17. 6. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 159/61 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 85/3/EEC on the 
weights, dimensions and certain technical characteristics of certain road vehicles (*) 
(91/C 159/19) 
On 23 November 1990 the Council decided, under Article 75 of the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, to consult the Economic and Social Committee on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Transport and Communications, which was responsible for preparing the 
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 15 March 1991. The Rapporteur 
was Mr Bagliano. 
At its 286th plenary session (meeting of 25 April 1991) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following Opinion by a majority, with two abstentions. 
1. Introduction 2. General comments 
1.1. The draft Directive gives detailed technical 
specifications to flesh out the concept of 'mechanical 
suspensions equivalent to air suspensions'. This concept 
had been introduced with no technical definition in 
EEC Directive 89/338 as a precondition for allowing 
well-defined total weights on the ground, confined to 
certain vehicles and combinations of vehicles, as fol­
lows: 
— 3-axle vehicles, 25 t. or 26 t.: with air suspension 
or equivalent, 
— 4-axle vehicles, 32 t.: with air suspension or equiva­
lent, 
— articulated 4-axle vehicles (2 + 2), 36 t. or 38 t.: with 
air suspension or equivalent, 
— tandem-axle vehicles, 18 t. or 19 t.: with air suspen­
sion or equivalent. 
1.2. Air suspension limits the destructive effect of 
the wheels on the road surface. A similar positive effect 
can, however, also be achieved with equivalent mechan­
ical suspensions. 
1.3. Air suspension does not seem to have any advan­
tage over mechanical suspension. It should therefore be 
borne in mind that air suspension is important only in 
terms of wear effects on the road surface. 
1.4. Directive 89/338 also laid down a maximum 
driving-axle weight of 11,5 t. for all vehicles, regardless 
of number of axles or type of suspension. The draft 
Directive, however, extends the obligation to use air 
suspension or its equivalent to driving axles when the 
maximum weight exceeds 10,5 t. 
(') OJ No C 292, 22. 11. 1990, p. 12. 2.1. The Committee notes that the Commission's 
main concern in adopting the draft Directive was the 
need to find the best way of safeguarding the road 
surface against excessive wear and abrasion. The pro­
posal also fits in with a set of standards seeking to 
define the characteristics of the 'European lorry', and 
starting in 1985 with Directive 85/3. 
2.2. The Committee also notes that the present draft 
Directive does not provide directly or indirectly for any 
increase in weights in relation to those already laid 
down in earlier Directives. 
2.3. The Committee cannot fail therefore to welcome 
this initiative in general terms, both for the above 
reason and because it lifts the reservations in Directive 
89/338 by providing the technical definition of the 
suspensions. 
2.4. However, the Committee has certain doubts 
about the present proposal: 
a) it extends certain conditions for allowance of the 
11,5 t. maximum weight on the driving axle to all 
motor vehicles indiscriminately; this is not provided 
for in Directive 89/338; 
b) the technical section, which should have been the 
essential part of the proposal, is incomplete (see 
points 2.8, 2.9 and 2.10). 
2.5. In connection with point 2.4 a), the Committee 
would point out that at present 9 Member States out 
of 12 have legislation permitting 11,5 tonnes or more 
on the driving axle without further conditions, and 
countries such as Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and 
the Netherlands have recently amended their national 
No C 159/62 Official Journal of the European Communities 17. 6. 91 
laws to lay down 11,5 tonnes maximum weight on the 
driving axle in accordance with Directive 89/338 — 
without any condition as to the type of suspension. 
2.6. Nor should it be forgotten that the motor-
vehicle industry, on the basis of Directive 89/338's 
requirements and the national laws amended as a result 
of them, has already planned the production of vehicles 
with 11,5 tonnes on the driving axle, from the dates 
laid down by the Directive itself (1 January 1992 and 
1 January 1993). 
2.7. The Committee does not therefore fully support 
the approach of generalizing the use of air suspensions 
or their equivalent on the driving axle when it bears a 
weight of more than 10,5 t. However, it understands 
the underlying aims of this and therefore accepts it, 
while it would ask the Commission to review the time-
scale for its implementation. In particular, the Com­
mission proposal lays down 1 January 1993 as the date 
for the amendments to come into force—the same date 
as that laid down by Directive 89/338. It follows from 
the above that it would be desirable to postpone the 
date to I January 1995, bearing in mind that otherwise 
there would not be a long enough lapse of time after 
the proposal's publication for manufacturers to adapt 
to the new specifications. 
2.8. In connection with point 2.4 b), the Committee 
also wishes to draw attention to another problem still 
unsolved by Directive 89/338. 
This is the problem of mechanically connected tandem 
axles in which the load is distributed symmetrically or 
almost symmetrically between the two axles of the 
tandem. 
It its rightly accepted by all concerned, including 
experts, that this design solution has a less destructive 
effect on the road surface and must therefore be seen 
as a 'road-friendly' suspension. 
The Commission should use this amending proposal as 
an opportunity to introduce this basic clarification into 
Directive 89/338. The following should therefore be 
added to points 2.3.2, 2.3.3 and 3.5.3 of Annex I: 'there 
is no need to prove equivalence for tandem axles where 
the heavier axle does not exceed 9,5 t.' 
