26 January 2024
UNECE’s Working Party on Automated/Autonomous and Connected Vehicles today decided to include motorcycles, scooters and electric bicycles with speed exceeding 25 km/h in the scope of the UN Regulation No. 155 on cybersecurity and cybersecurity management.
In force since January 2021, UN Regulation 155 is applied in various regions of the world and covers passenger cars, trucks, and buses. Its purpose is to offer an international framework for the type approval of road vehicles with regard to cyber security.
Following the review of the requirements in that regulation and their possible suitability to adequately address the specificities of motorcycles, the Working Group agreed to insert this vehicle category in the scope of UN Regulation 155, with support of the motorcycle industry.
The decision to extend the scope of UN Regulation 155 to motorcycles (vehicle category L) will be submitted to the UNECE-hosted World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) for adoption in June 2024. National implementation roadmaps can deviate from that and can also have roadmaps with earlier milestones.
It comes at a time when the motorcycle industry has already introduced complex assistance systems in powered two wheelers, such as Adaptative Cruise Control and advanced connectivity. These developments are justifying the growing concerns about potential cyber risks for this type of vehicles.
Furthermore, it comes in a context of increased regulation affecting the automotive industry, especially in China, Europe and India, as well as regulations to ensure a risk-based identified minimum level of cybersecurity protection of all products with digital elements available in the market, such as the upcoming European Union Cyber Resilience Act.
Going forward, the Working Party will strive to offer the broadest scope possible to its Contracting Parties to approve a wide variety of vehicles in category L and to allow manufacturers to apply for a type approval.
About autonomous driving at the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations
The World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, hosted by UNECE, is the intergovernmental platform responsible for the regulatory frameworks regarding the safety and environmental performance of vehicles, their subsystems and parts.
Its dedicated Working Party on Automated/Autonomous and Connected Vehicles (GRVA) brings together countries including the EU, USA, China, Japan and Canada to develop internationally harmonized regulations, resolutions and guidelines governing automated driving functionalities, such as provisions related to the dynamics of vehicles (braking, steering), Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, Automated Driving Systems, as well as Connected Vehicles and Cyber Security provisions. The group currently supervises eight informal work groups (IWGs) and tasks forces.
UN Regulations enter into force six months after their adoption by the World Forum. This is the time given to contracting Parties to the UN Vehicles agreements to notify the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs about their opposition to the adopted text, or their intention not to adopt its provisions, and also to provide countries with sufficient time for implementation.
Source – UNECE