Only the original UN/ECE texts have legal effect under international public law. The status and date of entry into force of this Regulation should be checked in the latest version of the UN/ECE status document TRANS/WP.29/343, available at:

http://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp29wgs/wp29gen/wp29fdocstts.html

Regulation No 121 of the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations (UN/ECE) — Uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regard to the location and identification of hand controls, tell-tales and indicators [2016/18]

Incorporating all valid text up to:

01 series of amendments — Date of entry into force: 15 June 2015

CONTENTS

REGULATION

ANNEXES

1.   SCOPE

This Regulation applies to vehicles of categories M and N (1). It specifies requirements for the location, identification, colour and illumination of motor vehicle hand controls, tell-tales and indicators. It is designed to ensure the accessibility and visibility of vehicle controls, tell-tales and indicators, and to facilitate their selection under daylight and night-time conditions, in order to reduce the safety hazards caused by the diversion of the driver's attention from the driving task and by mistakes in selecting controls.

2.   DEFINITIONS

For the purpose of this Regulation:

3.   APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL

3.1.   The application for approval of a vehicle type with regard to the specification for controls, tell-tales and indicators shall be submitted by the manufacturer or his duly accredited representative.

3.2.   It shall be accompanied by the following documents and particulars in triplicate:

3.3.   A vehicle or representative part thereof fitted with a complete set of controls, tell-tales and indicators, as prescribed in paragraph 3.2.2 above, representing the vehicle type to be approved shall be submitted to the technical service responsible for conducting approval evaluation.

4.   APPROVAL

4.1.   If the vehicle type submitted for approval pursuant to this Regulation meets the requirements of the Regulation, approval of that vehicle type shall be granted.

4.2.   An approval number shall be assigned to each type approved. Its first two digits (at present 01 corresponding to the 01 series of amendments to the Regulation) shall indicate the series of amendments incorporating the most recent major technical amendments made to the Regulation at the time of issue of the approval. The same Contracting Party shall not assign this number to another vehicle type or to the same vehicle type submitted with equipment not specified in the list referred to in paragraph 3.2.2 above, subject to the provisions of paragraph 6 of this Regulation.

4.3.   Notice of approval or of extension or refusal of approval or production definitely discontinued of a vehicle type/part pursuant to this Regulation shall be communicated to the Parties to the 1958 Agreement applying this Regulation, by means of a form conforming to the model in Annex 1 to this Regulation.

4.4.   An international approval mark shall be affixed, conspicuously and in a readily accessible place specified on the approval form, to every vehicle conforming to a vehicle type approved under this Regulation. Such international approval mark shall consist of:

4.5.   If the vehicle conforms to a vehicle type approved, under one or more other Regulations annexed to the Agreement, in the country which has granted approval under this Regulation, the symbol prescribed in paragraph 4.4.1 need not be repeated; in such a case the Regulation and approval numbers and the additional symbols of all the Regulations under which approval has been granted in the country which has granted approval under this Regulation shall be placed in vertical columns to the right of the symbol prescribed in paragraph 4.4.1.

4.6.   The approval mark shall be clearly legible and be indelible.

4.7.   The approval mark shall be placed close to or on the vehicle data plate affixed by the manufacturer.

4.8.   Annex 2 to this Regulation gives examples of arrangements of approval marks.

5.   SPECIFICATIONS

A vehicle fitted with a control, a tell-tale or an indicator, listed in the Table, shall meet the prescribed requirements of this Regulation for the location, identification and colour, and illumination of such control, tell-tale or indicator.

5.1.   Location

5.1.1.   The controls to be used by a driver while driving the vehicle shall be located so that they are operable by this driver under the conditions of paragraph 5.6.2.

5.1.2.   The tell-tales and indicators, shall be located so that they are visible and recognisable to a driver during night and day under the conditions of paragraphs 5.6.1 and 5.6.2. Tell-tales and indicators need not be visible or recognisable when not activated.

5.1.3.   The identifications of tell-tales, indicators and controls shall be placed on or adjacent to the tell-tales, indicators and controls that they identify. In the case of multifunction control, the identifications need not be immediately adjacent. Nonetheless, they shall be as close as practicable to such multifunction control.

