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►B COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/21/EEC
of 31 March 1992
on the masses and dimensions of motor vehicles of category M1
(OJ L 129, 14.5.1992, p. 1)
Corrected by:
►C1Corrigendum, OJ L 14, 22.1.1993, p. 29 (92/21)
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COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/21/EEC
of 31 March 1992
on the masses and dimensions of motor vehicles of category M1
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
In cooperation with the European Parliament(2),
HavingregardtotheopinionoftheEconomicandSocialCommittee(3),
Whereasitisimportanttoadoptmeasureswiththeaimofprogressively
establishingtheinternalmarketoveraperiodexpiringon31December1992; whereas the internal market comprises an area without internalfrontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services andcapital is ensured;
Whereasthetotal-harmonizationmethodwillbeessentialinorderfully
to achieve the single market;
Whereas this method will to be used at the time of the revision of the
entireEECtype-approvalprocedure,takingaccountofthespiritoftheCouncil resolution of 7 May 1985 concerning a new approach to thequestion of technical harmonization and standardization;
Whereas the technical requirements which motor vehicles must satisfy
pursuant to national laws relate, inter alia, to their masses and dimen-
sions;
Whereas those requirements differ from one Member State to another;
whereasitisthereforenecessarythatallMemberStatesadoptthesamerequirements, either in addition to or in place of their existing rules inorder to allow, in particular, the EEC type-approval procedure whichwasthesubjectofCouncilDirective70/156/EECof6February1970onthe approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to thetype-approvalofmotorvehiclesandtheirtrailers(
4),aslastamendedby
Directive 87/403/EEC(5), to be applied in respect of each type of
vehicle;
Whereas this Directive will be supplemented by Directives relating to
themassesanddimensionsofallcategoriesofmotorvehiclesandtheirtrailers;
Whereas it is not necessary to lay down requirements concerning the
dynamic stability of combinations of motor vehicles and trailers sincethemanufacturersofmotorvehiclestakethisaspectintoaccountwhenstating the maximum technically permissible towable mass,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
ForthepurposesofthisDirective,‘vehicle'meansanymotorvehiclein
category M1as defined in Annex I to Directive 70/156/EEC, intended
foruseontheroad,havingatleastfourwheelsandamaximumdesignspeed exceeding 25km/h.
(1) OJ No C 95, 12. 4. 1990, p. 92.
(2) OJ No C 284, 12. 11. 1990, p. 80 and Decision of 12. 2. 1992 (not yet
published in the Official Journal).
(3) OJ No C 225, 10. 9. 1990, p. 9.
(4) OJ No L 42, 23. 2. 1970, p. 1.
(5) OJ No L 220, 8. 8. 1987, p. 44.
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Article 2
No Member State may refuse EEC type-approval or national type-
approvalofatypeofvehicle,orrefuseorprohibitthesale,registration,entry into service or use of a vehicle on grounds relating to its massesand dimensions if these satisfy the requirements set out in Annex I.
Article 3
AnyamendmentsnecessarytoadapttherequirementsoftheAnnexesto
thisDirectivetotechnicalprogressshallbeadoptedbytheCommissionin accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13 of Directive70/156/EEC.
Article 4
1. MemberStatesshalladoptandpublishtheprovisionsnecessaryto
comply with this Directive before 1 July 1992 and shall forthwithinform the Commission thereof.
WhenMemberStatesadopttheseprovisions,theyshallcontainarefer-
ence to this Directive or be accompanied by such reference on theoccasion of their official publication. The methods of making such areference shall be laid down by the Member States.
They shall apply these provisions from 1 October 1992.2. MemberStatesshallcommunicatetotheCommissionthetextsof
the main provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the fieldcovered by this Directive.
Article 5
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
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ANNEX I
1. SCOPE
This Directive applies to the masses and dimensions of motor vehicles
in category M1as defined in Article 1.
1.1.Definitions
‘Mass of the vehicle in running order'means the mass of the vehicle
with bodywork in running oder (including coolant, oils, fuel, sparewheele, tools and driver).
‘Maximum authorized laden mass of a vehicle':see point 4.2.1.‘Maximum authorized laden mass of a vehicle suitable for drawing a
trailer'means the mass as defined at point 4.2.1, which includes:
— the maximum mass of the towing device, and
— themaximumauthorizeddrawbarloadonthecouplingpointofthe
coupling device when the vehicle is stationary, as specified by thevehicle manufacturer.
2. APPLICATION FOR EEC TYPE-APPROVAL
2.1. Any application for the type-approval of a vehicle in respect of its
massesanddimensionssubmittedbythemanufacturerofthevehicleorby a duly authorized representative.
2.2. It is accompanied by the following documents, in triplicate, and the
following information: a description of the type of vehicle, specifyingthe characteristics listed in Annex II, together with the documentsrequested in accordance with Article 3 of Directive 70/156/EEC.
2.3. A vehicle representative of the type to be type-approved must be
presented to the technical department responsible for the type-approvaltests.
3. EEC TYPE-APPROVAL
AcertificateidenticalwiththemodelsetoutinAnnexIIIisattachedto
the EEC type-approval form.
4. REQUIREMENTS4.1.Dimensions
4.1.1. The maximum authorized dimensions of a vehicle are as follows:4.1.1.1. Length: 12000mm4.1.1.2. Width: 2500mm4.1.1.3. Height: 4000mm4.1.1.4. Thedimensionsaremeasuredaccordingtotheprovisionsofthenotesof
Annex I to Directive 70/156/EEC.
4.2.Mass
4.2.1. The maximum authorized mass of a vehicle must not exceed the
maximum technically permissible laden mass as defined by the manu-facturer.
