Road Vehicle Systems: Key Standards for Safety, Data Storage, and Security

Today’s road vehicles are more than just means of transportation; they are advanced systems integrating safety, electronics, data storage, and cyber protection. Ensuring consistent safety, secure data management, and reliable system operation depends on compliance with international standards. This deep dive covers four pivotal standards shaping road vehicle systems: IEC 62702-1-1:2016 (long-term audio data storage on DVD), ISO 3536:2026 (safety glazing vocabulary), ISO/IEC 16963:2017 (lifetime estimation of optical disks), and ISO/IEC 20648:2016 (TLS for storage security). Whether you’re a manufacturer introducing innovative technologies or an IT professional safeguarding vehicle data, understanding and implementing these standards is not just recommended—it’s essential for productivity, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, and future scalability.

Overview / Introduction

The automotive industry, once focused purely on mechanics, is now driven by electronics, digital storage, and interconnected systems. As vehicles evolve, so do the complexities of managing and preserving audio and data records, ensuring robust safety features, and keeping them secure from cyber threats. This article unpacks four authoritative standards guiding manufacturers, suppliers, engineers, and decision-makers in implementing best practices for vehicle system safety and data management.

• IEC 62702-1-1:2016 addresses the long-term preservation and migration of audio data stored on DVDs—vital for automotive infotainment and compliance with archiving regulations.
• ISO 3536:2026 establishes crystal-clear terminology for safety glazing, ensuring common language across all vehicle safety communications and design requirements.
• ISO/IEC 16963:2017 equips industry professionals with test methods for predicting the lifespan of optical disks, supporting reliable digital archiving.
• ISO/IEC 20648:2016 provides the guideline for using the robust TLS protocol to secure vehicle data storage systems—crucial as vehicles become targets for cyber-attack.

Read on to explore what each standard means, who should comply, and how adopting them boosts competitive advantage, compliance, security, and operational performance.

Detailed Standards Coverage

IEC 62702-1-1:2016 – Long-Term Audio Data Storage and DVD Data Migration

Audio archive system – Part 1-1: DVD disk and data migration for long-term audio data storage

IEC 62702-1-1:2016 standardizes the methodology for ensuring the integrity and preservation of audio data stored on writable DVDs in road vehicle systems—think archived navigation instructions, infotainment data, or compliance audio logs. The standard prescribes:

• Methods for data-quality assurance for writable and rewritable DVDs (including DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, and +R/+RW discs), ensuring audio information remains retrievable for the long term.
• Periodic and initial performance testing, stipulating specific disk-testing intervals, error rate analysis (such as Maximum Byte Error Rate and Inner Parity Error metrics), and the reporting of these results.
• A data migration process, so that as discs age or technologies change, critical audio data can be seamlessly and accurately transferred to new media, maintaining compliance and ensuring sound archives persist.

Who should use it? Automotive OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), in-vehicle entertainment system providers, regulators, archiving professionals, and digital infotainment platform managers. The benefits include secure archiving, predictable data availability, and regulatory assurance for data retention.

Key highlights:

• Data migration protocols ensure long-term retention of vital audio records
• Detailed testing and reporting methods for disk reliability
• Recommendations for safe handling, storage, and cleaning

Access the full standard:View IEC 62702-1-1:2016 on iTeh Standards

ISO 3536:2026 – Standardized Safety Glazing Vocabulary for Road Vehicles

Road vehicles — Safety glazing materials — Vocabulary

Clarity and precision in communication are imperative in road vehicle safety—especially for safety glazing (the glass and plastic elements that protect passengers). ISO 3536:2026 creates a common terms database, ensuring all stakeholders—manufacturers, designers, regulators, and safety inspectors—speak the same language about glazing materials, their construction, types, and performance.

Key terms defined in the standard include:

• Safety glazing material: Designed to minimize injury risk in case of breakage.
• Toughened safety glass: Glass treated for enhanced strength and safe shattering profiles, also known as tempered glass.
• Laminated safety glass, glass-plastic materials, interlayer definitions, and more: These ensure vehicles meet stringent safety requirements, and enable designers to accurately specify and compare products.

Implementing this vocabulary is crucial for compliance, engineering design documentation, training, quality control, and during technology transfer or cross-border projects.

Key highlights:

• Unambiguous definitions for all key glazing materials
• Enables global alignment in safety communication
• Supports quality assurance and regulatory compliance

Access the full standard:View ISO 3536:2026 on iTeh Standards

ISO/IEC 16963:2017 – Lifetime Estimation of Optical Disks for Long-Term Data Storage

Information technology – Digitally recorded media for information interchange and storage – Test method for the estimation of lifetime of optical disks for long-term data storage

This standard provides a scientifically robust framework for predicting the usable lifespan of optical disks used in vehicles for crucial data logging and playback functionality. It specifies accelerated aging test methods for a range of disk formats such as DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, CD-R/RW, BD-R/RE, as well as possible future formats, ensuring:

• Accurate estimation of disk lifetime using advanced statistical models (Eyring and Arrhenius methods)
• Test protocols for both controlled (optimal) and harsh (worst-case) storage conditions for real-world relevance
• Comprehensive reporting templates for transparency and documentation
• Clear definitions and methods for test specimen preparation, error measurement, and analysis

The standard is indispensable to vehicle and infotainment system manufacturers, archival professionals, and automotive digital compliance officers focused on ensuring data viability for regulatory, legal, or operational needs.

