No. H169/06
For release December 5, 2006

TRANSPORT CANADA PROPOSES TO ADOPT
UNITED NATIONS DOOR LOCK REGULATION

OTTAWA — The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced that Canada’s New Government is aiming at increasing the safety of Canadian drivers and passengers through proposed amendments to the vehicle door lock regulation. The amendments would be made with the adoption of the first-ever Global Technical Regulation established through the United Nations (UN) for the regulation of door locks and door retention components, known as gtr 1.

Transport Canada is proposing to amend the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 206, entitled Door Locks and Door Retention Components, which is part of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations. The purpose of the proposed amendment is to align Canada’s regulations with those of the United States and the UN.

“The safety and security of the travelling public is Transport Canada’s top priority,” said Minister Cannon. “This new regulation will not only help reduce the number of injuries but it will also bring Canada in line with the standards established by the UN.”

Improvements to the door lock regulations will help reduce the risk of vehicle doors opening during operation, and thus reduce the potential for ejection of occupants. Although existing regulations have proven to be effective, door openings present a risk of serious injury or death to vehicle occupants, particularly when a person is not wearing a seatbelt.

This proposal would allow vehicle manufacturers to conform to the requirements of either the recently developed UN gtr 1, Door Locks and Door Retention Components, or the United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 206 on door locks and door retention components, which closely mirror the gtr 1 requirements.

The proposal was published in the Canada Gazette, Part I on December 2, 2006. From that date, there is a 75-day period for the public to respond. After consideration of the comments, the regulations will be finalized and submitted for publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II.

A backgrounder with further information on the Global Technical Regulation is attached.

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Backgrounder

GLOBAL TECHNICAL REGULATIONS

In 1998, the United Nations (UN) established the World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29), based at the UN Economic Commission for Europe in Geneva, to bring together technical government experts from across the world (including Europe, the United States, Japan, India and China) to discuss the details of vehicle regulation. It is the first truly global forum of its kind, with the power to make technical regulations that can be included in cars built around the globe. The WP.29 leads the harmonization and improvement of existing regulations governing safety and emission standards of motor vehicles and the development of new regulations where no regulations or standards exist.

In 2004, the UN (through WP.29) voted unanimously and agreed upon the first Global Technical Regulation, which regulates door locks and door retention components. Keeping vehicle doors closed during collisions reduces the possibility that occupants will be thrown from the vehicle and killed or injured in the event of a crash or door malfunction. The new standards will help to improve the testing of sliding doors in minivans and people carriers, requiring them to stay closed even when subjected to an internal testing force of almost 1,818 kilos/4,000 pounds.

Canada is now working to incorporate this Global Technical Regulation into existing legislation, through regulations under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

On December 2, 2006, Transport Canada proposed to implement the first Global Technical Regulation on door locks and door components in line with the UN standards. All 22 UN member countries from the World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations must proceed through their individual processes to ensure adoption of the Global Technical Regulation in their country as agreed upon through WP.29.

December 2006