4.2.2. The technically permissible maximum mass of the vehicle and of its
axles must be determined by its manufacturer, bearing in mind, inparticular, the strength of the materials used and provided that thetechnically permissible maximum mass thus determined is not lowerthan the mass of the vehicle in running order, plus 75kg for everypassengerseat.Thenumberofseatsmustbestatedbythemanufacturer.Themassesofthepassengersandtheluggagemustbepositionedinthecorrectplacetodeterminethetechnicallypermissiblemaximummassofthe vehicle and the axles. The number of passenger seats must beindicated by the manufacturer. If the vehicle is intended to draw atrailer,themanufacturermayindicateasecondpermissiblevalueontherearaxle(s)toapplyonlyforthisparticularusage.Inthiscase,boththemaximummassofthetowingdeviceasspecifiedbythevehiclemanu-facturerandthemaximumpermitteddrawbarloadonthecouplingpointof the coupling device when the vehicle is stationary have to be taken
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into account for the determination of the maximum masses mentioned
above. The method for verifying the masses is described in theAppendix.Ifthevehiclemanufacturerequipshisvehiclewithacouplingdevice, he must indicate on the towing device in the vicinity of thecoupling device the maximum permitted drawbar load on the couplingpoint of the coupling device.
4.2.2.1. The sum of the technically permissible maximum masses of the axles
mustnotbelessthanthetechnicallypermissiblemaximummassofthevehicle.Wherethevehicleand,atthesametime,itsrearaxleareladento the technically permissible maximum mass, the mass bearing on thefront axle must not be less than 30 % of the technically permissiblemaximum mass of the vehicle.
4.3.Towable mass and drawbar load on the coupling device
4.3.1. Towable mass of a vehicle intended to draw a trailer fitted with a
service braking device.
4.3.1.1. Themaximumauthorizedtowablemassofvehicleisthelowervalueof
either:
(a) the technically permissible maximum towable mass based on the
construction of the vehicle and/or the strength of the mechanicalcoupling device; or
(b) the maximum authorized mass of the drawing vehicle (motor
vehicle).
For the off-road vehicle as defined in Directive 70/156/EEC the
maximum authorized towable mass may be increased to 1,5 times themaximum authorized mass of the drawing vehicle subject to it notexceeding the technically permissible maximum towable mass.
However, the maximum towable mass may ►
C1in no case exceed
3500 kg. ◄
4.3.1.2. Thetechnicallypermissiblemaximumtowablemassisthatstatedbythe
manufacturer,thetowablemassbeingthetotalactualmassofthetrailerdrawn including the actual drawbar load on the coupling device.
4.3.2. Towable mass of a vehicle intended to draw a trailer without a service
braking device.
4.3.2.1. The authorized towable mass is the technically permissible maximum
towable mass or half of the mass of the drawing vehicle in runningorder; the lower mass value applies.
The maximum towable mass must in no case exceed 750kg.
4.3.3. The maximum authorized drawbar load at the coupling device of the
vehicle is the technically permissible drawbar load, the drawbar loadbeing th actual vertical load transmitted when the vehicle is stationaryby the drawbar of the trailer to the vehicle coupling and acting via thecentre of the coupling device.
4.3.3.1. Thetechnicallypermissibledrawbarloadisthatstatedbythemanufac-
turer; this load must be not less than 25kg and must be increased forgreater towable masses. The manufacturer must specify in the mainte-nance manual: the maximum permissible vertical load on the couplingdevice,themountingpointofthecouplingdeviceonthemotorvehicle,and the rear overhang of the coupling device.
4.3.4. The motor vehicle towing a trailer must be able to start the vehicle
combination — laden to its maximum mass — five times on an uphillgradient of at least 12 % within five minutes.
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Appendix
METHOD FOR VERIFYING THE MASSES OF MOTOR VEHICLES OF
CATEGORY M1
1. The mass of the vehicle will be verified as follows:
1.1. empty, in running order and without driver;1.2. fully laden (under the conditions referred to in point 4.2.2), by means of
calculation, taking the following into account:
— theseat,ifadjustable,mustinparticularbemovedtothefurthestback
normal driving or seating position as indicated by the manufacturer
taking into account only the longitudinal adjustment of the seat andexcludingseatsusedotherwisethanfornormaldrivingorseatingposi-tions.Wherethereareotherpossibilitiesforadjustingtheseat(vertical,angled, seat back, etc.) the adjusted positions must be as specified bythevehiclemanufacturer.Inthecaseofsuspensionseats,theseatmustbe locked in the normal driving position as specified by the manufac-turer,
— themassforeachoccupant(driverincluded)istakentobe75kg(68kg
+ kg of luggage);
— themassofeachoccupantistobeappliedtotheRpointofeachseat.
Luggage is to be evenly distributed in the luggage compartment;
— any load in excess of the conventional load must be distributed on the
seats and in the luggage compartment in the proportions laid down inthe second indent.
1.3. The masses specified are determined according to the following table:
2. RESULTS OF VERIFICATION
The results are considered satisfactory if:
— the masses of the empty vehicle (column (a)) correspond to those
declaredbythemanufacturer,withatoleranceof± 5 %;(inthiscase,
the value of the mass stated by the manufacturer is adopted for calcu-lating the masses in columns (b) and (c)),
— themassesverifiedundertheconditionsreferredtoincolumns(b)and
(c) do not exceed the maximum permissible masses stated by themanufacturer,
— the requirements set out in point 4.2.2.1 of Annex I are fulfilled,
— the masses stated by the manufacturer are compatible with the load
characteristics of the tyres specified for the motor vehicle.
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ANNEX II
MODEL INFORMATION DOCUMENT (a)

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ANNEX III

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