The Ministry of Public Security will restrict cars with an acceleration of less than 5 seconds per 100 kilometers and require the addition of mechanically released door handles... Expert interpretation: Extreme acceleration has become "technological redundancy," and the upgraded standards will drive technological upgrades and industry reshuffle.

On November 12th, according to the official website of the National Standard Information Public Service Platform, the national standard plan "Technical Conditions for Safety of Power-driven Vehicles in Operation", drafted by the Ministry of Public Security, is open for public comments (hereinafter referred to as the "Draft for Comment").

The "Draft for Comment" shows that compared with the 2017 version of the standard, this revision has changed and added a number of requirements for the installation of vehicle safety devices, including requirements for vehicle speed limits, safety protection of new energy vehicle power batteries, and the safety performance of door handles. "The 'Technical Conditions for Safety of Power-driven Vehicles in Operation' is a mandatory standard. This revision is to adapt to the development of new energy vehicles and intelligent driving technologies, aiming to improve the safety performance of motor vehicles," said Yang Weibin, an expert in new energy vehicles and power batteries, in an interview with a reporter from NBD on November 13th.

Image source: The official website of the National Standard Information Public Service Platform

Cui Dongshu, the secretary-general of the Passenger Car Association, analyzed that this revision of the "Technical Conditions for Safety of Power-driven Vehicles in Operation" will have a profound impact on both the industry and consumers. For the industry, the improvement of the standard will promote technological upgrading and industrial reshuffle. For consumers, the new regulations mean a comprehensive improvement in the active and passive safety performance and environmental protection standards of vehicles.

"The revision of the 'Draft for Comment' is to actively respond to the new problems and challenges in current road traffic," pointed out Professor Ji Xuehong, the director of the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center at North China University of Technology. He emphasized that the core goal of the revision is to effectively prevent and reduce traffic accidents that may cause significant personal and property losses through the update and improvement of regulations and standards, which is an important manifestation of the industry's safety governance system keeping pace with the times.

Preventing Misoperation: Setting a "5-second" Threshold for 0-100km/h Acceleration Time

Regarding the background of this revision, the compilation instructions of the "Draft for Comment" clearly state that from the practice of road traffic management in China in recent years and the development of vehicle safety technologies at home and abroad, the current 2017 version of GB 7258 has difficulty meeting the needs of the new situation. These include the low application rate of advanced active and passive safety technologies, a significant gap compared with developed automobile countries abroad; the relatively low technical requirements for some passenger and freight vehicles, and the need to improve operational safety; and the lack of targeted provisions for new energy vehicles and assisted driving vehicles, making it difficult to meet the traffic safety management needs under the rapid development of new technologies and new business forms.

In response to the above problems, the "Draft for Comment" has made corresponding revisions. Among them, two new requirements for passenger cars have been added to the technical indicators of the "overspeed alarm and speed limit function". These include that after each power-on/ignition of a passenger car (except for automatic engine start-stop), it should be in the default working state with a 0-100km/h acceleration time of no less than 5 seconds; pure electric and plug-in hybrid passenger cars are required to have a function to suppress accidental acceleration caused by misstepping the pedal, which can detect and suppress power output when the vehicle is stationary or creeping and prompt the driver through an obvious signal device (such as an audible or visual signal).

Image source: The official website of the National Standard Information Public Service Platform

A relevant staff member of a new car-making force enterprise told the reporter that the 0-100km/h acceleration time of a vehicle varies under different driving modes. "Adding this requirement provides an additional layer of safety protection for users," said the staff member.

Cui Dongshu also said that the Ministry of Public Security's setting of restrictions on vehicle acceleration performance (such as appropriately restricting vehicles with a 0-100km/h acceleration time of more than 5 seconds at the starting stage) is based on sufficient real-world evidence and safety considerations. "Many consumers, especially those who have switched from fuel vehicles, do not fully understand the acceleration characteristics of electric vehicles with instant high-torque output," Cui Dongshu explained. Electric vehicles have a fast acceleration response and strong explosive power, and the driving experience is significantly different from that of traditional fuel vehicles. If drivers still follow the driving habits of fuel vehicles and suddenly step on the accelerator pedal, the vehicle will suddenly rush forward, easily leading to collision accidents due to insufficient control. Therefore, introducing a "safe departure" mechanism and moderately smoothing the power output at the starting stage provides a safety buffer period for drivers.

