PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE AMENDING DIRECTIVE 77/143/EEC ON THE APPROXIMATION OF THE LAWS OF THE MEMBER STATES RELATING TO ROADWORTHINESS TESTS FOR MOTOR VEHICLES AND THEIR TRAILERS ( BRAKES )
Date: 1991-07-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: approximation of laws, commercial vehicle, motor vehicle, roadworthiness tests, safety device

IDOMMISSION  OP  THE  EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

C0M(91) 243 final 

•rusttit, 4 July 1901 

Proposal  for a 

mmm 

m an  ttmaivt 

titter»*  TT/US ttt  m  m 

AmwxiMATioM m  rm  urn  *  rm 
MEMBER  STATES « ELATING TO ROADWORTHINESS TESTS 

FOR MOTOR VEHICLES AND THEIR TRAILERS 

(•RAKES) 

(orosontod toy tho CoaMiaaloa) 

-  2  -

JEPtSHfltPiy  Memoxsntiwi 

flfDtril  CQWBJDlâ 

Actus! ?1 tmtlgn 

Diraetiva 77/143/EEC^>, aa amended by Direct!va t8/449/EEC<*>, 
concerns tha tachnlcal  Inspection of heavy gooda vahiclaa, buaat, 
traliara, aemi-trailera, tax la,  ambulances and light gooda  vahiclaa. 

Thia Diraetiva aata tha frequency of taata and providaa a Mat of tha 
itama to ba taatad. 

Qivan  that  Directive 77/143/EEC doaa not aet atandard  criteria for any 
of tha itama that  ahould ba taatad,  it ia thua naeaaaary to aat common 
minimum  taat  atandarda  in order to guarantee an equal  level of aafaty 
and environmental  performance  throughout  tha Community. 

Directive 91/225/EEC<3>  amending Directive 77/143/EEC, which waa 
recently  adopted by tha Council, ia aimed at tha establishment of a 
procedure for tha announcement of eeparata Directivaa for taating the 
atandard of tha itama  Mated  in Annex  M  of Directive 77/143/EEC. It 
alao eatabllahea a Technical Committee which givaa tha Commieeion tha 
mandata to adopt meaeurea in ordar to adjuat tha technical 
requirementa to progreaa. 

In  line with tha above, thia proposal  amenda Annex  ll to Diraetiva 
77/143/EEC aa amended by 88/449/IEC ao aa to batter  define the itama 
of tha vahiela braking system  that naad to be inspected  together  with 
oritari a  (objective and subjective) on tha reaaons for fa Mura of 
those  itama. 

(1) OJ No. L47, 18.02.1977, p. 47 
(2) OJ No. L222, 12.08.1988, p.  10 
(3) OJ NO. L103, 23.04.1991, p. 3 

- 3 -

jgçQRft of  thft  proposai 

The scope of  Directives 77/143/EEC  aa amended by 88/449/EEC  includea 
heavy  and  light  commercial  vehicles  (aa well  aa  taxia and  ambulances) 
but  doea  not  include paeeenger  cara. Paaaenger  care are  the aubjact  of 
an amending  propoaal  C0M(86)214(4>.  it  ia the Commission's  intention 
to pureue the amending  proposal  with  the utmost  urgency  ao aa  to 
ensure  that  ail  vehicles, both paaaenger  and commercial,  are  aubjact 
to the necessary  roadworthiness checks. 

vehicles covered  by  the original  Directive 77/143/EEC  are eubject  to a 
frequency  of  teat  at one year  after  the date on which  the vehicle  was 
first  used  and  there after  annually  (1,1,1,1  etc.).  Vehicles  subject 
to amending  Directive  88/449/EEC  (light  vans) have a teating 
periodicity  of  four  years after  the date on which  the vehicle  wae 
first  used,  and  thereafter  every  two years  (4,2,2,2  etc.).  The 
proposal  C0M(86)214 would  have passenger  cara being  firet  teeted  after 
3 years  in operation,  the next  after  5 yeara and  thereafter  annually 
(3,2,1,1,1  etc.). 

