12.4.84 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 100/3 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 543/69 on the 
harmonization of certain social legislation relating to road transport and Regulation 
(EEC) No 1463/70 on the introduction of recording equipment in road transport 
COM(84) 147 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 20 March 1984) 
(84/C 100/03) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 75 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the aims of Council Regulation (EEC) No 
543/69 on the harmonization of certain social 
legislation relating to road transport (') are the 
harmonization of competition within and between 
inland transport modes, and the improvement of road 
safety, living and working conditions; 
Whereas the aim of Council Regulation (EEC) No 
1463/70 on the introduction of recording equipment 
in road transport (2) is to improve the enforcement of 
the provisions on the working and rest activities of 
vehicle drivers; 
Whereas the aforementioned aims must be safe­
guarded and promoted; 
Whereas there is a need for greater flexibility in the 
provisions of the Regulations which can be obtained 
without detriment to their objectives; 
Whereas it is simpler for undertakings and drivers to 
organize their work 6n the basis of a fixed week; 
(l) OJ No L 77, 29. 3. 1969 (codified version — OJ No 
C 73, 17. 3. 1979, p. 1). 
O OJ No L 164, 20. 7. 1970 (amendments — OJ No 
L 181, 4. 7. 1973, p. 1; OJ No L 334, 24. 12. 1977, p. 5). Whereas it is desirable to supplement and clarify 
certain definitions and to bring up to date and repeal 
some provisions; 
Whereas in the interests of obtaining greater 
flexibility for transport undertakings and, at the same 
time, furthering social progress, it seems appropriate 
to increase the daily driving period whilst reducing 
weekly driving; 
Whereas it is essential for road safety to limit the 
number of hours that a driver may work without a 
break on any day when he is also driving; 
Whereas it will promote social pr6gress and is 
beneficial for road safety to increase the duration of 
breaks in driving periods and the daily and weekly 
rest periods, whilst incorporating the possibility of 
reductions in the rest, provided that the driver may 
take the hours owed in a relatively limited time 
afterwards; 
Whereas, for the purposes of this Regulation, it does 
not appear necessary to maintain the present ban on 
certain payments made according to distances 
travelled or the amount of goods carried; 
Whereas exemptions from the provisions of the Regu­
lations are justified for some categories of transport 
of relatively minor economic or social importance in 
the transport sector since the aims of the Regulations 
will not be affected; 
Whereas the particular circumstances of the passenger 
transport sector justify increasing the size of vehicles 
that can be exempted by Member States for national 
journeys; 
Whereas the Commission should have the power to 
grant exemptions from the Regulations in exceptional 
circumstances; 
No C 100/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 12.4.84 
Whereas it is desirable to emphasize the importance 
and necessity to comply with and see that the Regu­
lations are enforced by stating the duties of employers 
and employees in this respect and by re-affirming the 
obligation of Member States to provide each other 
with information on infringements; 
Whereas in the interest of effective control, the 
exemption from the obligation to carry a tachograph 
on regular international passenger services should be 
stopped; 
Whereas it is considered sufficient that the 
Commission draws up its report on implementation 
avery two years, subject to certain time limits; 
Whereas it will assist with enforcing the Regulations 
and preventing abuses, if the record sheets of tacho­
graphs are numbered and used in numerical order, if 
a register of sheets is kept by the undertaking, which 
is open to inspection by the enforcement authorities, 
if drivers may obtain copies of their sheets or extracts 
from the duty rosters on request, and if there is an 
obligation on employers to hold these documents for 
two years; 
Whereas it is useful to specify precisely how periods 
of non-driving work and weekly rest are to be 
indicated on the record sheets; 
Whereas the provisions governing the number of 
record sheets that a driver must keep with him have 
to be amended following the introduction of a fixed 
week; 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION 
Article 1 
Amendments to Regulation (EEC) No 543/69 
1. Article 1 is hereby amended as follows: 
(a) In paragraph 1 the word 'public' shall be 
inserted before the word 'road' the second 
time that the word is used; 
(b) paragraph 4 shall be deleted and the following 
text inserted; 
'4. "week" means the period between 00,00 
hours on Monday and 24,00 hours on 
Sunday;'; 
(c) paragraph 5 shall be deleted and the following 
text inserted: 
'5. "driving" means time which is spent 
behind the wheel of a vehicle;'; 
(d) the following text shall replace former 
paragraph 5 and shall be inserted instead of 
the present paragraph 6: '6. "rest" means any uninterrupted period of 
at least nine hours, other than a break, in 
which a crew member may freely dispose 
of his time; 
(e) the following text shall be inserted instead of 
the present paragraph 7: 
'7. "break" means any uninterrupted period 
which is shorter than a rest, in which a 
crew member may freely dispose of his 
time;'; 
(f) the following text shall replace former 
paragraph 6 and shall become paragraph 8: 
'8. "regular passenger services" means 
national and international services as 
defined in Regulation No 117/66/EEC ('), 
on the introduction of common rules for 
the international carriage of passengers by 
coach and bus; 
O OJ No 147, 9. 8. 1966, p. 2699/66.' 
