ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(73)2128
Vol.1973/0386

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5SIONOBTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(73)2128final
Brussels,21December1973
PROPOSALFORACOUNCILDIRECTIVE
ontheapproximation ofthelawsofthe
MemberStatesrelatingtotheexternalprojectionsofmotorvehicles
(submittedtotheCouncilbytheCommission)
COM(73)2128final

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
This proposed Directive istoform part ofthe Community type–approval
procedure referred toinCouncil Directive 70/156/EECof6February
1970(1 ).
On9July 1970 Belgium notified thedecisions M(69)15 andM(69)l6 adopted
on8April 19^9 bytheCommittee ofMinisters oftheBenelux Economic
Union concerning some technical requirements formotor vehicles ,trailers
and semi-trailers and inparticular the external fitting .
On2July 1970 Luxembourg notified adraft regulation modifying and com­
pleting the order of23November 1955 regulating traffic onall public
roads andrelating ,inter alia tothe external fitting .
On15September 1971 ,France notified the Commission ofadraft order
concerning the external fittings .
The Commission asked these Member States todelay the implementation of
the draft orders .They complied with itsrequest .Itisthus necessary
toforward aproposal for aCouncil directive onthis subject .
Theproposal concerns technical requirements for the construction and
%
testing ofthe external projections .
Indrafting itsproposal ,theCommission based itself onthework (2)
accomplished inthis field bytheEconomic Commission forEurope ,in
Geneva ;asfarastrade isconcerned ,this isbound tooffer anaddi­
tional advantage asavery large number ofstates arerepresented inthe
ECE .
TheDirective isapplicable only tomotor vehicles belonging tocategory
M]_,intended foruse ontheroad ,with atleast four wheels .andamaximum
design speed exceeding 25km/h(Article l).
Article 2incorporates therequirements forexternal projections into the
EEC type-approval procedure .
(1)O.J. N°L>2,23February 1970 .
(2)Regulation N°26"Uniform provisions concerning theapproval ofvehi­
cles with regard totheir external projections (Doc .E/ECE/32k ;
E/ECE/TRANS /505Rev. 1/Add .25).

-2-
Asome newMember States have nonational type~approval procedure yet ,
some provisions arc tobeincluded toensure that vehicles meeting
therequirements ofthedirective (Article 3)could beused inthese
States (l).
Iftheprototype ismortified ,theMember State which hasapproved it
shall beable todecide ^liather newteats must bocarried out(Article 4).
Article 5provides fortheadaptation ofthespecifications intheAn­
nexes inline with technical progress ;theprocedure .isdefined in
Article 13oftheCouncil Directive of6February 1970 ontheapproval
ofmotor vehicles and their trailers .
Article 6lays down twotine-limits .Before theexpiry ofthefirst
time-limit ,theMember States cballadopt andpublish thenecessary mea­
sures tocomply with theDirective .Thesecond tine-limit isthedate on
which alltheMenbfer £>c,tes must simultaneously apply theconnon rule ;:
(Article -(l)).
Finally ,tiieCommission must beinformed itfith reasonable notice ofany
provisions theMember States intend totake inthe field covered bythe
Directive ;theinformation must besufficient for the Commission tobe
able tocomment ontheproposed provisions ifnecessary (Article 6(2)).
CONSULTATION OFTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE
Pursuant totheRome Treaty ,Article 100(2 ),theopinion -ofthese two
instituions isrequired .
(1) O.J. N°L73»27March 1972 ,"Documents concerning tneaccession
totheEuropean Communities oftheKingdom ofDenmark ,Ireland
andtheUnited Kiugdaa of?great Britain andITcrthern Irolasai' :«
Actconcerning theconditions ofaccession andthe .adjust inentstothe
treaties -Annex I,Title X. '

