Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive on speedometers for two- or three-wheel motor vehicles and amending Council Directive 92/61/EEC on the type-approval of two- or three-wheel motor vehicles (98/C 212/08) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(1998) 285 final - 98/0163(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission on 25 May 1998)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty,

(1) Whereas, in every Member State, two- or three-wheel motor vehicles must, as regards speedometers, display certain technical characteristics laid down as compulsory requirements that vary from Member State; whereas such variation constitutes an obstacle to intra-Community trade;

(2) Whereas such obstacles to the functioning of the internal market can be eliminated by the adoption of the same requirements by all the Member States in lieu of their existing rules and regulations;

(3) Whereas this Directive is to be added to the separate Directives that must be complied with under Article 4 of Council Directive 92/61/EEC of 30 June 1992 relating to the type-approval of two- or three-wheel motor vehicles (1), as amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden;

(4) Whereas the introduction of harmonized requirements for speedometers in two- or three-wheel motor vehicles is necessary in order to permit implementation, for each type of those vehicles, of the type-approval and approval procedures laid down by Directive 92/61/EEC;

(5) Whereas, in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality as set out in Article 3b of the Treaty, the objective of the action envisaged, namely Community type-approval by type of vehicle, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, in view of the scale and the impact of the action proposed, be better achieved at the Community level; whereas this Directive limits itself to the minimum required for the attainment of that objective and does not go beyond what is necessary for that purpose;

(6) Whereas, to facilitate access to the markets of third countries, it is clearly necessary to establish equivalence between the requirements of this Directive and those of Regulation No 39 of the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations;

(7) Whereas Directive 92/61/EEC should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

1. This Directive shall apply to the speedometer of each type of vehicle described in Article 1 of Directive 92/61/EEC.

2. Any vehicle falling within the scope of Directive 92/61/EEC shall be fitted with a speedometer complying with the Annex to this Directive.

Article 2

The procedures for the granting of component type-approval in respect of the speedometer of a type of two- or three-wheel motor vehicle and the conditions governing the free movement of such vehicles shall be as laid down in, respectively, Chapters II and III of Directive 92/61/EEC.

Article 3

In accordance with Article 11 of Directive 92/61/ EEC, the equivalence between the requirements laid down in this Directive and those laid down in the United Nations' ECE Regulation No 39 (document E/ECE/TRANS/505/Rev. 1/Add.38/Amend. 1) is hereby acknowledged.

The authorities of the Member States which grant type-approval shall accept approvals, and type-approval marks, granted in accordance with the requirements of Regulation No 39 referred to in the first paragraph, as an alternative to the corresponding approvals and type-approval marks granted in accordance with the requirements of this Directive.

Article 4

The amendments that are essential in order to take account of the amendments to the United Nations' ECE Regulation referred to in Article 3 and to adapt the Annex to technical progress shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 13 of Council Directive 70/156/EEC (2).

Article 5

Directive 92/61/EEC is hereby amended as follows:

1. In Annex I, item 45, the heading 'Speedometer and odometer for motorcycles, motor tricycles and quadricycles` is replaced by 'Speedometer and odometer` and the reference 'CONF` is replaced by 'SD`;

2. Annex II is amended as follows:

(a) Item 4.7, 'Speedometer and odometer: yes/no` is replaced by 'Speedometer and odometer`;

(b) The following new items 4.7.3 to 4.7.8, worded as follows, are added:

'4.7.3. Photos and/or drawings of the complete system

4.7.4. Range of speeds displayed

4.7.5. Tolerance of the speedometer's measuring mechanism

4.7.6. Technical constant of the speedometer

4.7.7. Modus operandi and description of the drive mechanism

4.7.8. Overall transmission ratio of the drive mechanism`.

3. In Annex III, item 10.12, the heading 'Speedometer and odometer for motorcycles motor tricycles and quadricycles` is replaced by 'Speedometer and odometer` and the reference 'CONF` is replaced by 'SD`.

Article 6

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions needed in order to comply with this Directive by 1 January 2001 at the latest, and shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt these provisions, these shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference at the time of their official publication. The procedure for such reference shall be adopted by Member States.

2. The Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the area covered by this Directive.

3. With effect from the date set out in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, Member States may no longer prohibit, on grounds relating to the speedometers, the first bringing into service of vehicles that meet the requirements of this Directive.

4. Member States shall apply the requirements set out in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 as from 1 July 2001.

Article 7

This Directive shall take effect from the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 8

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

(1) OJ L 225, 10.8.1992, p. 72.

(2) OJ L 42, 23.2.1970, p. 1.