(g) the present paragraph 7 shall become 
paragraph 9. 
2. Article 2 is hereby replaced by the following text: 
'Article 2 
1. This Regulation applies to carriage by road 
within the Community as defined in Article 1(1). 
2. This Regulation does not apply to the 
following transport, to which the European 
Agreement concerning the work of crews of 
vehicles engaged in international road transport 
(AETR) applies: 
— international road transport operations to 
and/or from third countries which are 
contracting parties to the Agreement, or in 
transit through such countries, for the whole 
of the journey where such operations are 
effected by vehicles registered in a Member 
State or in one of the said third countries, 
— transport operations to and/or from a third 
country effected by vehicles registered in a 
third country which is not a contracting party 
to the Agreement for any journey made 
within the Community.' 
3. Article 4 is hereby replaced by the following text: 
'Article 4 
This Regulation shall not apply to carriage by: 
1. vehicles used for the carriage of goods where 
the maximum permissible weight does not 
exceed 3,5 tonnes; 
12. 4. 84 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 100/5 
2. vehicles used for the carriage of passengers, 
with a seating capacity of less than nine 
persons, including the driver, unless such 
vehicles are carrying goods other than pass­
engers' personal effects; 
3. vehicles used for the carriage of passengers 
and operating on regular services within a 
50-km radius of the vehicle base; 
4. vehicles with a maximum authorized speed 
not exceeding 30 km per hour; 
5. vehicles when used by the armed services, 
civil defence, police and fire services; 
6. vehicles when used in temporary emergencies 
or in the course of rescue operations; 
7. specialized vehicles for medical purposes; 
8. vehicles used for circus or funfair equipment; 
9. specialized breakdown vehicles; 
10. vehicles used to transport goods for private 
purposes, including the use of hired vehicles 
without a driver.' 
4. Article 5 is hereby amended as follows: 
(a) The second indent of paragraph 1 (b) shall be 
replaced by the following text: 
'— 18 years provided that the person 
concerned holds a certificate of pro­
fessional competence recognized by one 
of the Member States confirming that he 
has completed a training course for 
drivers in conformity with Directive 
76/914/EEC (l) on the minimum level of 
training for some road transport drivers, 
as it may be amended from time to time 
by the Council on a proposal from the 
Commission. 
(') OJ No L 357, 29. 12. 1976.' 
(b) The last sentence of paragraph 1 (b) shall be 
deleted. 
(c) Paragraph 2 (c) shall be replaced by the 
following text: 
'(c) he must hold a certificate of professional 
competence recognized by one of the 
Member States confirming that he has 
completed a training course for drivers 
of vehicles in conformity with Directive 
76/914/EEC on the minimum level of training for some road transport drivers, 
as it may be amended from time to time 
by the Council on a proposal from the 
Commission.' 
(d) Paragraph 4 shall be replaced by the 
following text: 
'4. A driver engaged in the carriage of 
passengers is exempt from the conditions laid 
down in paragraph 2 (a), (b) and (c) if he has 
carried on that occupation for at least one 
year prior to 1 October 1970.' 
(e) Paragraphs 5 and 6 shall be deleted. 
(f) Paragraph 7 shall become paragraph 5. 
5. Article 6 is deleted and the following text inserted 
under the heading 'Section IV: Driving periods': 
'Article 6 
1. The driving period between any two daily 
rest periods shall not exceed nine hours. It may 
be extended twice in any one week to 10 hours. 
2. The driving time in any one week shall not 
exceed 45 hours.' 
6. Article 7 is deleted and the following Article 
inserted: 
'Article 7 
On any day when a crew member is driving, no 
period of continuous work shall exceed 4 ¥2 
hours, excluding waiting time.' 
7. Article 8 is deleted and the following Article 
inserted: 
Article 8 
1. On any day when a crew member is driving, 
there shall be a break of either: 
(a) at least one hour after a period of continuous 
work, or 
(b) several periods of a minimum of 20 minutes 
or, in the case of regular passenger services a 
minimum of 15 minutes, amounting to at 
least one hour for every 4 V2 hours of work.' 