THECOUNCILOFTHEEUROPEANCOKUIHTIES
SavingregardtotheTreatyestablishing theEuropeanEconomic
Coninunity,andinparticularArticle100thereof;
Having -regardtotheproposalfrcfitheCommission ;
JfevingregardtotheopinionoftheEuropeanParliament ;
HavingregardtotheopinioncftheEconomicandSocialCommittee;
Whereasthetechnicalreqrdreoents whichmotorvehiclesmustsatisfy
pursuanttonationallawsrelate,interalia,totheexternalprojections ;
WhereasthoserequirementsdifferfromoneMemberStatetoanother;
whereasitisthereforenecessarythatallMemberStatesadoptthesame
requirementseitherinadditiontoorinplaceoftheirexisting
requirements inorder,inparticular ,toallowtheESCtype-approval
procedurewhichwasthesubjectoftheCouncilDirective(70/15C/ESC)
of6February1970ontheapproximation ofthelawsoftheMember
Statesrelatingtothetypeapprovalofmotorvehiclesandtheir
trailerstobeappliedinrespectofeachtypeofvehicle(l);
Whereasitisdesirabletoadoptcertaintechnicalrequirements adopted
bytheUNEconomicCommissionforEuropeinitsRegulation No.26
("Uniformprovisionsconcerningtheapprovalofvehicleswithregard
totheirexternalprojections")(2)whichisannexedtotheagreement
of20March1958concerningtheadoptionofuniformconditionsof
approvalandreciprocalrecognition ofapprovalformotorvehicle
equipmentandparts;
Whereastheserequirements applytomotorvehiclesofcategory
(theinternationalclassification ofmotcrvehiclesisgiven
intheabovementionedCouncildirective70/l55/EECTof6February1970)5
Whereastheapproximation ofnationallawsrelatingtomotorvehicles
includesreciprocalrecognitionbyMemberStatesofthetestscarried
outbythemindividually onthebasisofcommonrequirements ,whereas
ifthe-systemistofunctionproperlytheserequirements mustbeapplied
byallMemberStatesfromthesamedate;
(l)O.J.ITo.L42,23February1970,p.l.
(2)EconomieConniasionforEuropeaocunentE/jCEA24)
/'/E/tecs/TRMS/505)ReV*'5

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE :
Article 1
For thepurposes ofthis Directive ,"vehicle "means anymotor vehicle
ofclass Mj_ intended foruseontheroad haying atleast four wheels
andamaximum design speed exceeding 25Km/h.
Article 2
NoMember State mayrefuse togrant EECtype-approval ornational type-
approval ofavehicle ongrounds relating tothe external projections
ifthese projections satisfy therequirements set out inAnnexes Iand
II.
Article 3 : - ■,
NoMember State nayrefuse orprohibit thesale orregistration ,entry
into service oruse ofavehicle ongrounds relating tothe _external
projections ifthese projections satisfy therequirements set out in
Annexes Iand II.
Article k
TheMember State which hasgranted type-approval shall take thfentecessary
measures tobeinformed ofanymodification ofapart orcharacteristic
referred toinitem 2.2 .ofAnnex I. Thecompetent authorities ofthat
State shall determine whether fresh tests should becarried out onthe
modified prototype ,and afresh report drawn up.
Where such tests reveal failure "tocomply with therequirements ofthis
Directive ,themodification shall not beapproved .

Article 5
Theamendments necessary foradjusting therequirements ofAnnexes I,
IIand III soastotake account oftechnical progress shall beadopted
inaccordance with theprooedure laid down inArticle 13oftheCouncil
Directive (70/156/EEC)-of6February 1970 onthuapproximation ofthelaws
oftheMember States relating tothetype-approval ofmotor vehicles and
their trailers .
Article 6
1.TheMember States shall adopt andpublish theprovisions needed in
order tocomply with this Directive before 1January 197 ./ans shall
fort with inform the Commission thereof .
They shall apply these provisions from 1October 1975 •
2.Asoon asthis Directive hasbeen notified ,theMember States
shall inform theCommission ,insufficient time toenable it
tosubmit itscomments ,ofany dr^'t * laws ,regulations
oradministrative provisions which they intend toadopt inthe field
covered bytheDirective .
Article 7
This Directive isaddressed tothe Member States .

