Part 1: ECE Regulations – What, How, and Why

What exactly is an ECE regulation?

ECE regulations are technical requirements and approval procedures for motor vehicles and their components. These are the rules agreed upon in Europe to ensure that vehicles are safe and environmentally friendly. Key points include:

1. Safety: The regulations ensure that cars are safe. For example, standards for vehicle lighting to make sure you can see well and be seen.
2. Quality: These standards guarantee that cars are of good quality and consistent across the board.
3. Environment: The regulations also help reduce pollution caused by vehicles.

In this blog, we focus on ECE Regulation 148, also known as R148, which deals with lighting.
ECE R148 is a consolidation of earlier regulations such as ECE R5, R7, R31, R38, R77, R87, R91, R119, and R123. These older regulations became too fragmented, so they were merged into one comprehensive regulation. Since November 2023, lamps are approved according to the standards in R148. However, since many lighting products on the market were certified before November 2023, you may still see lamps with only the "old" ECE R-numbers. These are still approved as well.

Which lights are we talking about?

Turn signals / Indicators Brake lights Position lights / Parking lights (front) Reverse lights Daytime running lights (DRL) License plate lights Fog lights Parking lights (rear or side) Side marker lights

Key components of R148 include:

• Light intensity and distribution: The lighting must provide sufficient illumination without dazzling other road users.
• IP protection ratings: Lighting must be resistant to dust and water, such as IP67 and IP69K.
• Durability: The lighting must be shock- and vibration-resistant and function well under extreme weather conditions.
• Installation requirements: The positioning and mounting of the lighting must comply with specific angles and heights to ensure optimal visibility.

The directive also includes provisions for dynamic lighting (such as turn indicators) and lighting failure (backup systems).
In the next blog, we will explain the requirements for each type of lamp that must be met in order to obtain an E-marking.