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As defined by section 12 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, a Technical Standards Document (TSD) is a document that reproduces an enactment of a foreign government (e.g. a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard issued by the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). According to the Act, the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations may alter or override some provisions contained in a TSD or specify additional requirements; consequently, it is advisable to read a TSD in conjunction with the Act and its counterpart Regulation. As a guide, where the corresponding Regulation contains additional requirements, footnotes indicate the amending subsection number.
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The effective date of a TSD is the date of publication of its incorporating regulation or of the notice of revision in the Canada Gazette, and the date as of which voluntary compliance is permitted. The mandatory compliance date is the date upon which compliance with the requirements of the TSD is obligatory. If the effective date and mandatory compliance date are different, manufacturers may follow the requirements that were in force before the effective date, or those of this TSD, until the mandatory compliance date.
In the case of an initial TSD, or when a TSD is revised and incorporated by reference by an amendment to the Regulations, the mandatory compliance date is as specified in the Regulations, and it may be the same as the effective date. When a TSD is revised with no corresponding changes to the incorporating Regulations, the mandatory compliance date is six months after the effective date.
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(Original signed by)
Director, Standards Research and Development
for the Minister of Transport,
Infrastructure and Communities
Ottawa, Ontario
This Technical Standards Document (TSD) standard establishes strength requirements for the passenger compartment roof.
The purpose of this Technical Standards Document (TSD) standard is to reduce deaths and injuries due to the crushing of the roof into the occupant compartment in rollover crashes.
[CONTENT DELETED] For applicability, see Schedule III and subsections 216 of Schedule IV to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations.
* Convertible means a vehicle whose A-pillars are not joined with the B-pillars (or rearmost pillars) by a fixed, rigid structural member. See section 2 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations. (Décapotable)
S5.1 When the test device described in S6 is used to apply a force to a vehicle’s roof in accordance with S7, first to one side of the roof and then to the other side of the roof:
(a) the lower surface of the test device must not move more than 127 millimeters, and
(b) no load greater than 222 Newtons (50 pounds) may be applied to the head form specified in S5.2 of Title 49 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 571.201 located at the head position of a 50th percentile adult male in accordance with S7.2 of this TSD section.
S5.2 The maximum applied force to the vehicle’s roof in Newtons is:
(a) for vehicles with a GVWR of 2 722 kilograms (6,000 pounds) or less, any value up to and including 3.0 times the unloaded vehicle weight of the vehicle, measured in kilograms and multiplied by 9.8, and
(b) for vehicles with a GVWR greater than 2 722 kilograms (6,000 pounds), any value up to and including 1.5 times the unloaded vehicle weight of the vehicle, measured in kilograms and multiplied by 9.8.
The test device is a rigid unyielding block whose lower surface is a flat rectangle measuring 762 millimeters by 1 829 millimeters.
Each vehicle must be capable of meeting the requirements of S5 when tested in accordance with the procedure in S7.1 through S7.6.
S7.1 Support the vehicle off its suspension and rigidly secure the sills and the chassis frame (when applicable) of the vehicle on a rigid horizontal surface(s) at a longitudinal attitude of 0 degrees ± 0.5 degrees. Measure the longitudinal vehicle attitude along both the driver and passenger sill. Determine the lateral vehicle attitude by measuring the vertical distance between a level surface and a standard reference point on the bottom of the driver and passenger side sills. The difference between the vertical distance measured on the driver side and the passenger side sills is not more than ± 10 mm. Close all windows, close and lock all doors, and close and secure any moveable roof panel, moveable shade, or removable roof structure in place over the occupant compartment. Remove roof racks or other non-structural components. For a vehicle built on a chassis-cab incomplete vehicle that has some portion of the added body structure above the height of the incomplete vehicle, remove the entire added body structure prior to testing (the vehicle’s unloaded vehicle weight as specified in S5 includes the weight of the added body structure).
S7.2 Adjust the seats in accordance with S8.3 of Title49 of the U.S.CFR 571.214. Position the top center of the head form specified in S5.2 of Title 49 of the U.S.CFR 571.201 at the location of the top center of the Head Restraint Measurement Device (HRMD) specified in Title 49 of the U.S. CFR 571.202a, in the front outboard designated seating position on the side of the vehicle being tested as follows:
(a) Position the three dimensional manikin specified in Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Surface Vehicle Standard J826, revised July 1995, “Devices for Use in Defining and Measuring Vehicle Seating Accommodation,” (incorporated by reference, see paragraph S3.2), in accordance to the seating procedure specified in that document, except that the length of the lower leg and thigh segments of the H-point machine are adjusted to 414 and 401 millimeters, respectively, instead of the 50th percentile values specified in Table 1 of SAE J826 (July 1995).
(b) Remove four torso weights from the three-dimensional manikin specified in SAE J826 (July 1995) (two from the left side and two from the right side), replace with two HRMD torso weights (one on each side), and attach and level the HRMD head form.
(c) Mark the location of the top center of the HRMD in three dimensional space to locate the top center of the head form specified in Title S5.2 of 49 of the U.S. CFR 571.201.
S7.3 Orient the test device as shown in Figure 1 of this TSD section, so that –
(a) Its longitudinal axis is at a forward angle (in side view) of 5 degrees (± 0.5 degrees) below the horizontal, and is parallel to the vertical plane through the vehicle's longitudinal centerline;
(b) Its transverse axis is at an outboard angle, in the front view projection, of 25 degrees below the horizontal (± 0.5 degrees).
S7.4 Maintaining the orientation specified in S7.3 of this TSD section –
(a) Lower the test device until it initially makes contact with the roof of the vehicle.
(b) Position the test device so that–
(1) The longitudinal centerline on its lower surface is within 10 mm of the initial point of contact, or on the center of the initial contact area, with the roof; and
(2) The midpoint of the forward edge of the lower surface of the test device is within 10 mm of the transverse vertical plane 254 mm forward of the forwardmost point on the exterior surface of the roof, including windshield trim, that lies in the longitudinal vertical plane passing through the vehicle's longitudinal centerline.
S7.6 Repeat the test on the other side of the vehicle.
* Please see subsection 2(1) of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations for the applicable definition.