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►B COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 27July 197 6
on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to direction indicator lamps for
motor vehicles and their trailers
(76/759/EEC)
(OJ L 262, 27.9.1976, p. 71)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►A1Act of Accession of Greece L 291 17 19.11.1979
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COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 27July 197 6
on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
direction indicator lamps for motor vehicles and their trailers
(76/759/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 100 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(
1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2),
Whereas the technical requirements which motor vehicles must satisfy
pursuant to national laws relate inter alia to their direction indicator
lamps;
Whereas those requirements differ from one Member State to another;
whereas it is therefore necessary that all Member States adopt the samerequirements either in addition to or in place of their existing rules, inorder, in particular, to allow the EEC type-approval procedure whichwas the subject of Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 onthe approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to thetype-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers(
3), to be introduced in
respect of each type of vehicle;
Whereas in Directive 76/756/EEC (4), the Council laid down the
common requirements for the installation of lighting and light-signallingdevices on motor vehicles and their trailers;
Whereas a harmonized type-approval procedure for direction indicator
lamps makes it possible for each Member State to check compliancewith the common construction and testing requirements and to informthe other Member States of its findings by sending a copy of thecomponent type-approval certificate completed for each type of direc-tion indicator lamp; whereas the placing of an EEC component type-approval mark on all direction indicator lamps manufactured inconformity with the approved type obviates any need for technicalchecks on these direction indicator lamps in the other Member States;
Whereas, it is desirable to take into account the technical requirements
adopted by the UN Economic Commission for Europe in its RegulationNo 6 (‘Uniform provisions for the approval of direction indicators formotor vehicles (except motor cycles) and their trailers')(
5), which is
annexed to the Agreement of 20 March 1958 concerning the adoption ofuniform conditions for approval and reciprocal recognition of approvalfor motor vehicle equipment and parts;
Whereas the approximation of national laws relating to motor vehicles
entails reciprocal recognition by Member States of the checks carriedout by each of them on the basis of the common requirements,
(1) OJ No 28, 17. 2. 1967, p. 458/67.
(2) OJ No 224, 5. 12. 1966, p. 3802/66.
(3) OJ No L 42, 23. 2. 1970, p. 1.
(4) See page 1 of this Official Journal.
(5) Economic Commission for Europe, Document E/ECE/324, Addendum 5 of
22 May 1967.
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HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
1. Each Member State shall grant EEC component type-approval for
any type of direction indicator lamp which satisfies the construction andtesting requirements laid down in Annexes 0, I, III, IV and V.
2. The Member State which has granted EEC component type-
approval shall take the measures required in order to verify that produc-tion models conform to the approved type, in so far as this is necessaryand if need be in cooperation with the competent authorities in the otherMember States. Such verification shall be limited to spot checks.
Article 2
Member States shall, for each type of direction indicator lamp which
they approve pursuant to Article 1, issue to the manufacturer, or to hisauthorized representative, an EEC component type-approval markconforming to the model shown in Annex III.
Member States shall take all appropriate measures to prevent the use of
marks liable to create confusion between direction indicator lampswhich have been type-approved pursuant to Article 1, and other devices.
Article 3
1. No Member State may prohibit the placing on the market of
direction indicator lamps on grounds relating to their construction ormethod of functioning if they bear the EEC component type-approvalmark.
2. Nevertheless, a Member State may prohibit the placing on the
market of direction indicator lamps bearing the EEC component type-approval mark which consistently fail to conform to the approved type.
That State shall forthwith inform the other Member States and the
Commission of the measures taken, specifying the reasons for itsdecision.
Article 4
The competent authorities of each Member State shall within one month
send to the competent authorities of the other Member States a copy ofthe component type-approval certificates, an example of which is givenin Annex II, completed for each type of direction indicator lamp whichthey approve or refuse to approve.
Article 5
1. If the Member State which has granted EEC component type-
approval finds that a number of direction indicator lamps bearing thesame EEC component type-approval mark do not conform to the typewhich it has approved, it shall take the necessary measures to ensurethat production models conform to the approved type. The competentauthorities of that State shall advise those of the other Member States ofthe measures taken, which may, where there is consistent failure tocomform, extend to withdrawal of EEC component type-approval. Thesaid authorities shall take the same measures if they are informed by thecompetent authorities of another Member State of such failure toconform.
2. The competent authorities of Member States shall within one
month inform each other of any withdrawal of EEC component type-approval, and of the reasons for such a measure.