Yang Weibin also said that the motor torque at startup is greater than that of traditional engines, resulting in a strong sense of push and good acceleration performance in new energy vehicles. If the driver is not skilled in operation, the vehicle will suddenly rush forward after stepping on the accelerator pedal hard, leading to accidents.

Ji Xuehong analyzed that compared with the extreme standards of 3 seconds or 4 seconds, restricting the 0-100km/h acceleration of passenger cars in the starting state to 5 seconds is more reasonable in reality. He emphasized that although pursuing extreme acceleration capabilities (such as 3 to 4 seconds) can demonstrate the technological height of car companies in core fields such as motors and electronic controls, this performance has largely exceeded the actual needs of daily travel and has become a kind of "technological redundancy", and its core value is more reflected in brand competition and marketing. On the contrary, the 5-second threshold strikes a better balance between ensuring basic power efficiency and driving safety.

Regarding the reason for setting the "5-second" 0-100km/h acceleration time, the compilation instructions of the "Draft for Comment" also explain that in recent years, there have been many accidents of uncontrolled acceleration at startup of pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, mostly due to the driver's insufficient driving preparation and control ability when using the high-acceleration mode. Therefore, it is required that the vehicle be in the default working state with lower acceleration performance at the beginning of startup, so that the driver needs to consciously take certain operations when using the high-acceleration mode, in order to improve their driving preparation. According to statistics, the 0-100km/h acceleration time of current driving school training vehicles and most fuel passenger cars is generally more than 5 seconds. Both new and experienced drivers are more accustomed to this acceleration and are less likely to make misoperations.

Focusing on Hot Safety Issues such as Door Handle Locking and Electric Vehicle Self-ignition

Compared with the 2017 version of the standard, this revision has changed and added a number of requirements for the installation of vehicle safety devices. In addition to new requirements for electronic stability control and vehicle speed limit safety devices, new regulations have also been formulated for hot issues in the industry such as the safety protection of new energy vehicle power batteries and door handles.

Professor Ji Xuehong pointed out that the draft for comment issued by the Ministry of Public Security aims to promote the healthier and more sustainable long-term development of the automotive industry as a whole. The contents related to combined assisted driving, active safety systems, and battery safety in the regulations are exactly the core issues that consumers are highly concerned about at present, and are also the key to whether electric vehicles, as emerging products, can truly replace fuel vehicles.

Focusing on the frequent incidents of battery fires in new energy vehicles in recent years, the "Draft for Comment" has also added a requirement - "Pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles should be able to monitor the working status of power batteries, automatically monitor, record, and give early warnings of abnormal situations of battery cells, and should prompt the occupants in the vehicle through an obvious signal device (such as an audible or visual signal) when a thermal event is detected. For pure electric buses and plug-in hybrid buses with a length of 6 meters or more, the battery box should not catch fire or explode within 5 minutes after the alarm."

Image source: The official website of the National Standard Information Public Service Platform

Moreover, in response to the frequent traffic accidents caused by locked car door handles recently, the "Draft for Comment" also clearly states that "Passenger cars should ensure that each occupant can get on and off the vehicle from at least two different doors. Each door of the car (excluding the tailgate) should be equipped with inner and outer door handles with mechanical release functions. If an electric inner door handle is installed, a mechanical inner door handle should also be equipped as a mechanical emergency inner door handle, and a prominent sign should be set near the mechanical unlocking and opening device."

The compilation instructions explain that the requirement for the inner and outer door handles to have a mechanical structure is added to avoid the problem that the electric door handle cannot be unlocked and opened due to circuit failure, facilitating the escape of occupants in the vehicle and external rescue after an accident. "Current electric vehicles, especially those equipped with high-energy-density batteries, still face the risk of rapid deflagration caused by thermal runaway. Although battery technology is constantly improving, once such extreme safety incidents occur, if the occupants cannot quickly evacuate due to problems such as hidden door handles, the consequences will be fatal," Ji Xuehong said. There have been relevant cases in reality, which not only have a huge impact on the involved brands but also shake the public's overall confidence in the safety of electric vehicles. Therefore, retaining the mechanical door handle is a key safety redundancy design.

Yang Weibin pointed out that although the regulations are to protect drivers, a single safety accident can lead to a sharp decline in the sales of car companies or even bankruptcy; car companies must strictly implement relevant safety regulations to develop healthily.

This article is from the WeChat official account "NBD Auto", author: Li Xing, published by 36Kr with authorization.