ANNEX

1. Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive:

1.1. 'type of vehicle in respect of its speedometer` means vehicles which do not among themselves display any essential differences, where those differences can apply, in particular, to the following:

1.1.1. the characteristics of the tyres normally fitted;

1.1.2. the overall transmission ratio, including any adaptor (number of revolutions at the speedometer input versus one rotation of the wheel spindle driving the speedometer, with the vehicle traveling in a straight line);

1.1.3. the type(s) of speedometer; the type will be characterized by the tolerance of the speedometer's measuring mechanism, the device's constant and the range of speeds displayed;

1.2. 'tyres normally fitted` means the type(s) of tyres intended by the manufacturer for the type of vehicle under consideration and entered in the information document annexed to Directive 92/61/EEC;

Winter tyres shall not be considered to be the tyres normally fitted;

1.3. 'normal running pressure` means the cold inflation pressure specified by the manufacturer, plus 0,2 bars;

1.4. 'speedometer` means that part of the equipment intended to inform the driver of the speed of his vehicle at any given time;

1.5. 'mass in running order` means the mass as defined in the note (d) (2) to Annex II to Directive 92/61/EEC.

2. Requirements

2.1. The dial of the speedometer must be located within the direct field of view of the driver and must be clearly legible both day and night. The range of speeds displayed must be sufficiently wide to include the maximum speed of this type of vehicle as stated by its manufacturer.

2.2. Where the speedometer includes a dial instead of a digital readout, that dial must be clearly graduated.

2.2.1. The subdivisions must be of 1, 2, 5 or 10 km/h. Speeds which are multiples of 20 km/h must be displayed on the dial as follows:

2.2.1.1. where the maximum speed on the dial does not exceed 200 km/h, the speed intervals shown on the dial must not exceed 20 km/h;

2.2.1.2. where the maximum speed on the dial exceeds 200 km/h, the speed intervals shown on the dial must not exceed 30 km/h;

2.2.2. where a vehicle intended for sale in a Member State where imperial distances are used, the speedometer must additionally be graduated in mph (miles per hour), with subdivisions of 1, 2, 5 or 10 mph. Speed intervals on the dial must not exceed 20 mph;

2.2.3. the intervals between the indicated speeds do not have to be uniform.

2.3. The accuracy of the speedometer will be checked in accordance with the following procedure:

2.3.1. The tyres will be one of the tyres normally fitted to the vehicle. A test will have to be carried out for each of the types of speedometer intended by the manufacturer.

2.3.2. The load on the wheel spindle driving the speedometer will have to correspond to the mass in running order.

2.3.3. The reference temperature of the speedometer position must lie between 296 K ± 5 K.

2.3.4. During each test the tyre pressure must be the normal running pressure defined in item 1.3.

2.3.5. The vehicle will be tested at the following speeds:

>TABLE>

2.3.6. the checking device used to measure the actual speed of the vehicle must be accurate to at least ± 0,5 %.

2.3.6.1. if the tests are carried out on a track, the surface of this must be flat and dry and provide sufficient grip;

2.3.6.2. if a rolling-road dynamometer is used for the test, the rollers must have a diameter of at least 2 m.

2.3.7. the speed displayed must never be lower than the actual speed. Between speed V1 read from the speedometer dial and actual speed V2 there must be the following relationship with the test values specified in item 2.3.5 and between those values:

0 ≤ V1 - V2 ≤ 0,1.V2 + 4 km/h.

3. Conformity of production

3.1. Conformity of production will be checked on the basis of the provisions of Annex VI to Directive 92/61/EEC.

3.2. Production models will be considered to meet the requirements of this directive if, under the conditions referred to items 2.3.1 to 2.3.6, the relationship between speed V1 read on the speedometer and actual speed V2 is as follows:

0 ≤ V1 - V2 ≤ 0,1.V2 + 8 km/h.

Appendix 1

INFORMATION DOCUMENT CONCERNING THE FITTING OF A SPEEDOMETER TO A TYPE OF TWO- OR THREE-WHEEL MOTOR VEHICLE

>START OF GRAPHIC>

(to be attached to the application for approval if this is lodged separately from that for approval of the vehicle)

Order No (assigned by the applicant)

The application for approval in respect of the fitting of a speedometer to two- or three-wheel motor vehicles must include the information referred to in the following items in Section A, Annex II to Directive 92/61/EEC:

0.1.

0.2.

0.5.

0.6.

2.1.

2.1.1.

4.7. to 4.7.8.

5.2.

5.2.2.>END OF GRAPHIC>

Appendix 2

TYPE-APPROVAL CERTIFICATE IN RESPECT OF THE FITTING OF A SPEEDOMETER TO A TYPE OF TWO- OR THREE-WHEEL MOTOR VEHICLE

>START OF GRAPHIC>

Model

Name of competent authority

Report No ..........

by testing body ..........

of ..........

Component type-approval No: ..........

Extension No: ..........

1. Make or trade name of vehicle: ..........

2. Type of vehicle: ..........

3. Name and address of manufacturer: ..........

..........

4. Where appropriate name and address of the manufacturer's representative: ..........

..........

5. Vehicle submitted for component type-approval on: ..........

6. Component type-approval granted/refused (¹)

7. Place: ..........

8. Date: ..........

9. Signature: ..........

(¹) Delete as appropriate.>END OF GRAPHIC>