1 
 Annex 
 
Partial amendments of Safety Regulations of Road Trucking Vehicles Act, 
equipment type approval regulations, and announcements that provide the 
details of the Safety Regulations of Road Trucking Vehicles Act 
 
1. Background 
In order to ensure the safety of automobiles by promoting international 
consistency of automobiles safety regulation, Japan contracted the United 
Nations "type approval mutual recognition agreement of the vehicle and etc.", 
hereinafter referred to as "1958 Agreement" in 1998.  Since that year, in a 
phased manner, we have adopted the rules that are based on the mutual 
recognition agreement, hereinafter referred to as the "UNR". 
 
Now that out of UNR, "Electrical battery-powered and motorcycle (No. 
136)" was recently decided to be adopted.  In addition to that, UNR No. 135, 
“Protection of Vehicle occupants at Pole Side Impact” which Japan adopted 
before, has been reviewed and determined to be revised in the 166th 
meeting of the World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations 
(WP29) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE). 
 
Additionally, based on the results in the study group, Japan is going to add 
new provisions to the safety regulations for compressed Hydrogen Fuel Cell 
Motorcycles in case of coalition accident to avoid explosion of hydrogen 
receptacle and etc. at a time of a collision accident. 
 
To the responses to the written above, the required amendments shall be 
made on Safety Regulations of Road Trucking Vehicles Act, Transport 
Ordinance No. 67 in 1951, hereinafter referred to as the "Safety Regulation", 
Device type specified regulations (No. 66 of Transport Ordinance,1998), and 
the notice defining the details of the 2002 Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and 
Transport Notification No. 619., hereinafter referred to as " Announcement of 
Details". 
 
 
2.  Outline of Amendment 
1)  Amendment of Safety Regulation 
Fuel system of a motor vehicle for the highly compressed gas fuel 2 
 (Announcement of Details relating to Article 20, 98, and 176) 
 
Concerning compressed hydrogen gas fueled motorcycle, new regulations 
that incorporate specific requirements shall be established based on the 
"world technical regulations related to hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles (No. 
13)." 
 
Scope 
 Motorcycles fueled with compressed hydrogen gas and motorcycles 
fueled with compressed hydrogen gas with a sidecar 
 
Summary  
 Fuel gas receptacle and equipment (valve and safety valve) to 
motorcycle are obliged to conform to technological requirements as 
follows:   
a)  In case of rollover, gas receptacle should not be grounded. 
b)  In case of collision and rear-end collision, gas receptacle 
should not directly touch other equipment (excluding 
protectors or other safety equipment).  
c)  When the following acceleration is add in an assumption of 
accident, the gas receptacle should be secured to the vehicle 
at least one place. 
・driving direction: ±426m /s2 
   ・right angle of driving direction:± 617m/s2 
 
 For thermally actuated pressure relief device (PRD) operation at the 
time of hydrogen release, it shall be eligible to specify the direction of 
releasing Hydrogen.  Therefore, the direction of Hydrogen is 
obliged to be released to bottom of motorcycle vertically. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Buttery 
Fuel Cell 
motor 
Hydrogen  
receptacle Direction of emission 
 3 
  For the hydrogen concentration of the gas emitted from motorcycle, 
regulations shall be placed. 
 
 In case that hydrogen concentration becomes more than 3% 
inside the passenger compartment if it has any, the system shall 
be obliged to provide warnings to the driver.  If it becomes more 
than 4%, the system shall be obliged to cut off the fuel supply.    
 
Effective date  
New model production and continuing production:  January, 2017 
 
 
              
 
3.  Schedule（to be changed occasionally） 
Announcement and application:  January, 2016 
 
※ Please refer to the web page for UN Regulation original  
http://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp29wgs/wp29gen/wp29ap_Jun15.html