2.9. Given that 4-axle vehicles are permitted by 
Directive 89/338 only under specific conditions (driving 
axle with twin tyres and air suspension or equivalent) 
with a 32-tonne limit (see point 1.1), the disparity of 
treatment between these vehicles and the others covered 
by the Directive is clear. For 3-axle rigid vehicles and 4-axle (2 + 2) articulated 
vehicles, there is an alternative downgraded by 1 or 
2 tonnes respectively, if the driving axle is not equipped 
with twin tyres and air suspension or equivalent. 
The Commission should provide a downgraded alterna­
tive for 4-axle rigid vehicles as well. 
2.10. Finally, as regards Annex III of the proposal: 
The present heading should be replaced by: 
'Conditions relating to the equivalence of air sus­
pension for the vehicle's drive axle or axles.' 
a) The present wording of point 1 should have the 
following sentence added: 
'This also applies to tandem axles with a gross 
weight of above 18 tonnes.' 
b) The provision on maximum tyre/road surface con­
tact pressure (8 bar) should not be in Annex III. 
It has nothing to do with the provisions on the 
equivalence between mechanical and air suspen­
sions. 
Among other things, the provision in question 
applies to all the wheels (whether on the driving 
axle or not, with or without air suspension). 
Point 2 of Annex III should be changed either by 
removing it from that Annex or by stipulating that 
'the average contact pressure of the tyres must not 
exceed 8 bar'. This amendment would make more 
realistic and practical measurement possible. 
c) The proposed frequency and damping values which 
determine whether a mechanical suspension is equi­
valent to air suspension do not take sufficient 
account of the fact that single drive axles and drive 
axles connected with another axle (tandem axles) 
behave in different ways: the proposed values were 
selected with single drive axles in mind, and differ­
ent ones should be prescribed for tandem axles. 
d) In determining the most suitable value for the damp­
ing coefficient, proper account has not been taken 
of the need to safeguard the efficiency of measures to 
improve comfort in the driver's cab while avoiding 
excessive road wear. The damping >20% should 
therefore become damping > 18%. 
e) The methods for checking the characteristics of an 
equivalent mechanical suspension should also be 
adapted to the various drive-axle configurations. 
1B691 Cofficial]ournal of the European communities ^oCh!59^ 
lnpresentcircumtances,atleastthefollowingclanfi mother methods can he used provided that their 
cation should he added^ equivalence has heen demonstrated hy the manufac 
turer to the satisfaction of theLechnicalSer^iceB 
POone at Brussels, 25 April 1991. 
Opinion on relations between die United States and Japan and between the European 
community and Japan 
(91^Cf59^20) 
On 2B^ starch 1990 the Economic and Social committee, acting under the fourth paragraph 
of Article 20 of itsRules of Procedure,decidedto draw upanOwninitiati^eOpimonon 
Relations between the United States andjapan and between the European Commumtyand 
Japan. 
^PheSection forE^ternal Relations, which was responsiblefor preparing theCommittee^s 
worl^ on the subject, adopted its Opinion on9Apnll99PLhe Rapporteur was Air Romoh. 
At its 286th plenary session (meeting of 25Apnl 1991),the Economic and Social Committee 
unanimously adopted the following Opinion. 
in this Opinion theEconomic andSocial Committee 
considers the development of economic relations 
between the United States andjapan and between the 
European Community andjapan. 
LheOpmionbegins by recalling that recently feelings 
of distrust, frustration and hostility towards Japan ha^e 
developed in the United States, in tandem with the 
increase in the US trade deficit, the penetration of 
Japanese products and the acquisition b^ Japanese 
firms of US industry and real estate (see point 1.1). 
Japanhasreacted withequal bitterness,pointmgout 
(pointl.2) that the deterioration inthe United States^ 
economicsituation was essentiall^due to thelacl^of 
competitiveness ofUS exports,an apparently dwindling 
entrepreneurial spirit and inadequate domestic savings, 
aggravated by the impact of deficits in the US balance 
of payments and federal budget and long penodsdunng 
which the dollar was o^er^Balued. tn!990,withthe aim of removing the main causes of 
the economic friction which had developed, the US and 
Japanese governments concluded an agreement entitled 
the^Structural impediments mitiati^(SH) which con 
stitutes an unprecedented experiment in bilateral 
relations (pointlm^. 
Under the SH, each partner undertakes to tal^e economic 
and social measures designed to improve thechmate 
and conditions governing relations between the two 
countries. If successful, the SH may also improve 
relations with third countries. 
On EC^Japan relations, the Opinion examines the situ 
anon of imbalance which de^elopedmthe^Os and ^80s 
asaresult of the sharp growth injapanese exports and 
the closedjapanese market combined with the lacl^ of 
interest shown by EO firms in exporting to Japan 
(point 2.1). 
Lhe Community^ trade policy ^^^B^ Japan 
developed mainly throughthe application of the anti 
dumping rules drawn up b^ the general Agreement on 
LanffsandLrade(C^ALL)(point22)