Fire Safety of Road Vehicles Status and Trends Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014 Presentation given at Tokyo September 2014

Fire Safety of Road Vehicles  Flammability requirements for automotive worldwide very low (MVSS 302). No major regulatory changes foreseen  Trends automotive: Compact systems with more plastics, electromobility requires higher fire safety for cabling, electrical/electronic parts, batteries  Battery fires may be an issue. Requirements for large batteries in electric vehicles developed by Underwriters Laboratories as UL Subject 2580  Consequences: higher fire safety requirements (UL94 V0 or 5V for electrical parts and batteries) in automotive Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Fire Safety of Buses  Busses EU very low fire safety (MVSS vertical curtain + drip tests)  A series of bus fire catastrophes in Europe (Germany, Nordic countries), USA, China and India has sensitized public opinion to improve fire safety  Studies made on fire safety of materials and components meeting new European railway requirements show that bus fires can be avoided or dramatically reduced  Medium term adjustment of fire safety in buses to stringent European railway requirements under discussion Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Bus fires statistical review Norway/Sweden  % of buses in Norway and Sweden are involved in a fire incident every year  Largest risk of severe fire starting in engine compartment Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Bus fire Hannover, Germany, November 2008  A German tour bus caught fire on a German highway killing 20 people  Fire broke out in the bathroom of the bus due to electrical malfunction  When the door was opened, flames shot out and quickly engulfed the bus  The fire propagated so quickly because the materials’ fire safety level was too low Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Also ISO 3795, DIN Car interior Bunsen burner 38 mm flame Horizontal flame propagation max. 100 mm/min or less What are the fire safety tests for buses used in Europe? International Flammability Test for Road Vehicles to FMVSS 302 Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

EU Flammability Tests for Buses to EU Directive 95/28/EC Interior materials Horizontal to ISO 3795 Curtains Vertical to ISO 6940 Ceiling Drip test to NF P Bus fire safety India, September 2014 Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Fire safety of buses New developments  Following several catastrophic bus fires, the current fire safety requirements are perceived as too low  This is evidenced by a Swedish study (SP) on fire safety in buses  As a consequence, on international level, UNECE initiated a revision of the regulation No. 118, Burning behaviour of materials in buses  Sweden and Norway proposed more stringent tests for buses; they are already used for European high speed railways and internationally for ships (IMO FTP Code) Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Fire safety of buses Fire safety in buses 2006 Study made and published by SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden on behalf of the Swedish Road Administration and The Norwegian Public Roads Administration Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Background and objectives SP study  Most public transport applications, except buses, have high fire safety requirements that give a satisfactory level of safety  Test methods to evaluate ignition, fire spread, smoke and toxic gases have been developed within ISO and are already used for high speed trains in Europe and internationally for passenger ships (IMO)  The study objective is to show that established test methods for ships and trains are suitable for improving the fire safety levels of materials and components used in buses Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Conclusions SP Study  The existing fire safety requirements do not guarantee a satisfactory fire safety level on buses  Reason: test method and criteria (FMVSS 302) do not properly discriminate between materials with high or low fire safety performance  Consequence: fire safety performance of the interior materials and furnishings of certain bus types may be unacceptably low  An acceptable fire safety level can be reached when using the ISO tests for flame spread of surface linings and floorings, as well as the smoke and toxic gas production tests Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations United Nations Economic and Social Council ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE INLAND TRANSPORT COMMITTEE World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations Working Party on General Safety Provisions ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRSG/Geneva Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Amendment of Regulation No. 118 Proposal Norway and Sweden from the SP study Lateral flame spread to ISO on transport products in vertical configuration (also used for ships according to IMO FTP-Code) The following materials shall undergo the test : (a) Ceiling lining materials (b) Side and rear walls, including separation walls, lining materials (c) Thermal and/or acoustic function materials (d) Interior lining of luggage-racks, heating and ventilation pipes materials Test result satisfactory if average value of CFE* > 20 kW/m 2 Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Amendment of Regulation No. 118 Proposal Norway and Sweden from the SP study Smoke generation and toxicity to ISO of smoke gases from a burning material (also used for ships according to IMO FTP-Code) The following materials shall undergo the test: (a) Ceiling lining materials (b) Side and rear walls, including separation walls, lining materials (c) Thermal and/or acoustic function materials (d) Interior lining of luggage-racks, heating and ventilation pipes materials (e) Interior lining of the floor materials Result for smoke opacity satisfactory if the average value of the maximum smoke density (Dm) for materials (a) to (d) < 200 and < 500 for material (e) (a) Materials for interior lining of floors tested at 25 kW/m 2, + pilot flame (b) All other materials at 50 kW/m 2, no pilot flame Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Amendment of Regulation No. 118 Proposal Norway and Sweden from the SP study Lateral flame spread (floorings) to ISO on transport products in horizontal configuration Test result satisfactory, if average value of CHF > 4.5 kW/m 2 (CHF = critical heat flux) Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Amendment of Regulation No. 118 Proposal Norway and Sweden from the SP study Test to determine the fire behaviour of seats (Annex C to EN Fire protection of railway vehicles) The complete seats shall undergo the test. Result satisfactory if MARHE < 50 kW. (MAHRE = Maximum Average Rate of Heat Emission) Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Flammability test for wire and cable in buses Newly introduced into ECE R 118 ISO 6722:2006 Road vehicles - 60 V and 600 V single-core cables - Dimensions, test methods and requirements Paragraph 12: Resistance to flame propagation Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Amendment of Regulation No. 118 Conclusions  With the 01 series of amendments (date of entry into force 9 December 2010) the test to determine the capability of materials to repel fuel or lubricant and tests for electric cables were added. It becomes mandatory on 9th of December 2012 for new bus types and component types and on 9th of December 2015 for first registrations.  With the 02 series of amendments (date of entry into force 26 July 2012) the requirements for material installed in a vertical position with regard to the vertical burning rate were extended and the possibility to use the tests of the railway standard was introduced. These requirements become mandatory on 26th of July 2016 for new component types, 26th of July 2017 for new vehicle types and on 26th of July 2020 for first registrations. Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

School buses in the USA  Basically, MVSS 302 is required for all school buses  In many US States higher fire safety requirements are prescribed for school buses  In Nevada for instance, as of January 2016 any new school bus must meet additional requirements to either: - ASTM E1537 Fire Testing of Upholstered Furniture (propane burner and heat release measurement by oxygen consumption) ; or - The School Bus Seat Upholstery Fire Block Test - In the engine compartment UL 94 V0 has to be met for molded parts, HF-1 for foams and VTM-0 for thin films  Some states also use the vertical Bunsen burner test to FAR B used for aircraft interior materials Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014

Fire safety in buses Conclusions and outlook  Following catastrophic fires, the fire safety in buses is perceived as currently being too low  The amendment of the UNECE Regulation 118 has set higher fire safety levels in buses; this is a step in the right direction  In the USA, some states have higher fire safety requirements for seating in school buses  Basically more efforts must be made for further improving the fire safety levels of buses’ interiors (tests on seating) Fire safety road vehicles Japan, September 2014