ANNEX I
GENERAL DEFINITIONS ,'APPLICATION FOR EEC-jTYPE APPROVAL EECTYPE APPRO­
VAL ,GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS ,PARTICULAR SPECIFICATIONS ,CONFORMITY OF
PRODUCTION
1,■"GENERAL
1.1 .The prescriptions ofthis annex dorot cnply toBxfcsrrivir rec.r viocr
nirrcira ..ortoc-ccciirjorics GUC'I asr^xlio r.erials :?ndlu t?,c.rr.cks .;
1.2 .-The purpose ofthese prescriptions istoreduce therisk orse­
riousness ofbodily injury toaperson .hit bythebodywork or
brushing against itinthe event ofacollision .
■2.- ■DEFI?IITIONS . -
For the purposes ofthis directive ":
2.1 ,"Type-anproval ofavehicl e"r.earts "theapproval of .a"vehicle type
with regard toits external projections ;
'2.2 .,"Vehicle type asregards its' external project -
tions "means acategory ofmotor vehicles which donot differ
insuch essential respects as,shape ormaterials ofthe external
surface ; .
2«3 »"External surface "means the structural unit constituting the out­
side ofthevehicle andincluding the bonnet ,the lid ofthelug­
gage compartment ,thedoors ,thewings ,and thevisible strengthe­
ning components ;
2.4 ."Floor line "means the line determined asfellows :
successively position round avehicle acone with avertical axis
andwith ahalf angle of30° insuch away that itcontacts ,•
constantly and aslow aspossible ,the external surface ofthe
bodywork .The floor line isthegeometric trace ofthese points
ofcontact .Indetermining tha floor line neither the jacking
points ,exhaust pipes orwheels will betaken into consideration .
The gaps ofthewheel arches sire assumed tobefilled inbyan
imaginary stirface forming asmooth continuation ofthesurround­
ing external surface ;
The text oftheannexes issimilar tothat ofRegulation n°2bof
the Economic Commission forEurope oftheUnited Nations ;inpar­
ticular thesubdivisions ofthe items are the same ;where an
item ofRegulation n°26hasnocorresponding item intheannexes ,
thenumber isncne the less given inbrackets forreference pur­
poses .

Annex I
"Radius ofcurvature "means theapproximate extent ofthe
round asdistinct from ,aprecite geometrical foriu .
APPLICATION' FOREE£TÏF^APPRQVAL , ....
Theapplication forEECtype-approval ofavehicle type with
regard toits external projections shall besubmitted Jby
thevehicle manufacturer orbyhisrepresentative .
Itshall beaccompanied bythefollowing documents intri­
plicate i
Photographs ofthe front ,rear and side parts ofthevehicle ,
Drawings ,with dimensions ,ofthebumpers and ,where appro­
priate ,
Drawings ofcertain external projections andifapplicable
drawings ofcertain sections oftheexternal surface refer­
red toin6.9*1 -
The following shall besubmitted tothetechnical service
responsible forthetype~approval teste ;: i-•
Either avehicle representative ofthevehicle type tobetype
approved orthepart orparts ofthevehicle regarded as
essential forthechecks andtests prescribed' byvthis l-
annex ;
Attherequest oftheaforesaid technical service ,certain
components andcertain samples afthematerials used .
EEC TYPE -APPROVAL

Annex I
Aform conforming tothe model inAnnex III shall beattached
tothe EEC type-approval certificate .
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS .
The provisions ofthis Annex shall not apply tothose parts
ofthe external surface which ,with thevehicle intheladen
condition ,with all doors ,windows andaccess lids etc.,in
the closed position ,are either
ataheight ofmore than 2metres ,or
below the floor line ,or
located sothat ,instatic conditions ,they cannot becon­
tacted byasphere 100 mmindiameter .
The external surface ofvehicles shall not exhibit ,directed
outwards ,anypointed orsharp parts orany projections of
such shape ,dimensions ,direction orhardness astobe
likely toincrease the risk orseriousness cfbodily injury
toaperson hit bythe external surface orbrushing against
itinthe event ofacollision .
The external surface ofvehicles shall not exhibit ,directed
outwards ,any parts likely tocatch onpedestrians ,cyclists
or'motor cyclists .
Subject totheprovisions of 5*5 *f6.1.3-6*5.,6.^.2 .,
6.7.1 „,6.8.1 .,6.10 .,below ,no -.protruding part cftheex­
ternal surface shall have aradius ofcurvature less than
2.5 ram.
Protruding parts ofthe external surface ,made ofamaterial
cfhardness notexceeding 60shore A,mayhave aradius of
curvature less than 2.5 mm.
PAPTICTTLAR SPECIFICATIONS
Ornament s
... vAdded ornaments which project more than 10mmfrom their
support shall retract ,become detached orbend over under a
force of10daN exerted attheir most salient point inany
direction inaplane approximately parallel tothe surface
onwhich they are mounted .These provisions' shall not
apply toornaments onradiator grilles ,towhich only the
general requirements ofitem .shall apply . '