Article 6
Any decision taken pursuant to the provisions adopted in implementa-
tion of this Directive to refuse or withdraw component type-approvalfor a direction indicator lamp or prohibit its placing on the market oruse shall set out in detail the reasons on which it is based. Suchdecisions shall be notified to the party concerned, who shall at the time
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be informed of the remedies available to him under the laws in force inthe Member States and of the time limits allowed for the exercise ofsuch remedies.
Article 7
No Member State may refuse to grant EEC type-approval or national
type-approval of a vehicle on grounds relating to its direction indicatorlamps if these bear the EEC component type-approval mark and arefitted in accordance with the requirements laid down in Directive 76/756/EEC.
Article 8
No Member State may refuse or prohibit the sale, registration, entry into
service or use of any vehicle on grounds relating to its direction indi-cator lamps if these bear the EEC component type-approval mark andare fitted in accordance with the requirements laid down in Directive76/756/EEC.
Article 9
For the purposes of this Directive, ‘vehicle' means any motor vehicle
intended for use on the road, with or without bodywork, having at leastfour wheels and a maximum design speed exceeding 25 km/h, and itstrailers, with the exception or vehicles which run on rails, agriculturaltractors and machinery and public works vehicles.
Article 10
Any amendments necessary to adjust the requirements of the Annexes
to take account of technical progress shall be adopted in accordancewith the procedure laid down in Article 13 of Directive 70/156/EEC.
Article 11
1. Member States shall adopt and publish the provisions necessary in
order to comply with this Directive before 1 July 1977 and shallforthwith inform the Commission thereof. They shall apply these provi-sions from 1 October 1977 at the latest.
2. Once this Directive has been notified, the Member States shall
also ensure that the Commission is informed, in sufficient time for it tosubmit its comments, of any draft laws, regulations or administrativeprovisions which they propose to adopt in the field covered by thisDirective.
Article 12
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
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List of Annexes
Annex 0 (*) —Definition, general specifications, intensity of
light emitted, test procedure, colour of lightemitted, conformity of production
Annex I (*) — Categories of direction indicator lamps:
minimum angles required for light distributionin space
Annex II — Model EEC component type-approval certificateAnnex III — EEC component type-approval and marking
requirement
— Appendix: Example of an EEC component
type-approval mark
Annex IV (*) — Photometric measurementsAnnex V (*) — Colour of light emitted, trichromatic coordinates
(*) The technical requirements of this Annex are similar to those of Regulation No 6 of the
Economic Commission for Europe. In particular, the breakdown into sections is thesame. For this reason, where a section of Regulation No 6 has no counterpart in thisDirective, its number is given in brackets for the record.
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Category of indicator Minimum (cd) Maximum (cd)ANNEX 0
DEFINITION, GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS, INTENSITY OF LIGHT
EMITTED, TEST PROCEDURE, COLOUR OF LIGHT EMITTED,
CONFORMITY OF PRODUCTION
1. DEFINITION1.1.Direction indicator lamp
‘Direction indicator lamp' means the lamp used to indicate to other
road-users that the driver intends to change direction to the right or tothe left.
(2.)
(3.)(4.)5. GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
5.1. Each sample shall conform to the specifications set forth in sections 6
and 8.
5.2. The devices shall be so designed and constructed that under normal
conditions of use, notwithstanding any vibration to which they may besubjected during such use, their satisfactory operation remains assuredand they retain the characteristics prescribed by this Directive.
6. INTENSITY OF LIGHT EMITTED
6.1. In the reference axis, the light emitted by each of the two samples must
be of not less than the minimum intensity and of not more than themaximum intensity specified below:
1
175 700 (1)
2 50 200
5 0·3 200
(1) However, see 6.2.3.2 of this Annex and Annex IV.
6.2. Outside the reference axis, within the fields specified in the arrangement
diagrams in Annex I, intensity of the light emitted by each of the twosamples must:
6.2.1. in each direction corresponding to the points in the luminous intensity
distribution table reproduced in Annex IV, be not less than the valueshown in the said table for the direction in question, expressed as apercentage of the minimum specified in 6.1;
6.2.2. in any direction within the space from which the indicator lamp is
visible, nor exceed the maximum specified in 6.1.
6.2.3. Moreover,6.2.3.1. throughout the fields defined in the diagrams in Annex I, the intensity of
the light emitted must be not less than 0 ·3 cd for devices in categories 1,
2 and 5;
6.2.3.2. for devices in category 1, the intensity of the light emitted in the
directions corresponding to the points of measurement in the luminousintensity distribution table other than 0 to 5 °to the right and 0 to 5 °to
the left, must not exceed 400 cd;
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6.2.3.3. the requirements of 2.2 of Annex IV on local variations of intensity
must be observed.
