Directive 2000/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 20 March 2000
on speedometers for two- or three-wheel motor vehicles and amending Council Directive 92/61/EEC on the type-approval of two- or three-wheel motor vehicles
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(3),
Whereas:
(1) Road safety is a fundamental Community objective which requires speed to be monitored and checked by means of a speedometer, with a view to raising awareness, particularly among young people, of the need for proper road use.
(2) The technical legislation on road safety should be adopted in a cohesive fashion, in the form of "packages" of directives, so as to raise public awareness of the European Union's contribution to enhancing road safety.
(3) In every Member State, two- or three-wheel motor vehicles must, as regards speedometers, display certain technical characteristics laid down as compulsory requirements that vary from Member State to Member State; such variation constitutes an obstacle to intra-Community trade.
(4) Such obstacles to the functioning of the internal market can be eliminated by the adoption of the same requirements by all the Member States in lieu of their existing rules and regulations.
(5) This Directive is to be added to the separate Directives that must be complied with under Article 4 of Council Directive 92/61/EEC of 30 June 1992 relating to the type-approval of two- or three-wheel motor vehicles(4).
(6) The introduction of harmonised requirements for speedometers in two- or three-wheel motor vehicles is necessary in order to permit implementation, for each type of those vehicles, of the type-approval and approval procedures laid down by Directive 92/61/EEC.
(7) In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty, the objective of the action envisaged, namely Community type-approval by type of vehicle, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, in view of the scale and the impact of the action proposed, be better achieved at the Community level. This Directive limits itself to the minimum required for the attainment of that objective and does not go beyond what is necessary for that purpose.
(8) To facilitate access to the markets of non-member countries, it is clearly necessary to establish equivalence between the requirements of this Directive and those of Regulation No 39 of the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations (hereinafter referred to as "UN-ECE Regulation No 39").
(9) The Member States of the European Union must negotiate as soon as possible an amendment to UN-ECE Regulation No 39 to align it with the provisions of this Directive.
(10) Directive 92/61/EEC should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
1. This Directive shall apply to the speedometer of each type of vehicles described in Article 1 of Directive 92/61/EEC.
2. Any vehicle falling within the scope of Directive 92/61/EEC shall be fitted with a speedometer complying with the Annex to this Directive.
Article 2
The procedures for the granting of component type-approval in respect of the speedometer of a type of two- or three-wheel motor vehicle and the conditions governing the free movement of such vehicles shall be as laid down in, respectively, Chapters II and III of Directive 92/61/EEC.
Article 3
In accordance with Article 11 of Directive 92/61/EEC, the equivalence between the requirements laid down in this Directive and those laid down in UN-ECE Regulation No 39, in the latest version adopted by the Community, is hereby acknowledged.
The authorities of the Member States which grant type-approval shall accept approvals, and type-approval marks, granted in accordance with the requirements of the said Regulation No 39 within the scope of that Regulation, in place of the corresponding approvals and type-approval marks granted in accordance with the requirements of this Directive.
Article 4
The amendments that are essential in order to take account of the amendments to UN-ECE Regulation No 39 and to adapt the Annex to technical progress shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 13 of Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers(5).
Article 5
Directive 92/61/EEC is amended as follows:
1. In Annex I, heading No 45, "Speedometer and odometer for motorcycles, motor tricycles and quadricycles" shall be replaced by "Speedometer" and the term "CONF" by "SD".
2. Annex IIA is amended as follows:
(a) item 4.7. "Speedometer and odometer: yes/no (1)" shall be replaced by "Speedometer";
(b) the following items shall be inserted:
"4.7.3. Photos and/or drawings of the complete system
4.7.4. Range of speeds displayed
4.7.5. Tolerance of the speedometer's measuring mechanism
4.7.6. Technical constant of the speedometer
4.7.7. Modus operandi and description of the drive mechanism
4.7.8. Overall transmission ratio of the drive mechanism".
3. In Annex IIIB, heading No 10.12, "Speedometer and odometer for motorcycles, motor tricycles and quadricycles" shall be replaced by "Speedometer" and the term "CONF" by "SD".
Article 6
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions needed in order to comply with this Directive before 1 January 2001. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference at the time of their official publication. The procedure for such reference shall be adopted by Member States.
2. The Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the area covered by this Directive.
3. With effect from 1 January 2001, Member States may no longer prohibit, on grounds relating to the speedometers, the first bringing into service of vehicles that meet the requirements of this Directive.
4. Member States shall apply the requirements set out in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 as from 1 July 2001, except for mopeds, to which these requirements shall be applicable from 1 July 2002.
Article 7
This Directive shall take effect on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Article 8
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 20 March 2000.