Annex I
Protective strips orshielding ontheexternal surface shall
notbesubjeot totherequirements ofitem 6.1.1 .above ;
however ,they shall befirmly secured tothevehicle .
Iftheadded ornaments are less than 5 thick ,therequire
ment ofa2.5mmminimum radius ofcurvature shall notapply
but theoutward facing angles ofsuch ornaments shall be
blunted .
Headlights
Projecting visors andrims shall bepermitted onheadlights ,
provided that their proj-ection ,asmeasured inrelation to
the external transparent surface oftheheadlight does not
exceed 30mmand their radius ofcurvature isatleast
2.5 mmthroughout .
Eetracting headlights shall meet the provisions ofitem - •
6.2.1 .above inboth theoperative andretracted positions .
Grilles and gaps
Therequirements ofitem shall notapply togaps .
between fixed ormovable elements including those forming
part ofair intake oroutlet grilles andradiator grilles ,
provided that the distance between consecutive elements
does notexceed 'fOmm.Forgaps ofbetween kQmmand25mm
the radii ofcurvature shall beof 1mmormore .However ,
ifthe distance between two consecutive elements isequal
toorless than 25mm,theradii ofcurvature ofexternal
faces ofthe elements shall not beless than 0.5 mm.
The junction ofthe front with theside faces ofeach ele­
ment forming agrille orgap shall beblunted .
Windscreen' wipers
Thewindscreen-wiper fittings shall besuch that thewiper
shaft isfurnished with aprotective casing which has a
radius ofcurvature meeting therequirements ofiten
5.*f ,above and asurface ofnot less than 150 ir.m^•
lien Ehall notapply tothewipei *blades orto
anysupporting -members .However ,these units shall be
somade astohave nosharp angles orpointed orcutting
parts ofanon-functional nature .

-5-
Annex I
6.5 . Bunpers
0.5.1 . The ends ofthe bumpers shall beturned intov /ards the
external surface inorder toreduce the risk offouling *
6*5.2 ,. Thecomponents ofthe bumpe?r shall besodesigned that all
rigid surfaces facing outwards have aminimum radius of
curvatui eof5
6.6 . Handles ,hinges andpush-b uttonsofdoors ,luggage compart ¬
ments and flaps ;tank openings and covers
6.6.1 , Theprojection shall notexceed *f0mminthecase oflateral
door handles and 30mminall other cases .
6.6.2 . Iflateral door handles turn tooperate ,they shall meet the
following requirements :
6.6.2.1 .theopen endofthehandle must bedirected toward .3therear
and thehandle soarranged that itturns parallel tothe
plane ofthe door and does not pivot outwards ;
6.6.2.2 . the end ofthe handle must beturned back towards the door
and fitted into arecess ;
6«7• Wheel nut .?,hubcaps andwheel discs
6.7.1 . Therequirements ofitem 5.K. shall notapply . .
6,7-2 : Thewheel nuts ,hubcaps andwheel discs shall notexhibit
any fin-shaped projections .
6.7«3 o When thevehicle istravelling inastraight line ,nopart
ofthewheels other than the tyres ,situated above the
horizontal plane passing through their axis ofrotation
shall project beyond the vertical projection ,inahori­
zontal plane ,ofthe external surface orstructure .How­
ever ,iffunctional requirements sowarrant ,wheel discs
which cover wheel and hub nuts may project beyond the
vertical projection ofthe external surface orstructure
oncondition that the radius ofcurvature ofthe surface
ofthe projecting part isnot less than 30mmand ,that
theprojection beyond thevertical projection ofthe
external surface orstructure innocase exceeds 30mm.

