CIRCULAR 0-2-11

GENERAL PROCEDURES FOR SELECTION OF VEHICLES AND COMPONENTS FOR ADR COMPLIANCE TESTING

INTRODUCTION

1. This circular addresses general requirements applicable to manufacturers who wish to use the provisions of any of the individual ADR Implementation Procedure Circulars or where there is no specific ADR Implementation Procedure Circular for that ADR. Unless indicated otherwise, reference to vehicle selection requirements also apply to components.

2. It _{is the responsibility of the vehicle manufacturer to ensure that every vehicle to} which an Identification Plate is affixed complies with the ADRs. This responsibility includes the selection of vehicles for testing.

3. The extent of testing required to establish compliance of every vehicle variant could be expensive. Therefore the Administrator has decided to specify the criteria by which tests on one vehicle may be considered applicable to others.

4. Criteria for selection of test vehicles and components for compliance testing to a specific ADR xx/… is usually provided in the corresponding ADR Implementation Procedure Circulars xx/...-2-1, xx/...-2-2 etc, eg 79/01-2-1.

SELECTION PARAMETERS

5. The specific ADR Implementation Procedure Circulars cover the main vehicle characteristics considered to have an effect on compliance with the ADR concerned. Where variations of a relevant vehicle characteristic not covered by such a circular are encountered, manufacturers wishing to select a smaller number of vehicles for testing than otherwise required should seek approval of the basis for the reduction and provide evidence to support their proposal by way of engineering analysis, laboratory or road testing. Approval may be sought prior to submission of evidence or with the evidence. In the latter case, issue of Identification Plate Approval indicates acceptance of the manufacturer's selection.

6. The general basis of selection criteria is to select the “worst case” vehicles for demonstration of compliance with that ADR. In some cases where the variation of a parameter within a specified range does not have a significant effect on ADR compliance, the Administrator may accept the selection of one from that range as being representative of the others in the range.

7. Where the selection of the “worst case” or a sufficiently representative test vehicle cannot be justified in relation to a particular parameter affecting ADR compliance, the selection of test vehicles with different values of this parameter including its extreme values experienced may be accepted as sufficient to demonstrate compliance of untested vehicles.

8. Where one vehicle does not meet all the selection parameters for a range of vehicles, the vehicles may be separated into groups and the selection of test vehicles made from each group to enable the entire range to be covered.

9. The Administrator may require additional testing to demonstrate compliance for any untested vehicle.

DOCUMENTATION

10. Information to support the basis of ADR compliance of any untested vehicle must be retained by the manufacturer.

11. The vehicle manufacturer must retain documentation to verify that vehicles selected for testing as representative of others meet the requirements of this circular. This is in accordance with condition 5 of the normal volume Identification Plate Approval.

ALTERNATIVE STANDARDS

12. An untested vehicle variant that is listed in an appropriate approval document acceptable to the Administrator (eg to an ECE Regulation listed as an alternative standard in the ADR) may be certified without the selection criteria in this Circular being applied. All variants to be covered in the application must be included on the Fleet Selection (SF) form (if one exists for that ADR). If all variants listed on the SF form are listed in an approval document the tested/untested status is to be recorded as “XXXX Approved” where the SF form supports this function, or via a note (commonly referred to as a post-it note, accessible from the edit menu in Informed Filler within the Road Vehicle Certification System (RVCS)) where the SF does not, where XXXX is the alternative standard accepted in the ADR. Note that in general only ECE Approval documents are accepted.

13. An untested vehicle variant which is not listed in an appropriate approval document may be certified on the basis of comparison to a vehicle variant tested in accordance with compliance to the technical requirements of an appropriate alternative standard (allowed for in the ADR) and listed in an appropriate approval document if the untested vehicle variants(s), when compared to the tested variant, have been selected in accordance with this Circular. In this case the variants tested to the alternative standard and included on the approval are to show the tested/untested status as “XXXX - Tested”, the variants not tested to the alternative standard but included in the approval are to show the tested/untested status as “XXXX - Approved” and the variants not tested to the alternative standard and not included on the approval are to show the tested/untested status as “Untested”. All variants to be covered in the application must be included on the Fleet Selection (SF) form. A variant marked as Untested may only be compared with a relevant variant which is either “XXXX - Tested” or “Tested”.

Note: All documents relating to such approvals must also be retained by the

vehicle manufacturer in accordance with paragraph 10 above.