5.1.4.   Notwithstanding paragraphs 5.1.1, 5.1.2 and 5.1.3 the tell-tale for ‘passenger air bag off’, if fitted, must be located within the interior of the vehicle and forward of and above the design H-point of both the driver's and the front passenger(s)' seat in their forward most seating positions. The tell-tale which alerts front seat occupants that the passenger air bag is switched off must be visible to the driver and front passenger(s) under all driving conditions.

5.2.   Identification

5.2.1.   Where fitted, the controls, tell-tales and indicators, listed under the heading column 3 of the Table, shall be identified by symbols designated for them in column 2 of the Table. This requirement does not apply to the horn (an audible warning signal) control, when it is activated by a narrow ring-type control or by a lanyard. If a symbol is used for identifying a control, tell-tale or indicator not listed in the Table, it is recommended to use a symbol designated for the purpose in standard ISO 2575:2004 where one exists and where that symbol is suitable for the application concerned.

5.2.2.   To identify a control, a tell-tale or an indicator not included in the Table or ISO 2575:2004, the manufacturer may use a symbol of its own conception. Such symbol may include internationally recognised alphabetic or numeric indications. All symbols used shall follow the design principles laid down in paragraph 4 of ISO 2575:2004.

5.2.3.   If necessary for clarity, supplementary symbols may be used in conjunction with any symbol specified in the Table or ISO 2575:2004.

5.2.4.   Each additional or supplementary symbol used by the manufacturer must not cause confusion with any symbol specified in this Regulation.

5.2.5.   Where a control, an indicator or a tell-tale for the same function are combined, one symbol may be used to identify such combination.

5.2.6.   Except as provided in paragraph 5.2.7, all identifications of tell-tales, indicators and controls listed in the Table or ISO 2575:2004 must appear to the driver perceptually upright. In case of rotating control, this paragraph applies to it when such control is in its ‘off’ position.

5.2.7.   The identification of the following need not appear to the driver perceptually upright:

5.2.8.   Each control for the automatic vehicle speed system (cruise control) and each control for heating and air conditioning system(s) shall have identification provided for each function of each such system.

5.2.9.   When fitted each control that regulates a system function over a continuous range shall have identification provided for the limits of the adjustment range of any such function.

If colour coding is used to identify the limits of the adjustment range of a temperature function, the hot limit shall be identified by the colour red and the cold limit by the colour blue. If the status or limit of a function is shown by an indicator separated from and not adjacent to the control for that function, both the control and the indicator must be independently identified in compliance with paragraph 5.1.3.

5.2.10.   Automatic functions may be indicated with the symbol relevant for the corresponding item as referred to in column 1 of the Table, with the supplementary letter(s) ‘A’ or ‘AUTO’ positioned on or adjacent to its outline.

5.3.   Illumination

5.3.1.   The identifications of controls for which the word ‘Yes’ is indicated in column 4 of the Table shall be capable of being illuminated whenever the position lamps are activated. This does not apply to controls located on the floor, floor console, steering wheel or steering column, or in the area of windscreen header or to controls for a heating and air-conditioning system if the system does not direct air directly upon the windscreen.

5.3.2.   The indicators and their identifications for which the word ‘Yes’ is indicated in column 4 of the Table shall be illuminated whenever the device which starts and/or stops the engine is in a position which makes it possible for the engine to operate and the position lamps are activated.

5.3.3.   The indicators, their identifications and the identifications of controls need not be illuminated when the headlamps are being flashed or operated as daytime running lamps.

5.3.4.   At the manufacturer's discretion any control, indicator or their identifications may be capable of being illuminated at any time.

5.3.5.   A tell-tale shall not emit light except when identifying the malfunction or vehicle condition for whose indication it is designed or during a bulb check.

5.3.6.   Brightness of Tell-Tale Illumination

Means shall be provided for making tell-tales and their identification visible and recognisable to the driver under all driving conditions.

5.4.   Colour

5.4.1.   Light of each tell-tale listed in the Table shall be of the colour shown in column 5 of this table.

5.4.1.1.   Nevertheless if already fitted on the vehicle as specified in the Table with the colour specification of column 5, each symbol with the footnote 18 may be shown in other colours, in order to convey different meanings, according to the general colour coding as proposed in paragraph 5 of standard ISO 2575:2004.