8. The following text is hereby inserted under the 
heading 'Section V: Rest periods': 
No C 100/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 12. 4. 84 
'Article 9 
1. Crew members shall have a minimum daily 
rest period of 12 consecutive hours in any period 
of 24 hours. The daily rest period may be 
reduced to nine hours not more than three times 
in any one week. Any reduction in the daily rest 
period shall be compensated by an equivalent 
amount of additional rest period, at the latest by 
the end of the following week. 
2. Where a vehicle is manned by two drivers 
and has a bunk, they shall have a daily rest 
period of not less than nine consecutive hours in 
any 30-hour period. 
3. The daily rest period shall be taken outside 
the vehicle, except where a vehicle has a bunk, 
when the rest period may be taken on that bunk 
provided that the vehicle is stationary.' 
9. Article 11 is deleted and Article 11a becomes 
Article 10. 
10. In the new Article 10, the last indent is deleted. 
11. The following Article becomes Article 11: 
'Article 11 
1. Every crew member shall have a weekly rest 
period of 48 consecutive hours, which may 
include daily rest periods. 
2. The weekly rest period may be reduced to a 
minimum of 36 consecutive hours if this has to be 
taken at home or to 24 consecutive hours when 
this has to be taken away from home, provided 
that the remaining hours of rest are taken en 
bloc, at the latest by the end of the following 
week.' 
12. Articles 12 and 12a are deleted. 
13. Article 13 becomes Article 12 under the heading 
'Section VI: Exceptions' and is amended as 
follows: 
(a) In paragraph 1, the figures '6 to 11' shall 
replace the figures '7 to 12' and the phrase 
'and may refrain from applying Article 6 (2)' 
shall be deleted. 
(b) In paragraph 2, the words 'five years' shall 
replace the words 'other year'. 
14. Article 13a becomes Article 13 and is replaced by 
the following text: Article 13 
Provided that there is no detriment to road 
safety, the driver may depart from the provisions 
of this Regulation in case of danger, in circum­
stances outside his control, to render aid, or as a 
result of a breakdown, and to the extent 
necessary to ensure the safety of persons, of the 
vehicle or its load, to enable him to reach a 
suitable stopping place or the end of his journey. 
The driver shall indicate on the sheet or his 
recording equipment the nature of, and reason 
for, his departure from those provisions.' 
15. Article 14 is deleted and the following text 
inserted: 
Article 14 
1. Member States may grant exemptions from 
any provisions of this Regulation for transport 
falling within any of the following categories and 
carried out on their own territory or between 
adjacent Member States in conformity with 
bilateral agreements: 
(a) vehicles used for the carriage of passengers, 
with a seating capacity of not more than 17 
persons, including the driver; 
(b) vehicles used by, or under the control of, 
public authorities in connection with: 
— drainage, flood prevention, sewerage and 
water services, providing energy, refuse 
collection and disposal, transporting toxic 
waste, 
— regular highway maintenance and control, 
— telecommunications, broadcasting, the 
detection of radio and television, 
transmission or reception, 
— the carriage of mail, 
— other public services which are not in 
competition with professional road 
hauliers; 
(c) vehicles belonging to, or hired by, agri­
cultural, horticultural or forestry under­
takings, when travelling within a 50-km 
radius of and to or from such undertakings; 
and vehicles transporting fish within a 50-km 
radius of the port, 
(d) vehicles used for milk collection from farms 
and the return to farms of milk containers or 
of milk products for animal feed; 
(e) vehicles used for carrying animal carcasses or 
waste when these are not intended for human 
consumption; 
12.4.84 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 100/7 
(f) vehicles used at markets, as mobile shops, for 
door-to-door selling, for mobile banking, 
exchange or saving transactions, worship, the 
lending of books, records or cassettes, 
cultural events or mobile exhibitions, and 
specially fitted for such uses; 
(g) vehicles undergoing road tests for the 
purpose of technical development, repair or 
maintenance, and journeys by new or rebuilt 
vehicles which have not entered service; 
(h) vehicles driven exclusively by electricity; 
(i) vehicles used for the transport of goods 
within a 50-km radius of the vehicle base 
where this transport is subsidiary to the main 
activity of the driver. 
Member States shall send the Commission details 
of the exemptions granted under this paragraph. 
2. Member States may, after authorization by 
the Commission, grant exemptions from any 
provisions of the Regulation for: 
(a) transport in exceptional circumstancs, if the 
exemption does not jeopardize the objectives 
of the Regulation; 
(b) transport confined to islands not exceeding 
2 200 square kilometres in area and which are 
not linked to any other part of a Member 
State by a ford, bridge or tunnel suitable for 
the passage of motor vehicles.' 
