NoC49/64 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 24.2.92
Opinionon:
—theproposalforaCouncilDirectiveamendingDirective77/143/EEContheapproxi­
mationofthelawsoftheMemberStatesrelatingtoroadworthiness testsformotor
vehiclesandtheirtrailers(brakes),and
—theproposalforaCouncilDirectiveamendingDirective77/143/EEContheapproxi­
mationofthelawsoftheMemberStatesrelatingtoroadworthiness testsformotor
vehiclesandtheirtrailers(exhaustemissions)
(92/C49/15)
On14and19August1991theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle75oftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity ,onthe
abovementioned proposals.
TheSectionforTransportandCommunications ,whichwasresponsibleforpreparingthe
Committee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon11December1991.TheRapporteur
wasMrRobertoBonvicini .
Atits292ndplenarysession(meetingof18December1991),theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
safetypurposes.Testmethodsandfrequencyvary
accordingtovehicletype,buttheyallbasicallyset
outtocheckbrakeperformanceagainstaminimum
threshold .
2.2.Highbrakequalityisanessentialelementin
safetyontheCommunityroadnetwork,andaharmoni­
zedtestprocedurewouldguaranteecompliancewith
minimumsafetyconditions .
2.3.Thesituationconcerningharmfulgasemissions
islessclear.1.Introduction
1.1.ThetwoProposalsforCouncilDirectivessetout
tostandardizetheexistingproceduresinmostEuropean
countries,designedtoensureroadsafetyandenviron­
mentalprotection .
1.2.Inviewofthefreemovementofgoods,which
maynowbeconsideredasafact,theadoptionof
uniformstandardsinallthecountriesconcernedis
ofprimaryimportanceiftrafficbehaviouristobe
standardized .
1.3.Theadoptionofthetwoproposalswouldthere­
foremakeasignificantcontributiontoremovingbar­
rierstotrade,andwouldalsoprotectthequalityand
reliabilityofroadtransport.
1.4.TheCommitteethereforeendorsestheCom­
munityinitiativeingeneralterms,andtruststhat
governmentswillacknowledgetheimportanceofthis
matterandtakeswiftactionconcerningnationalregu­
lations.
1.5.Thetwodocumentsattempttointegratethe
regulationsexistinginthevariousMemberStatesinto
asingleCommunityproposal,inviewofthevarying
featuresofroadvehiclesandtheiruseinthedifferent
countries .2.3.1.Anumberofcountrieshaveadoptedrulesfor
periodicCOchecksonvehicleswithsparkignition
engines,runningatidlingspeed.
2.4.Fewcountriesprovideforsmokelevelchecks
oncommercialvehicleswhenundergoingtheirperiodic
tests.Forsparkignitionengines,asfordieselengines,
aharmonizedsystemofregularcheckswouldhelpkeep
harmfulemissionstoaminimum,therebyhelpingto
protectthequalityoftheenvironment .
2.5.Inbothcases,testingmethodsandfrequency
varyfromcountrytocountry.
2.Currentsituationandexpecteddevelopments
2.1.AllMemberStateshave,oraretohave,national
standardsfortheperiodictestingofbrakesforroad2.6.Whileawareofthetechnicalproblemsinvolved,
theCommitteesuggeststhattheCommissionprovide
forchecksonotherpollutantsinasubsequentdirective.

24.2.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC49/65
aspiratedandsuperchargedenginesshouldbestandard­
ized,settingasinglevalueof3,0m~l.2.7.Thatsaid,thedraftDirectivessetthespecific
targetofstandardization oftechnicalobservationand
testingprocedures .
2.13.Sparkignitionengines2.7.1.Thiscouldprovideanaveragequalitystan­
dardapplicablethroughouttheCommunity,andcould
meanlessfrequentaccidentsduetomechanicalinef­
ficiency,andsignificantlyimprovedqualityofairon
roadsandespeciallyintowns.
2.8.Ifresultsaretobeobtainedrapidly,itisclear
thatindividualMemberStatesmustactswiftlytoset
upeffectivelocalserviceandtestnetworks.2.13.1.Technicalprogressandmoreadvancedtype
approvalstandards,whichhaveproducedevermore
sophisticateddevices,suchasthe3-waycatalyticcon­
verterandthelambdaprobe,alsorequiretheinstal­
lationofhighlyspecializedapparatusforperiodic
vehiclechecks.
2.13.2.Thisapplies,forexample,tolambdaprobe
efficiencytests,whichcouldbereplaced—asatempor­
aryderogation—byindirecttesting,measuringexhaust
emissions,andbyanelectricalcontinuitycheck.
2.13.3.TheCommission isthereforeaskedtocon­
siderdifferentiatedtestingfrequencies,inordertoallow
testequipmenttobeup-graded,asprovidedinDirective
91/328/EEC.2.9.Inthisrespect,theCommitteesuggeststhatcon­
siderationbegiventotheuseofexistingstructures
availabletothirdparties(asprovidedinDirectives
88/449/EEC,91/225/EECand91/238/EEConchecks
onpassengerandcommercialvehicles).
