1974L0347 — EN — 30.10.1997 — 003.001 — 1
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►B COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 25June 1974
onthe approximation of the lawsof the Member States relating to the field of vision andwindscreen
wipers for wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors
(74/347/EEC)
(OJ L 191, 15.7.1974, p. 5)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Directive 79/1073/EEC of 22 November 1979 L 331 20 27.12.1979
►M2Council Directive 82/890/EEC of 17 December 1982 L 378 45 31.12.1982
►M3Directive 97/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23
September 1997 L 277 24 10.10.1997
Corrected by:
►C1Corrigendum, OJ L 226, 18.8.1976, p. 16 (74/347/EEC)
▼B
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 25June 1974
on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
the field of vision and windscreen wipers for wheeled agricultural or
forestry tractors
(74/347/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 with which tractors must comply
pursuant to national laws relate, inter alia, to the field of vision and
windscreen wipers;
Whereas these 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 in
order, in particular, to allow the EEC type-approval procedure which
was the subject of Council Directive No 74/150/EEC(
3) of 4 March
1974 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating tothe type-approval of wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors to beapplied in respect of each type of tractor,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
1. ‘Agricultural or forestry tractor’ means any motor vehicle, fitted
with wheels or ►C1endless tracks ◄and having at least two axles,
the main function of which lies in its tractive power and which is
specially designed to tow, push, carry or power certain tools, machineryor trailers intended for agricultural or forestry use. It may be equipped tocarry a load and passengers.
2. This Directive shall apply only to tractors defined in paragraph I
which are equipped with pneumatic tyres and have at least two axles anda maximum design speed of between 6 and ►
M340 km/h ◄.
Article 2
No Member State may refuse to grant EEC type-approval or national
type-approval of a tractor on grounds relating to ►M1 ◄
windscreen wipers if these satisfy the requirements set out in the Annex.
Article 3
No Member State may refuse the registration or prohibit the sale, entry
into service or use of tractors on grounds relating to►
M1 ◄windscreen wipers if these satisfy the require-
ments set out in the Annex.1974L0347 — EN — 30.10.1997 — 003.001 — 2
(1) OJ No 28, 17. 2. 1967, p. 462/67.
(2) OJ No 42, 7. 3. 1967, p. 620/67.
(3) OJ No L 84, 28. 3. 1974, p. 10.▼M2
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▼M1
Article 3a
1. With effect from 1 May 1980 no Member State may, on grounds
relating to the field of vision of tractors:
— refuse, in respect of a type of tractor, to grant EEC type-approval, to
issue the document referred to in the last indent of Article 10 (1) ofDirective 74/150/EEC, or to grant national type-approval,
— or prohibit the entry into service of tractors,
if the field of vision of this type of tractor or of these tractors complies
with the provisions of this Directive.
2. With effect from 1 October 1980 Member States:
— may no longer issue the document referred to in the last indent of
Article 10 (1) of Directive 74/150/EEC in respect of atype of tra ctorin which the field of vision does not comply with the provisions ofthis Directive,
— may refuse to grant national type-approval in respect of a type of
tractor whose field of vision does not comply with the provisions ofthis Directive.
3. With effect from 1 January 1983, Member States may prohibit the
entry into service of any tractor whose field of vision does not comply
with the provisions of this Directive.
Article 4
The amendments necessary for adapting to technical progress the
requirements of the Annex shall be adopted in accordance with theprocedure laid down in Article 13 of Directive No 74/150/EEC.
Article 5
1. Member States shall put into force the provisions necessary in
order to comply with this Directive within 18 months of its notificationand shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
2. Member States shall ensure that the texts of the main provisions of
national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive are
communicated to the Commission.
Article 6
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1974L0347 — EN — 30.10.1997 — 003.001 — 3
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ANNEX
FIELD OF VISION
DEFINITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
1. DEFINITIONS
1.1.Field of vision
‘Field of vision’ means all forward and lateral directions in which the
driver of the tractor can see.
1.2.Reference point
‘Reference point’ means the position, fixed by convention, of the tractor
driver's eyes notionally located at a single point. The reference point is
situated in the plane parallel to the longitudinal median plane of the
tractor and passing through the centre of the seat, 700 mm vertically
above the line of intersection of that plane and the surface of the seat and
270 mm in the direction of the pelvic support from the vertical plane
passing through the front edge of the surface of the seat and
perpendicular to the longitudinal median plane of the tractor (Figure
1). The reference point thus determined relates to the seat when
unoccupied and fitted in the central position specified by the tractor
manufacturer.
1.3.Semi-circle of vision
‘Semi-circle of vision’ means the semi-circle described by a radius of 12
m about a point situated in the horizontal plane of the road vertically
below the reference point, in such a way that, when facing the direction
of motion, the arc of the semi-circle lies in front of the tractor, while the
diameter bounding the semi-circle is at right angles to the longitudinal
axis of the tractor (Figure 2).