6.3. The intensities shall be measured with the filament lamps continuously
alight and in coloured light.
6.4. Annex IV, referred to in 6.2.1, gives particulars of the measurement
methods to be used.
7. TEST PROCEDURE
7.1. All measurements shall be carried out with colourless standard filament
lamps of the types recommended for the device, and so regulated as toproduce the normal luminous flux prescribed for those types of lamp.
(7.2.)
8. COLOUR OF LIGHT EMITTED
The device must emit an amber light. The colour of the light emitted,
measured by using a source of light with a colour temperature of 2854K, corresponding to illuminant A of the International Commission onIllumination (CIE), must be within the limits of the coordinatesprescribed in Annex V.
9. CONFORMITY OF PRODUCTION
Every device bearing an EEC component type-approval mark must
conform to the approved type and comply with the photometric condi-tions specified in sections 6 and 8. Nevertheless, in the case of a devicepicked at random from series production, the requirements as tominimum intensity of the light emitted (measured with a standard fila-ment lamp as referred to in section 7) shall be limited in each relevantdirection to 80 % of the minimum values specified in 6.1 and 6.2.
(10.)
(11.)(12.)
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ANNEX I
CATEGORIES OF DIRECTION INDICATOR LAMPS
MINIMUM ANGLES REQUIRED FOR LIGHT DISTRIBUTION IN
SPACE (*)
In all cases, the minimum vertical angles of light distribution in space of
direction indicator lamps are 15 °above and 15 °below the horizontal.
Minimum horizontal angles of light distribution in space
Category 1: Direction indicators for the front of the vehicle
Category 2: Direction indicators for the rear of the vehicle
(*) The angles shown in these arrangements are correct for devices to be mounted on
the right side of the vehicle. The arrows in these diagrams point towards the front ofthe vehicle.
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Category 5: Repeating side indicators for use on a vehicle also equipped with
category 1 and 2 direction indicators

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ANNEX II
MODEL EEC COMPONENT TYPE-APPROVAL CERTIFICATE
(Maximum format: A4 (210 × 297mm))

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ANNEX III
EEC COMPONENT TYPE-APPROVAL AND MARKING REQUIRE-
MENTS
1. APPLICATION FOR EEC COMPONENT TYPE-APPROVAL
1.1. The application for EEC component type-approval shall be submitted by
the holder of the trade name or mark or by his authorized representative.
1.2. For each type of direction indicator lamp, the application shall be accom-
panied by the following:
1.2.1. an indication of which of the categories 1, 2 or 5, the device belongs to;1.2.2. a brief technical specification stating, in particular, the type of filament
lamp or lamps prescribed;
1.2.3. drawings, (three copies), in sufficient detail to permit identification of the
type and category and showing, geometrically, the position in which thedevice is to be mounted on the vehicle, the axis of observation to be takenas the axis of reference in the tests (horizontal angl eH=0 °, vertical angle
V=0 °), and the point to be taken as the centre of reference in the said
tests;
1.2.4. two samples; even if the sample devices are such that they can be
remounted only on one side of the vehicle, the two samples submittedmay be identical and be suitable for mounting only on the right or only onthe left side of the vehicle.
2. MARKINGS
2.1. Devices submitted for EEC component type-approval must bear:2.1.1. the trade name or mark of the applicant, which shall be clearly legible and
indelible;
2.1.2. a clearly legible and indelible marking indicating the type or types of
filament lamp recommended;
2.1.3. and incorporate a space large enough to contain the EEC component
type-approval mark and the additional symbols prescribed in section 4;this space shall be shown in the drawings mentioned in 1.2.3.
3. EEC COMPONENT TYPE-APPROVAL
3.1. If all the samples submitted in accordance with section 1 meet the require-
ments of Annexes 0, I, III, IV and V, EEC component type-approval shallbe granted and a component type-approval number assigned.
3.2. This number shall not be assigned to any other type of direction indicator
lamp.
3.3. Where EEC type-approval is requested for a type of lighting and light-
signalling device comprising a direction indicator lamp and other lamps, asingle EEC type-approval mark may be issued provided that the directionindicator lamp complies with the requirements of this Directive and thateach of the other lamps forming part of the lighting and light-signallingdevice for which EEC type-approval is requested, complies with thespecific Directive applying to it.
4. MARKS
4.1. Every direction indicator lamp conforming to a type approved under this
Directive shall bear an EEC component type-approval mark.