2.10.Suchaprocedure,alreadyadoptedbycertain
countries,offerstheadvantagenotonlyofconsiderable
investmentsavings,butalsorapidavailabilityoffully
equippedcentreswithqualifiedstaff,atnoadditional
costtousers,nolongerfacedwithlengthyandoffput­
tingwaitinglists.2.14.Braketests
2.11.Approvalforcentresandstaffqualifications
would,ofcourse,betheresponsibilityofcentraland
localauthorities .2.14.1.Whilethepurposeofbraketestsistoensure
trafficsafety,theymustrefertothelevelsofperform­
anceobservedduringtypeapprovaltests.Theseoften
differfromCommunitystandards,dependingontype
ofvehicleandpatternandareaofuse.
2.14.2.Adegreeofimprecision,withregardtotest
instructionsandacceptabilitycriteria,necessarily
resultsfromthedraftdirective:thismayseemanomal­
2.12.Spontaneousignitionengines oustosome.Thisimprecisionisessentialifproper
provisionistobemadeforspecificcases.
2.12.1.TheCommitteesupportsfreeaccelerationas
theonlytestprocedureoption.
2.12.2.Earliersuggestedformsoftesting,whichpro­
videdforvehicletestingwithenginerunningatfull
capacity,eitheronarollertestbenchoraroad,were
impracticable (insurmountably soforcertaintypesof
vehicle)andliabletocausedamage.Theycouldnot
becomparedwiththeobservationsmadeduringtype
approvaltests.Nocorrelationwithregistrationdeclar­
ationsandresultsofperiodictestingwastherefore
possible.2.14.3.IndividualMemberStatesshould,inadopt­
ingtheDirective,alsopromotetechnicalprocedures
capableofensuringproperapplicationbytheapproved
centresintheday-to-dayoperationsforwhichtheyare
responsible .
2.14.4.Implementation oftheCommunityinfor­
mationprocedureandsubsequentdiscussionwould
guaranteeuniformassessmentamongthevariousMem­
berStates.
2.14.5.Lastly,thefactthatsanctionscannotbe
appliedatCommunitylevelmaygiverisetodistortions
incompetition .ItistobehopedthattheCommission
willurgeMemberStatestobantheuseofvehicles
whichfailtomeasureuptotechnicalcontrols,untilthe
conditionsexistfortherulestobeobserved.2.12.3.TheCommitteealsoendorsestheproposal
tosetanupperlimitforallvehiclesinuse,evenwhere
noreferenceplatevaluesexist.Inthiscaselimitsfor

NoC49/66 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 24.2.92
2.15.Exhaustemissions
2.15.1.COM(91)244final—Point8.2.1
a)2andb)3
2.15.1.1.TheCommitteebelievesthattheterms
'...commensurate withthevehiclemanufacturer 'srec­
ommendations ...'and'...engineconditioningcommen­
suratewiththevehiclemanufacturer 'srecommen­
dations...'shouldbeclarified.Vehicletypeapproval
andtestingrulesandproceduresareharmonizedby
Directive70/156/EEC,subsequentlyamended:ifengine
wearisafactorinexhaustemission,thisshouldbe
mentionedinthetext.2.15.2.2.Thewithdrawal of'obsolete'vehicles
shouldbeapriority,notonlybecauseofemission
problemsbut,morebroadly,fortrafficsafetyreasons.
2.15.2.3.Ifthevehiclereplacementrate,inthegoods
haulagesector,istakentobe10%annually,emission
standardswillonlybefullyoperational10yearsafter
introduction .
3.Conclusions
3.1.Asstatedpreviously,theCommitteeconsiders
thetwoproposalsforDirectivestorepresentasignifi­
cantcontributiontoroadsafetyandenvironmental
protection .
3.2.Inviewoftheinherentcomplexityoftheques­
tionandthevarietyofsituationsexistingintheMember
States,theproposedtestsattempttoreachavalid
compromisebetweenvaryingrequirements .
3.3.TheCommitteeconsidersthistobethemost
likelycost-savingoptionfromthepointofviewofthe
technicalandeconomiceffortrequiredoftheMember
States,particularlyiftheuseofexistingstructuresis
takenup,subjecttoproperapprovalandqualification .2.15.2.COMÍ91 )244final—Point8.2.1
2.15.2.1.Theproposalremovesvehiclesmanufac­
turedbefore1January1970fromthescopeofthe
emissionrequirements .Thisissensible,sincenosuch
standardsexistedforvehiclesmanufactured 21ormore
yearsago.Thefirstinternationalregulationwasregu­
lationNo49oftheEconomicCommissionforEurope
oftheUnitedNations(ECE/UN),in1982.
DoneatBrussels,18December1991.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
FrancoisSTAEDELIN