1.4.►M1 Masking effect
‘Masking effect’ means the chords of the sectors of the semi-circle of
vision which cannot be seen owing to structural components such as
roof-pillars, air intakes or exhaust stacks and the frame of the
windscreen. ◄
1.5.Sector of vision
‘Sector of vision’ means that part of the field of vision bounded:
1.5.1. at the top,
by a horizontal plane passing through the reference point;
1.5.2. in the plane of the road,
by the zone lying outside the semi-circle of vision, and forming the
continuation of the sector of the semi-circle of vision, the chord of which
is 9·5 m long, perpendicular to the plane parallel to the longitudinal
median plane of the tractor passing through the centre of the driver's seat
and bisected by that plane.
1.6.Swept area of the windscreen wipers
‘Swept area of the windscreen wipers’ means the area of the outer
surface of the windscreen swept by the windscreen wipers.
2. REQUIREMENTS2.1.General
The tractor shall be constructed and equipped in such a way that, in road
traffic and in farm and forest use, the driver has an adequate field of
vision, under all the usual conditions pertaining to highway use and to
work undertaken in fields and forests. The field of vision is considered
adequate when the driver has, as far as possible, a view of part of each
front wheel and when the following requirements are fulfilled.1974L0347 — EN — 30.10.1997 — 003.001 — 4
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2.2.Checking of the field of vision
2.2.1. Procedure for determining masking effects
2.2.1.1.►M1The tractor must be placed on a horizontal surface as shown in
Figure 2. On ahorizonta l support level with the reference point, there
must be mounted two point sources of light, e.g. 2 × 150 W, 12 V, 65
mm apart and symmetrically located with respect to the reference point.
The support must be rotatable at its centre point about a vertical axis
passing through the reference point. For the purpose of measuring the
masking effects, the support must be so aligned that the line joining the
two light sources is perpendicular to the line joining the masking
component and the reference point.
The silhouette (deepest shadow) overlaps projected on to the semi-circle
of vision by the masking component when the light sources are switched
on simultaneously or alternately must be measured in accordance with
1.4 (Figure 3). ◄
2.2.1.2.►M1Masking effects must not exceed 700 mm. ◄
2.2.1.3.►M1Masking effects due to adjacent structural components over 80
mm in width must be so configured that there is an interval of not less
than 2 200 mm — measured as a chord of the semi-circle of vision —
between the centres of two masking effects. ◄
2.2.1.4. There may be no more than six masking effects in the semi-circle of
vision and no more than two inside the sector of vision defined in item
1.5.
2.2.1.5.►M1Outside the sector of vision, masking effects exceeding 700 mm
but not exceeding 1 500 mm are, however, permissible if the components
causing them cannot be redesigned or relocated: on each side there may
be a total of either two such masking effects, one not exceeding 700 mm
and the other not exceeding 1 500 mm, or two such masking effects,
neither exceeding 1 200 mm. ◄
2.2.1.6. Blind spots caused by type-approved rear-view mirrors may be
disregarded if the design of these mirrors is such that they cannot be
installed in any other way.
2.2.2. Mathematical determination of masking effects for binocular vision:2.2.2.1.►
M1as an alternative to the procedure set out in 2.2.1, the
acceptability of individual masking effects can be determined mathe-
matically. The requirements of 2.2.1.2, 2.2.1.3, 2.2.1.4, 2.2.1.5 and
2.2.1.6 shall apply in respect of the size, distribution and number of the
masking effects; ◄
2.2.2.2. for binocular vision with an inter-ocular distance of 65 mm, the masking
effect expressed in mm is given by the formula:
v¼b/C065
a/C212000 þ65
in which:
ais the dista nce in millimetres between the component obstructing
vision and the reference point measured along the visual radius joining
the reference point, the centre of the component and the perimeter of
the semi-circle of vision;
b is the width in millimetres of the component obstructing vision
measured horizontally and perpendicular to the visual radius.
2.3. The test methods referred to under item 2.2 may be replaced by others if
the latter can be shown to be equivalent.
2.4. Where, in the case of masking effects, Article 8 (3) of Directive No 74/
150/EEC is to be applied, the procedure used shall be that given under
item 2.2.2.
2.5.Transparent area of the windscreen
►M1For the purpose of determining the masking effects in the sector
of vision, the masking effects due to the frame of the windscreen and to
any other obstacle may, in accordance with the provisions of 2.2.1.4, be
considered as a single effect, provided that the distance between the
outermost points of this masking effect does not exceed 700 mm. ◄1974L0347 — EN — 30.10.1997 — 003.001 — 5
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2.6.Windscreen wipers
2.6.1. Tractors fitted with windscreens must also be equipped with motor-
driven windscreen wipers and the area swept by these wipers must
ensure an unobstructed forward view corresponding to a chord of the
semi-circle of vision at least 8 m long within the sector of vision.
2.6.2. The rate of operation of the windscreen wipers must be at least 20 cycles
per minute.1974L0347 — EN — 30.10.1997 — 003.001 — 6
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Figure 11974L0347 — EN — 30.10.1997 — 003.001 — 7
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Figure 21974L0347 — EN — 30.10.1997 — 003.001 — 8
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Figure 31974L0347 — EN — 30.10.1997 — 003.001 — 9