UN regulations incorporated into Malaysian law.

Among the technologies the additional regulations will cover are Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Adaptive Front Lighting and Enhanced Child Restraint System, he added, although he did not say exactly when each of these technologies will be mandated for new vehicle type approvals.

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"The gazette (of these new UN regulations) will not only ensure the safety of automotive products in Malaysia and promote an internationally-recognised automotive framework; it also will open opportunities for the Malaysian automotive industry to expand its business to the international market," he said.

77 UN regulations under WP29 are already in force for the type approval of new vehicles in Malaysia. These include ECE R94 (40% front overlap crash testing), ECE R95 (side impact crash testing), ECE R66 (bus, coach and truck superstructure strength and roll-over testing) and ECE R43 (safety glass installation and testing). Most, if not all of them, are concerned with vehicle and occupant safety.

Malaysia was accepted by the UN on April 4, 2006 as a signatory to the Agreement on Reciprocal Recognition 1958 and Agreement on Global Technical Regulations 1988, under WP29. As a result, Malaysia may test and certify an automotive product and export that product to 51 contracting nations without the need for further testing. These products will bear the stamp 'E52', which can be issued by JPJ.

Active City Stop

Where the introduction of UN regulations into national law is concerned, Malaysia is among the leaders in Asia, and has been invited to chair a task force to harmonise automotive regulations in ASEAN. The ASEAN implementation roadmap plans 19 UN regulations for the first phase and 32 for the second phase, although Mohamad did not say when the phases will take place.

The European Union has decreed that all new commercial vehicles must be equipped with Autonomous Emergency Braking from 2013. The system, which applies the brakes of a vehicle hard when an imminent collision is detected, is also a pre-requisite for a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. Volvo's City Safety, Ford's Active City Stop, Mercedes-Benz's Collision Prevention Assist and Mazda's Smart City Brake Support are examples of such systems.

Proton is testing a prototype Iriz fitted with an ADAS stereo camera from LG, making active safety features such as Autonomous Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Traffic Sign Recognition, Adaptive Cruise Control, High Beam Assist and Cross Traffic Assist possible.