-6-
Annex I
6.0 . Sheet-mfetal eds-es
6.8,1 . Sheet-metal edges ,such asgutter edges andtherails of
sliding doors ,shn.ll not bepermitted unless they are fol­
ded back orare fitted with ashield meeting therequire­
ments ofthis annex which are applicable toit.
6.9 « Body panels
6.9*1 • Folds inbody panels mayhave aradius ofcurvature of
-less than 2.5 mm,provided that itisnot less than one-
tenth ofthe'height "H"ofthe projection ,measured in .
accordance with the method described inannex II.
6.10 . Lateral air orrain deflecto rs
6.10.1 . Lateral deflectors shall have &radius ofcurvature ofat
least 1mmonedges capable ofbeing directed outwards .
6.11 . Jacking brackets
6.11.1 . Thejacking bracket shall notproject more than adistance
of10mmbeyond thevertical projection ofthefloor line
lying directly above it.
(7.)
(7.1.)
(7.1.1 .)
(7.1.2 .) _ .
(7-2.)
8. CONFORMITY OFPRODUCTION
(8.1.)
8.2 . Inorder toverify conformity with theapproved type ,a
sufficient number ofrandom checks shall beperformed on
serially produced vehicles .
(9.)
(9.1.)
(9.2.)
(10.)

METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE HEIGHT
OFEXTERNAL SURFACE PROJECTIONS
The height Hoxaprojection isdetermined graphically by -
reference tothecircumference ofa165 ramdiameter circle ,
internally tangential tothe external outline ofthe exter­
nal surf£3.ce atthe section tobechecked ,
Histhemaximum value ofthe distance ,measured along a
straight line passing through thecentre ofthe 165mmdia­
meter circle ,between the circumference ofthe aforesaid
circle andtheexternal contour oftheprojection (seeFig .
Incases where itisnot possible for a100 mmdiameter cir­
cle tocontact externally part ofthe external outline of
the external surface atthe section under consideration ,
the surface outline inthis area will beassumed tobethat
formed bythe circumference ofthe 100 mmdiameter circle
between itstangent points with theexternal outline (see
Fig .2).
Drawings ofthenecessary sections through the external sur­
face shall beprovided bythe manufacturer toallow the
height ofthe projections referred toabove tobemeasured »

Dia.
165
mmAnnexII
Η
Fiq.l.
Dia.
165
mmV
"Assumed
surface"
Dia.
100mmFig.2.

ANNEX III
ANNEX 'TOTHE ESC TYPE .-APPROVAL CERTIFICATE
V/ITK REGARD TOEXTERNAL' PROJECTIONS
(Article M2 )andarticle 10oftheCouncil directive of6February 1970
ontheapproximation ofthe l&ws oftheMember States relating tothe
type approval ofmotor vehicles and their trailers ).
Name
ofadministration
EEC type-approval N°
1.Traâe name ormark ofthe vehicle
2.Vehicle type
3»Manufacturer 1sname and address .
H.Ifapplicable ,name andaddress ofmanufacturer 'sauthorised
representative . *-
Vehicle submitted forEUC type-approval on *
6.Technical service responsible forEECtype-approval tests
7.Date ofreport issued bythat service
8«Number ofreport issued bythat service «...
9.EECtype-approval with regards toexternal projections hasbeen
grantod /refused (*) '
10*Place » »...
11.Date
12.Signature
13«The following documents ,bearing the type approval number shown
above ,are annexed :
..*photographs ofthe front ,rear and side parts ofthevehicle ;
...drawings ,with dimensions ,ofthe bumpers and ,where appropriate
...drawings cfcertain external projections .
(*)delete whichever isinapplicable .