EN Official Journal of the European Union L 107/68

COMMISSION DIRECTIVE (EU) 2015/653

of 24 April 2015

amending Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on driving licences

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences (1), and in particular Article 8 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The codes and sub-codes set out in Annex I to Directive 2006/126/EC should be updated in the light of technical and scientific progress, especially in the field of vehicle adaptations and technical support for drivers with disabilities.

(2) To take into account new technological developments, the codes and sub-codes should be function-oriented. For reasons of administrative simplification some codes should also be deleted, merged with other codes or shortened.

(3) To reduce the burden on drivers with disabilities, it should be made possible where appropriate for those drivers to drive a vehicle without technical adaptation. Since modern vehicle technology allows drivers to operate certain regular vehicles with limited force, e.g. for steering or braking, and in order to enhance flexibility for drivers whilst ensuring safe operation of the vehicle, codes should be introduced that could allow driving of vehicles which are compatible with the maximum force the driver is able to produce.

(4) Certain codes which are currently restricted to medical conditions may also be relevant for other road safety purposes by limiting high risk situations, e.g. in the case of novice or elderly drivers. Thus a section should also be created for these codes on limited use.

(5) To enhance road safety, several Member States have or are planning programmes restricting drivers to drive only vehicles equipped with an alcohol interlock. To facilitate the deployment and acceptance of alcohol interlock devices and taking into account the recommendation of the Study on the prevention of drink-driving by the use of alcohol interlock devices (2), a harmonised code should be introduced for this purpose.

(6) In accordance with the Joint Political Declaration of Member States and the Commission of 28 September 2011 on explanatory documents (3), Member States have undertaken to accompany, in justified cases, the notification of their transposition measures with one or more documents explaining the relationship between the components of a directive and the corresponding parts of national transposition instruments.

(7) Directive 2006/126/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(8) The measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on driving licences,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Annex I to Directive 2006/126/EC is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Directive.

Article 2

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 1 January 2017 at the latest. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 3

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 4

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 24 April 2015. For the Commission The President Jean-Claude JUNCKER

(1) OJ L 403, 30.12.2006, p. 18.

(2) Study on the prevention of drink-driving by the use of alcohol interlock devices, see: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/pdf/behavior/study_alcohol_interlock.pdf

(3) OJ C 369, 17.12.2011, p. 14.