No C 80/22 Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 3. 88 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the 
Member States relating to the tread depth of tyres of certain categories of motor vehicles and 
of their trailers (') 
(88/C 80/10) 
On 8 October 1987 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under 
Article 100 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the above-
mentioned proposal. 
The Section for Transport and Communications, which was responsible for preparing the 
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 13 January 1988. The Rapporteur was 
Mr Marvier. 
At its 252nd Plenary Session (meeting of 27 January 1988) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following Opinion, with 11 votes against and 15 abstentions. 
The Committee welcomes the Commission's initiative, 
which is aimedpnmarily at increasing road safety inthe 
Community, and offers the following comments. 
1. general comments 
1.1. E^tenscBe research has clearly demonstrated that 
tyre traction properties deteriorate rapidly beyondale^el 
of wear corresponding toaremaming tread depth of about 
2 mm. 
1.2. This effect negatively influencestheroadholding 
and brakingcapabihties of road vehicles, particularlyon 
wet roads. 
1.3. Recognising this relationship between the wear 
condition of tyres and road safety, nearly all motorized 
countries ha^e implemented legislation to ensure that 
motor^ehicles and trailers are equipped with tyres ha^inga 
minimum tread depth,asaprerequisite for being allowed 
on the road. Such legislation applies respectively to the 
driver or operator of the individual vehicle. 
IBP This legal mimmumtyre treaddepth ishowe^er 
fmed at different levels, ranging fromltol,^mm. 
1.5. To facilitate the^enfication of tyre tread depth, 
several national and international regulations and stan 
dards on thedesign, performance and markingof tyres 
include the requirement that wear indicators be provided 
on each typre intended to be used on specified categories of 
vehicles. 
1.^. Thesemdicatorsnormally take the formof small 
elevations,about30 mm long, withaheightofl,^ mm from 
themain grooves, which areequally spaced around the 
circumference of the tyre. 
t.7. ^hen the tyre wear has reached the legal minimum, 
thewear indicators are then le^el with the tread surface and the main grooves appear to be ^interrupted' by the 
indicators. 
1.8. The majority of tyre manufacturers in Europe and 
overseas ha^e adapted to the abo^e requirement, by 
producingtyresmcorporatingtread wear indicators of a 
height of 1,^ mm, so that these tyres can be legally fitted to 
vehicles and used ^irtuallyallo^er the world. 
1.9. The Committee stresses however,thatanecessary 
and most important action — complementary to the 
implementationof thisEOraft POirecti^e— would be the 
adoption withoutdelay of uniformrequirementsfor the 
regular technical inspectionof vehicles since alle^idence 
shows the threat of sanctions, for example in the form of 
fines for offenders, is not sufficient to present abuse. 
1.10. Eurthermore, the Committee believes that a 
further prerequisite for the effective implementation of the 
present POraft POn^ecti^e is the adoption of uniform 
requirements by the Community for the approval of tyres 
as regards their design, performance and marking. A 
suitable basis could be the existing Proposal foraCouncil 
EOirecteBe^E ^hich should be adequately adapted to 
technical progress. 
1.11. The Committee believes that the different require 
ments existing withinthe Community shouldbeharmo 
m^edatale^el that does not compromise the current state 
of the art,i.e. la^mm. 
1.12. That depth of tread should be one of the points to 
be examined by the inspection centres in the checks which 
the Committee wishes to see carried out in all the Member 
States. 
(i) OJNoC279, 17 10 1987, p 5 (2) OJNoC37,14 2 1977, p l,OJNoC114,11 5 1977, p. 5 
28. 3. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 80/23 
2.2. The Committee is of the opinion that the alternative 
wording reproduced below would better serve the 
Directive's intended purpose: 
'Member States shall take all the necessary steps to 
ensure that vehicles of categories Ml, Nl, 01 and 02, as 
defined in Annex 1 to Directive 70/156/EEC, shall not 
be fitted with tyres having a tread depth, measured in 
the immediate proximity of the tread wear indicators, of 
less than 1,6 mm.' 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alfons MARGOT 
APPENDIX 
to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee 
The following amendment 'in the form of a counter Opinion' was rejected during the debate by a large majority, 
with 21 votes for and 16 abstentions: 
Replace the Opinion by the following: 
'The Committee is not able to express an Opinion upon the Commission Proposal until the Commission 
provides further factual information regarding the proposal's financial impact upon all road users and the 
substantial effect it may have upon road safety'. 
Reasons 
Self explanatory. 
Opinion on the: 
— proposal for a Council Decision adopting specific research programmes to be implemented by 
the Joint Research Centre for the European Economic Community (1988 to 1991) 
— proposal for a Council Decision adopting specific research programmes to be implemented by 
the Joint Research Centre for the European Atomic Energy Community (1988 to 1991), and the 
— proposal for a Council Decision adopting a supplementary research programme to be 
implemented by the Joint Research Centre for the European Atomic Energy Community (1988 
to 1991) 
(88/C 80/11) 
On 13 November 1987 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under 
Article 130 Q of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community and Article 170 of the 
Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, on the above-mentioned proposals. 
The Section for Energy, Nuclear Questions and Research, which was responsible for preparing the 
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 15 January 1988. The Rapporteur was 
Mr Vercellino. 
At its 252nd Plenary Session (meeting of 27 January 1988), the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following Opinion by a substantial majority (2 dissenting votes and 2 abstentions): 2. Specific comments 
Article 1 
2.1. The wording of this Article, notwithstanding the 
Commission's laudable intentions, is not thought wholly 
suitable for preventing the use of tyres below the 
harmonized legal minimum. 
Done at Brussels, 27 January 1988.