4.2. This mark shall consist of a rectangle surrounding the lower-case letter ‘e',
followed by the distinguishing letter(s) or number of the Member Statewhich has granted the type-approval:
1 for Germany,2 for France,3 for Italy,4 for the Netherlands,6 for Belgium,11 for the United Kingdom,
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13 for Luxembourg,
DK for Denmark,IRL for Ireland,
▼
A1
E for Greece.
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It must also include the EEC component type-approval number which
corresponds to the number of the EEC component type-approval certifi-cate issued for the type of direction indicator lamp in question.
4.3. The EEC component type-approval mark shall be supplemented by the
following additional symbols:
4.3.1. one or more of the numbers 1, 2 or 5, according to whether the device
belongs to one or more of the categories 1, 2 or 5, as referred to in 1.2.1,placed above the rectangle;
4.3.2. an arrow shall be placed, showing in what position the device is to be
mounted on devices which are such that they can be mounted only on oneside of the vehicle. The arrow shall be directed outwards from the vehiclein the case of devices in categories 1 and 2 and towards the front of thevehicle in the case of devices in category 5.
4.4. The EEC component type-approval number must be placed in any conve-
nient position near the rectangle surrounding the letter ‘e'.
4.5. The EEC component type-approval mark and the additional symbol(s)
must be affixed to the lens or one of the lenses in such a way as to beindelible and clearly legible even when the direction indicator lamps arefitted on the vehicle.
4.6. An example of an EEC component type-approval mark is shown in the
Appendix.
4.7. Where a single EEC-type-approval number is issued, as under 3.3, for a
type of lighting and light-signalling device comprising a direction indi-cator lamp and other lamps, one EEC type-approval mark only may beaffixed, consisting of:
— a rectangle surrounding the letter ‘e' followed by the distinguishing
letter(s) or number of the Member State which has granted the EECcomponent type-approval,
— the EEC component type-approval number,— the additional symbols required by the various Directives under which
EEC component type-approval was granted.
4.8. The dimensions of the various components of this mark must not be less
than the largest of the minimum dimensions specified for individualmarkings as appended to this Annex.
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Appendix
EXAMPLE OF AN EEC COMPONENT TYPE-APPROVAL MARK
The device bearing the EEC component type-approval mark shown above is a
direction indicator lamp in category 5 EEC type-approved in Germany (e 1)under the number 1471. The arrow shows in what position this device, which canbe mounted only on one side of the vehicle, is to be mounted. The arrow pointstowards the front of the vehicle.
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Direction in which the arrows on the approval mark point, according to the
category of device

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ANNEX IV
PHOTOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS
1. MEASUREMENT METHODS
1.1. During photometric measurements, stray reflections shall be prevented by
appropriate masking.
1.2. Should the results of measurements be challenged, measurements shall be
carried out in such a way as to meet the following requirements:
1.2.1. the distance of measurement shall be such that the law of the inverse of
the square of the distance is applicable;
1.2.2. the measuring equipment shall be such that the angular aperture of the
receiver viewed from the reference centre of the light is between 10 /prime1and
1°.
1.2.3. the intensity requirement for a particular direction of observation shall be
deemed to be satisfied if that requirement is met in a direction deviatingby not more than 15 /prime1from the direction of observation.
2. STANDARD LUMINOUS INTENSITY DISTRIBUTION TABLE
2.1. The directio nH=0 °a n dV=0 °corresponds to the reference axis. (On
the vehicle, it is horizontal, parallel to the median longitudinal plane of thevehicle and oriented in the required direction of visibility). It passesthrough the centre of reference. The values shown in the table give, for thevarious directions of measurement, the minimum intensities as apercentage of the minimum required in the axis for each light (in thedirectionH=0 °a n dV=0 °).
2.2. If visual examination of a light appears to reveal substantial local vari-
ations of intensity, a check shall be made to ensure that no intensitymeasured between two of the directions of measurement referred to aboveis:
2.2.1. for a minimum specification, below 50 % of the lower of the two
minimum intensities prescribed for these directions of measurement;
2.2.2. for a maximum specification, above the lower of the two maximum
intensities prescribed for these directions of measurement, increased by afraction, expressed as a linear function of the difference between theintensities prescribed for the said directions of measurement.
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ANNEX V
COLOUR OF LIGHT EMITTED
TRICHROMATIC COORDINATES
AMBER: limit towards yellow: y ≤0·429
limit towards red: y ≥0·398
limit towards white: z ≤0·007
For checking these colorimetric characteristics, a source of light at a colour
temperature of 2854 K corresponding to illuminant A of the InternationalCommission on Illumination (CIE) shall be used.