Road vehicles
A PC crash destroys a file but a car crash destroys a life. Standards for the automotive sector have contributed to making vehicles that are safer, quieter, pollute less and use less fuel. In addition, new standards that are drafted at the new product development stage can also help to close the communication loop between manufacturers and regulators, with economic benefits for the former, and public health and safety benefits for the latter. The technical committee, ISO/TC 22, Road vehicles, has a portfolio of some 600 standards.
However, ISO's standards-development activities to meet automotive industry requirements span the work of several other ISO technical committees, such as steel, plastics, and noise and road informatics. This illustrates one of the value-adding strong points of the ISO system: its ability to produce a complete package of standards for specific business sectors.
Safe natural gas fuel cylinders
More than 5.5 million vehicles worldwide are fueled by natural gas and with increasing public concern over health issues related to pollution, along with rising oil prices, that number is expected increase over the coming years. Since natural gas is stored on board vehicles in high pressure cylinders, safety aspects are of prime importance, while maintaining gas cylinders in good working order is vital to the future of cleaner fuel.
Regulatory authorities, vehicle manufacturers and end users can rely on ISO 19078:2006 which provides information and procedures for the periodic visual examination and inspection of natural gas fuel cylinders and the condition of the installation. Specifying inspection requirements, it defines damage criteria, as well issues related to manufacturing, maintenance, disposal of damaged cylinders, inspection equipment and the qualification of inspectors.
Vehicle identification number (VIN)
The International Standard ISO 3779:1983 is designed to identify motor vehicles, trailers, motorcycles and mopeds. A VIN identifies such characteristics as the country in which the vehicle was manufactured, the manufacturer, vehicle type or manufacturing division, engine type, model, series, model year, etc. The VIN can be used to track experts ratings, recalls, damage reports, thefts and insurance coverage. VIN is also very useful for collectors who can check the vehicle uniqueness and date of production.
People often refer to the VIN as the chassis number format or the vehicle serial number. You can find a vehicle identification number on an insurance card or on the vehicle itself, by looking for an aluminium plate or label or a stamp on a part in your car such as driver's door, dash plate window, etc.
WorldSID
The new crash test dummy, known as WorldSID (for World Side Impact Dummy), was developed to allow a single, universally-accepted test device for side impact testing and represents a major breakthrough in worldwide harmonization of side impact occupant protection.
To ensure WorldSID availablity to the global research community, ISO 15830, Design and performance specifications for a 50th percentile male side impact dummy (WorldSID), consists of four parts and includes documentation of all design details, material specifications and performance standards required for the fabrication of the WorldSID.
It provides the automotive industry with the most advanced human crash test dummy for improving vehicle design and increasing passenger safety, which will enable manufacturers to focus and coordinate resources worldwide, rather than engineering different safety designs for different dummies.