16. Article 14a is deleted. 
17. The following text is hereby inserted as Article 15 
under the heading: 'Section VII: Control pro­
cedures and penalties': 
'Article 15 
1. Crew members shall use recording 
equipment in accordance with Article 3 of Regu­
lation (EEC) No 1463/70 on the introduction of 
recording equipment in road transport. 
2. The transport undertaking shall organize 
the work of crew members in such a way that 
they are able to comply with the provisions of the 
present Regulation and of Regulation (EEC) No 
1463/70'. 
18. Article 15 becomes Article 16 and is hereby 
amended as follows: (a) Paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the 
following text: 
'1. All operators of regular national 
passenger services shall draw up a service 
timetable and a duty roster.' 
(b) Paragraph 2 shall be replaced by the 
following text: 
'2. The duty roster shall show, in respect 
of each crew member, the name, place where 
based and the schedule which shall have been 
laid down in advance for the various periods 
of driving, other work and attendance at 
work.' 
(c) Paragraph 5 shall be replaced by the 
following text: 
'5. Each crew member assigned to a 
regular national passenger service shall carry 
an extract from the duty roster and a copy of 
the service timetable.' 
(d) The following paragraphe shall be inserted: 
'6. The extracts from the duty roster shall 
be kept by the undertaking for two years 
after the expiry of the period which they 
cover. The undertaking shall give to the 
employee concerned copies of the extracts if 
so requested. 
7. In cases where crew members use 
recording equipment conforming to the 
provisions of Annexes I and II to Regulation 
(EEC) No 1463/70, the provisions of this 
Article shall not apply.' 
19. The present Article 16 is deleted. 
20. Article 17 is deleted and the following text 
inserted: 
'Article 17 
1. The Commission shall produce a biennial 
report on the implementation of this Regulation 
by Member States, which shall be presented to 
the Council and the European Parliament within 
one year of the expiry of the two-year period 
covered by the report. 
2. In order to enable the Commission to draw 
up the report referred to in paragraph 1, Member 
States shall communicate to the Commission the 
necessary information every two years, using a 
standard form. This information should reach the 
Commission by, at the latest, 31 July following 
the expiry of the two-year period covered by the 
report in question. 
3. Before completing the standard form, each 
Member State shall consult their social partners. 
4. The Commission shall draw up the standard 
form after consulting the Member States.' 
21. Paragraph 3 of Article 18 is hereby amended as 
follows: 
'3. Within the framework of this mutual 
assistance the competent authorities of the 
No C 100/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 12.4.84 
Member States shall send each other, on a 
regular basis, all the information necessary 
concerning: 
— the breaches of the provisions of this Regu­
lation committed by non-residents and any 
penalties that they impose upon them for such 
breaches, 
— any penalties imposed by a Member State on 
its residents for such breaches committed in 
other Member States.' 
22. Article 19 is hereby amended as follows: 
(a) in paragraph 3, the figure '(1)' shall be 
inserted after 'Article 2'; 
(b) paragraph 4 shall be deleted. 
Article 2 
Amendments to Regulation (EEC) No 1463/70 
1. Article 3 is hereby replaced by the following text: 
'Article 3 
1. Recording equipment shall be installed and 
utilized in vehicles used for the carriage of pass­
engers or goods by public road and registered 
in a Member State, with the exception of the 
vehicles referred to in Article 4 of Regulation 
(EEC) No 543/69 and all other vehicles used 
exclusively for the carriage of passengers on 
regular services for national journeys. 
2. Member States may exempt from the 
application of this Regulation vehicles mentioned 
in Article 14 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 543/69. 
Member States shall inform the Commission of 
any exemption granted under this paragraph. 
3. Member States may, after authorization by 
the Commission, exempt from the application of 
this Regulation vehicles mentioned in Article 14 
(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 543/69.' 
2. Article 5 is deleted. 
3. Article 16 is deleted and the following text 
inserted: 
Article 16 
1. The employer shall issue sufficient record 
sheets to crew members, in numerical sequence, 
bearing in mind the fact that these sheets are 
personal in character, the length of the period of 
work and the possible need to replace sheets 
which are damaged, or have been taken by an 
authorized inspecting officer. The employer shall 
issue to crew members only sheets of an approved 
model suitable for use in the equipment installed 
in the vehicle. 2. The employer shall make periodical checks 
of the completed record sheets in order to ensure 
that the provisions of this Regulation and of 
Regulation (EEC) No 543/69 have been 
complied with. If the employer finds that there 
have been infringements of either Regulation, he 
shall take appropriate steps to prevent their 
repetition. 