5.4.2.   Indicators and tell-tales and identifications of indicators and controls not listed in the Table may be of any colour chosen by the manufacturer, however, such colour must not interfere with or mask the identification of any tell-tale, control or indicator specified in the Table. The colour to be selected shall follow the guidelines specified in paragraph 5 of standard ISO 2575:2004.

5.4.3.   Each symbol used for identification of tell-tale, control or indicator shall stand out clearly against the background.

5.4.4.   The dark part of any symbol may be replaced by its outline.

5.5.   Common Space for Displaying Multiple Information

5.5.1.   A common space may be used to show information from any source, subject to the following requirements:

5.6.   Conditions

5.6.1.   The driver has adapted to the ambient light conditions.

5.6.2.   The driver is restrained by the installed crash protection system, adjusted in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, and is free to move within constraints of that system.

6.   MODIFICATIONS OF THE VEHICLE TYPE OR OF ANY ASPECT OF SPECIFICATION FOR CONTROLS, TELL-TALES AND INDICATORS AND EXTENSION OF APPROVAL

6.1.   Every modification of the vehicle type or of any aspect of specification for controls, tell-tales and indicators, or of the list referred to in paragraph 3.2.2 above, shall be notified to the Type Approval Authority which approved that vehicle type. The department may then either:

6.2.   Confirmation or refusal of approval, specifying the alterations, shall be communicated by the procedure specified in paragraph 4.3 above to the Parties to the Agreement applying this Regulation.

6.3.   The competent authority issuing the extension of approval shall assign a series number to each communication form drawn up for such an extension and inform thereof the other Parties to the 1958 Agreement applying this Regulation by means of a communication form conforming to the model in Annex 1 to this Regulation.

7.   CONFORMITY OF PRODUCTION

The conformity of production procedures shall comply with those set out in the Agreement, Appendix 2 (E/ECE/324-E/ECE/TRANS/505/Rev.2) with the following requirements:

8.   PENALTIES FOR NON-CONFORMITY OF PRODUCTION

8.1.   The approval granted in respect of a type of vehicle pursuant to this Regulation may be withdrawn if the requirements are not complied with or if a vehicle bearing the approval mark does not conform to the type approved.

8.2.   If a Party to the Agreement applying this Regulation withdraws an approval it has previously granted, it shall forthwith so notify the other Contracting Parties applying this Regulation by means of a communication form conforming to the example in Annex 1 to this Regulation.

9.   PRODUCTION DEFINITELY DISCONTINUED

If the holder of the approval completely ceases to manufacture a type of vehicle approved in accordance with this Regulation, he shall inform the authority, which granted the approval. Upon receiving the relevant communication, that authority shall inform thereof the other Parties to the Agreement applying this Regulation by means of a communication form conforming to the example in Annex 1 to this Regulation.

10.   NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF TECHNICAL SERVICES RESPONSIBLE FOR CONDUCTING APPROVAL TESTS AND OF TYPE APPROVAL AUTHORITIES

The Parties to the 1958 Agreement applying this Regulation shall communicate to the United Nations Secretariat the names and addresses of the technical services responsible for conducting approval tests and of the Type Approval Authorities which grant approval and to which forms certifying approval or extension or refusal or withdrawal of approval, issued in other countries, are to be sent.

11.   INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS

11.1.   As from the date of entry into force of this Regulation, Contracting Parties applying this Regulation shall not:

if the vehicle type complies with the requirements of this Regulation.

11.2.   Until 2 years after entry into force of this Regulation, Contracting Parties applying this Regulation shall not refuse to grant national approval of a vehicle type with regard to the specification for controls, tell-tales and indicators if the vehicle type does not comply with the requirements of this Regulation.

12.   TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

12.1.   As from the official date of entry into force of the 01 series of amendment to this Regulation, no Contracting Party applying this Regulation shall refuse national or regional type approval of a vehicle type approved to the 01 series of amendment to this Regulation.

12.2.   Contracting Parties applying this Regulation shall not refuse to grant extensions of approval according to the preceding series of amendments to this Regulation.

12.3.   As from 24 months after the date of entry into force of the 01 series of amendments, Contracting Parties applying this Regulation shall grant type approvals only if the vehicle type to be approved meets the requirements of this Regulation as amended by the 01 series of amendments.

Symbols, their illumination and colours