No C 175/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 4. 7. 88 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 78/1015/EEC on the 
approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the permissible sound level and 
exhaust system of motorcycles 
(88/C 175/03) 
On 10 February 1988 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Article 100 A of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The section for Industry, Commerce, Crafts and Services, which was responsible for preparing 
the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 6 April 1988. The rapporteur 
was Mr Flum. 
At its 255th plenary session (meeting of 27 April 1988), the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted unanimously the following Opinion. 
1. The Committee welcomes the Commission's 
efforts to achieve a further reduction in traffic noise. 
The Committee has already pointed out the need for 
such initiatives in previous Opinions. It therefore 
endorses the proposal, subject to the following com­
ments. brought into line with the rules and that their com­
ponents be made readily identifiable. This will remove 
the current uncertainties involved in monitoring the use 
of replacement silencers. 
6. Fibrous material 
2. The proposed Directive would supplement the 
technical requirements applicable to all silencers and 
establishes an EEC type-approval procedure for replace­
ment silencers based on technical rules and tests, as 
well as a list of component specifications. The Committee would draw attention to the efforts to 
ensure that only asbestos-free products are used in 
exhaust systems, including replacement systems. 
7. Deadlines 
3. Alterations to the original exhaust systems of 
motorcycles are a major cause of excessive noise. Such 
changes are often carried out by young people wishing 
to manipulate the performance of silencers. Exhaust 
systems are removed or replaced. Freely available 
replacement silencers can increase a motorcycle's noise 
level to three times that obtained with the original 
system, i.e. well above 90 dB (A). 
4. It is relatively easy for transport police to detect 
the removal of the silencing components of the exhaust 
system and tale the motorcycle in question out of circu­
lation. A complete replacement silencer without a list 
of component specifications is on the other hand much 
harder to judge. 
5. Having carefully monitored and gradually 
reduced the maximum permitted noise levels of new 
motorcycles, it is essential that replacement silencers be The Committee considers that the 1 October 1988 dead­
line (Art. 2 and 3) for application of the rules on the 
granting of national type approvals cannot be met. 
The Council is urged to take a decision at the earliest 
opportunity to enable the Directive to be implemented 
without a long delay. 
The deadline should be set six months after the Council 
decision. 
On that basis, the following timetable could be estab­
lished: 
— one year after the new rules are introduced Member 
States would be required to issue approvals in 
accordance with the new law, 
— two years after introduction the Member States 
would be able to prevent motorcycles with exhaust 
systems failing to conform with the new Directive 
being put on the road for the first time. 
Done at Brussels, 27 April 1988. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alfons MARGOT