3. The undertaking shall retain the record 
sheets in an orderly manner for a period of at 
least two years after their use, the undertaking 
shall give the employee concerned copies of the 
sheets if so requested, the sheets shall be 
produced or handed over at the request of any 
authorized inspecting officer.' 
4. Article 17 is hereby amended as follows: 
(a) Paragraph 2 shall be replaced by the 
following text: 
'2. Crew members shall use record sheets 
in numerical order for every day on which 
they are driving, starting from the beginning 
of their period of work. When the crew 
members are away from the vehicle and 
therefore unable to operate the equipment 
fitted to the vehicle themselves, the various 
periods of time indicated under (a) to (c) 
below shall, whether manually, by automatic 
recording or otherwiss, be entered on the 
sheet in a legible manner and without the 
sheet being dirtied. 
Where the preceding subparagraph applies, 
crew members shall ensure that the entry 
marking the beginning of a period of time is 
made on the sheet against the beginning of 
the period to which the entry relates. Crew 
members shall see that the equipment is kept 
running continuously from the time when 
they take over the vehicle until they are 
relieved from their responsibility for it. In 
particular: 
— they shall ensure that the time recorded 
on the sheet agrees with the official time 
in the country of registration of the 
vehicle; 
— they shall operate the switch mechanisms 
enabling the following periods of time to 
be recorded separately and distinctly: 
(a) driving time under the symbol of a 
wheel &^ ; 
(b) other periods of work under either 
the symbol X' or j/| ; 
(c) breaks and daily rest periods under 
the symbol £fc^ . 
They shall make the necessary 
changes to the record sheets in the 
case of a crew of several members so 
that the information referred to in 
12.4.84 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 100/9 
Chapter II (1), (2) and (3) of Annex I 
is recorded on the record sheet of the 
crew member who is actually driving.' 
(b) After paragraph 3 the following text shall be 
inserted: 
'(f) on finishing work the time of beginning 
the weekly rest period and, on a new 
sheet when recommencing work, the time 
that the weekly rest period ended.' 
(c) Paragraphs 5 and 6 shall be deleted and are 
replaced by the following paragraph: 
'5. Crew members must be able to produce 
on request by any authorised inspecting 
officer a record sheet of that day and, where 
applicable, of the preceding day of that week 
giving full details of the period referred to 
under 2 (a) to (c).' 
5. Articles 19 and 20 shall be deleted. 
6. Article 22 is hereby amended as follows: 
The penultimate sentence of paragraph 4 shall be 
replaced by the following text: 
'Opinions shall be delivered by qualified majority 
of votes of the Member States in accordance with 
Article 148 (2) of the Treaty.' 
7. Article 23 (3) is hereby replaced by the following 
text: 
'3. Within the framework of this mutual 
assistance the competent authorities of the 
Member States shall send each other on a regular 
basis all the information necessary concerning: 
— the breaches of the provisions of this Regu­
lation committed by non-residents and any 
penalties that they impose upon them for such 
breaches, 
— any penalties imposed by a Member State on 
its residents for such breaches committed in 
other Member States.' 8. Annex I, Chapter II is hereby amended as 
follows: 
The words in (4) 'or of attendance at work' shall 
be deleted. 
10. Annex I, Chapter 
follows: III is hereby amended as 
(a) In paragraph (a), point 4.1, the words 
'including a possible separation of category 
(b) into two periods of time' shall be deleted. 
(b) In paragraph (c), point 4.2, the words 'Regu­
lation (EEC) No 543/69' shall be deleted and 
is replaced by the words 'Article 17'. 
Annex I, Chapter IV is hereby amended as 
follows: 
(a) In paragraph (c), after the first indent, the 
following indent shall be inserted: 
'— individual number of the record sheet'. 
(b) The following new paragraph (e) shall be 
inserted: 
'(e) Registering of the record sheets 
The transport undertaking shall keep a 
register of the numbers of all the record 
sheets. The register must contain the 
names of the crew members who have 
received sheets, their signatures 
confirming receipt and the date of 
receipt. The register must be kept by the 
undertaking for two years and must be 
produced at the request of any author­
ized inspecting officer.' 
Article 3 
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 
1986. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States. 
Draft Council recommendation on the implementation of the Social Regulations in road 
transport 
COM(84) 147 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 20 March 1984) 
(84/C 100/04) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, 
Having regard to the draft recommendation 
submitted by the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the aims set by Council Regulation (EEC) 
No 543/69 on the harmonization of certain social 
legislation relating to road transport (x) and Council 
O OJ No L 77, 29. 3. 1969 (codified version — OJ 
No C 73, 17. 3. 1979, p. 1).