Key highlights:

• Standardized accelerated-aging tests for various disk types
• Quantitative methodology for reliable disk lifetime prediction
• Supports strategic data migration and backup planning

Access the full standard:View ISO/IEC 16963:2017 on iTeh Standards

ISO/IEC 20648:2016 – Secure Data Storage in Vehicle Systems via TLS

Information technology – TLS specification for storage systems

As vehicles interface with networks, cloud-based services, and remote diagnostics, data security has become as vital as any physical component. ISO/IEC 20648:2016 ensures secure communication and data storage by standardizing the use of the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol for data at rest and in transit within vehicle systems.

The standard covers:

• TLS requirements: All storage servers must implement TLS v1.2 or later, ensuring best-in-class encryption, robust authentication, secure cipher suites, and both client/server digital certificate management.
• Implementation guidance: On certificate lifecycle management, revocation, security awareness, and interoperability between storage clients and servers (including legacy and non-storage technologies).
• Interoperability focus: Enables seamless, secure connections between vehicle data storage and analytics components, backend cloud services, remote diagnostics, and more.

This is applicable to automotive cybersecurity teams, IT system architects, vehicle manufacturers, and integrated service providers who must comply with privacy laws and security standards.

Key highlights:

• Mandatory robust encryption for vehicle data
• Covers digital certificates, cipher suites, authentication, and revocation
• Guidance supports fast, secure implementation across systems

Access the full standard:View ISO/IEC 20648:2016 on iTeh Standards

Industry Impact & Compliance

Adopting these international standards is no longer optional for road vehicle stakeholders aiming for market leadership, regulatory compliance, and product reliability. Here’s why:

• Compliance with international regulations: Standards ensure global compatibility and facilitate smoother certification and market entry.
• Enhanced safety and data integrity: Language standardization (ISO 3536:2026) prevents engineering mistakes; robust archiving (IEC 62702-1-1:2016, ISO/IEC 16963:2017) ensures data retrievability, crucial for investigations or analytics.
• Cybersecurity assurance: ISO/IEC 20648:2016 provides a blueprint for protecting critical in-vehicle and backend data, crucial against rising automotive cyber threats.
• Efficient scaling and futureproofing: Consistent test methods and interoperability guidelines simplify integration of new technologies and migration to more advanced systems.
• Competitive differentiation: Demonstrating adherence to these respected standards builds trust with clients, partners, and regulatory bodies.

Failure to comply can expose organizations to data loss, legal violations, operational disruptions, and reputational damage.

Implementation Guidance

To maximize the benefits of these road vehicle systems standards:

1. Conduct a gap assessment: Review current practices against each standard’s requirements.
2. Train teams: Ensure engineering, IT, and compliance staff understand the standards and their implications for design, data handling, and security protocols.
3. Centralize documentation: Leverage standard-defined terminology (such as in ISO 3536:2026) for technical documents and communication.
4. Automate testing and reporting: (IEC 62702-1-1:2016, ISO/IEC 16963:2017) – build or configure systems to automate disk testing, error measurement, and result documentation at required intervals.
5. Implement regular audits: Routinely check conformance, particularly for data migration and storage security.
6. Collaborate with stakeholders: Engage with supply chain partners, service providers, and technology vendors to coordinate adherence.
7. Plan for migration: Adopt the data migration strategies described to avoid technology lock-in and data obsolescence.
8. Stay updated: International standards evolve—monitor updates and integrate them into company practices accordingly.

Conclusion / Next Steps

The convergence of safety, secure data management, and international compliance is redefining success in the automotive sector. Through the implementation of IEC 62702-1-1:2016, ISO 3536:2026, ISO/IEC 16963:2017, and ISO/IEC 20648:2016, organizations can expect more resilient vehicle systems, maximized productivity, enhanced security, and readiness for rapid scaling.

Whether you are a manufacturer, R&D leader, compliance officer, or IT architect, now is the time to:

• Evaluate your organization’s alignment with these standards
• Embed their requirements into design, data management, and security strategies
• Prioritize ongoing education and system updates

Explore the full text of each standard linked below and maintain a position at the forefront of automotive safety, data security, and innovation.

Reference List of Standards

IEC 62702-1-1:2016 – Audio archive system – Part 1-1: DVD disk and data migration for long-term audio data storage
View IEC 62702-1-1:2016 on iTeh Standards

ISO 3536:2026 – Road vehicles — Safety glazing materials — Vocabulary
View ISO 3536:2026 on iTeh Standards

ISO/IEC 16963:2017 – Information technology – Digitally recorded media for information interchange and storage – Test method for the estimation of lifetime of optical disks for long-term data storage
View ISO/IEC 16963:2017 on iTeh Standards

ISO/IEC 20648:2016 – Information technology – TLS specification for storage systems
View ISO/IEC 20648:2016 on iTeh Standards