. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/TBT/N/EU/15 
27 January 2012  
 (12-0550) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member:  EUROPEAN UNION  
If applicable, name of local governme nt involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible:  European Commission 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above :   
European Commission 
EU-TBT Enquiry Point Fax:  +(32) 2 299 80 43 E-mail:  mailto:eu-tbt@ec.europa.eu  
Website:  http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/tbt/  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [X], 5.7.1 [   ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Motor vehicles (passenger 
cars, light commercial vehicles, buses, light trucks, coaches and trucks). 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Proposal for a 
Regulation of the European Parliament a nd of the Council on the sound level of motor 
vehicles (COM (2011) 856) (98 pages, in English, French and Spanish). 
6. Description of content:  This draft Commission Regulati on aims at reducing the noise 
emission limits of motor vehicl es (passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, buses, light 
trucks, coaches and trucks).  
The old test method of Directive 70/157/EEC (which it will repeal) would be deleted and 
replaced by the new test me thod already mentioned in the Directive but for monitoring 
purposes only. The noise limit va lues would be lowered in two steps of 2 dB(A) each for 
passenger cars, buses and light trucks; for heavy duty vehicles  the reduction will be 1 dB(A) 
in the first step and 2 dB(A) in the second step. The first step is foreseen to apply two years after the date of publication of the proposal in the OJEU; the second step shall follow after 
further three years. The proposed reduction would apply to the noise values resulting from the 
application of the new test method. 
Additional sound emission provisions (ASEP) wo uld be included in the type-approval 
procedure and the existing deroga tions for certain vehicle types would be revised. ASEP are 
preventive  requirements  intended to cover  driving  conditions  of  the vehi cle  in  real traffic G/TBT/N/EU/15 
Page 2  
 
  outside the type-approval driving cycle. Th ese driving conditions are environmentally 
relevant and it needs to be ensured that th e sound emission of a vehicle under street driving 
conditions does not differ significantly from what  can be expected from the type approval test 
result for this specific vehicle. 
An additional Annex with requirements regarding the minimum noise ('Approaching Vehicle 
Audible Systems') of electric an d hybrid electric vehicles is proposed to be added. These 
requirements shall ensure that only adequate sound generating devices are used and it shall 
lead to a harmonisation of the applied technol ogy. The fitting as such would not be mandated 
and would remain an option fo r the vehicle manufacturer. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
Protection of human health and safety.  
8. Relevant documents:   Council Directive on the approxima tion of the laws of the Member 
States relating to the permissi ble sound level and the exhaus t system of motor vehicles 
(70/157/EEC) of 6 February 1970 (OJ L 42 , 23.2.1970, p. 16) as last amended: 
"http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ /LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1970L0157:20070705:en:PDF " 
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:    2013 
20 days from publication in  the Official Journal 
of the EU. First reduction of noise limits 2 years after adoption 
10. Final date for comments:  90 days from date of notification 
11. Text available from:  National enquiry point [  ], or address, telephone and fax numbers, 
e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:    
European Commission 
EU-TBT Enquiry Point Fax:  +(32) 2 299 80 43 
E-mail:  mailto:eu-tbt@ec.europa.eu  
The text is available on the EU-TBT Website:  http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/tbt/  
http://members.wto.org/crnatt achments/2012/tbt/EEC/12_0296_00_e.pdf