Member  states current  roadworthineaa schemes  largely encapaulate  the 
items  to be  tested  and  their  criteria  for  failure aa given  in Annex 
il. However,  for  those Member  statea  that  have yet  to adopt 
roadworthineaa schemes  for  the  lighter  vehidea  (both paeeenger  and 
commercial),  the  technical  annex  will  provide  a formula  for  the 
minimum  acceptable  atandard  in thia safety  critical  area. Tha  aim 
being  to give  a reasonable  aaauranca  that  vehicles, across  tha 
Community,  are maintained  in an adequate  road eafety  condition. 

(4) OJ  No. C  133, 31.05.1986. p. 3 

- 4 -

PROPOSAL POR A 

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

AMENDING DIRECTIVE 77/143/EEC 

ON THE APPROXIMATION OF THE LAWS OF THE 

MEMBER  STATES RELATING TO ROADWORTHINESS TESTS FOR 

MOTOR VEHICLES AND TNIIt TRAILERS 

^tPlPssmmmjisei-ee* 

/ 

Tha Council of tha European Commun!tlee, 

having regard to tha Treaty establishing the European Economic 
Community and in particular  Article 75 thereof, 

having regard to the proposal  from the Commission*1>, 

having regard to the opinion of the European Part lament<2), 

having  regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social  Committee*3*; 

whereaa, Council  Directive 77/143/EEC*4) aa amended by Directive 
88/449/EEC<&>  provides for the regular  roadworthineee testing of 
certain road vehiclee only  (buses, heavy and light gooda vehicles, 
heavy  trailere and aemi  trailere, taxi and ambulances) but not for 
passenger  cara; 

whereaa, through Council  Directive 9l/225/EEC<*>,  It ia the intention 
to eetabiiah proceduree for the announcement of aeparate Directivee 
for  teating the atandard of the Iteme  Meted  in Annex  M  of the above 
Directivee and alao to eetabiiah a Technical  Committee which glvea the 
Commies ion the mandate to adopt maaauree in order to adjust the 
technical  requiremonte to progress; 

(1) OJ N* C 
(2) OJ N" C 
(3) OJ N' C 
(4) OJ N' L 47, 18.02.1977, p. 47 
(5) OJ N* L 222, 12.08.1988, p.  10 
(6) OJ n' L 103. 23.04.1991, p. 3 

-  5 -

whereas, all  Member  States  have adopted  procedurea  for  teating  heavy 
commercial  vehicles with  regard  to the condition  of  the  braking 
system; 

whereaa, aeveral  Member  Statee  have national  rules  for  testing  the 
lighter  vehicles  including  paeeenger  cara  and  that  thoae rulee are 
commensurate with  the acharne outlined  in thia proposal; 

whereaa,  assessment  of  the  type  approval  procedurea  for  teating 
vehicle  braking  for  all  vehicle  typee shows  that  the  reproduction of 
those  procedures within  the roadworthineaa  teet  ie not  real letic; 

whereas, standards  that  are dictated  for  in aervice  teeting  ehould 

focus on  the maintenance  condition  of  the vehicle, and  thereby  ite 

ability  to meet  type approval  performance  standards, during  a 

relatively  a imp la, quick  and  inexpenaive  teat; 

whereas, at  thia  atage  it  ia not  practical  to aet  vaiuea  for  the 
required  braking  efficiencies, air  pressure  settings and  build  up 
times, etc. given  the variance  in Member  States  teat  equipments and 
procedures,  the aim of  brake performance  teeting must  be  that  a 
realistic  judgement  can be made  at  the  time of  teating  that  the 
vehicle,  irreapectlve  of  ita  laden condition  within  the bounde of  ita 
groaa weighta, would  be aafe on  the  road  and  that  If taatad  to tha 
technical  requirements of  the  type  approval  braking  Directive 
7i/320/EEC(7)  aa amended  then  it would  pass; 

whereaa, Member  States may  extend  the ecope of  the braking  teat  to 
include  vehiclea or  teat  Items outside  the acope of  thia  proposal; 

whereaa, Member  statee may  enhance  the eeverity of  the braking  teet  or 
increaae  the  frequency  of  teeting; 

Haa  adopted  thia  Directive: 

(7) OJ.  N#  L  202. 6.09.1971, p. 37. 

* 6 • 

Art ici*, l 

Directive 77/143/EEC  is hereby  amended aa follows: 

1. Para.  I of Annex  11 to Directive 77/143/EEC aa amended by Directive 

88/449/EEC, which concerna Braking Système  ia raplaced by 

" I,  BnKlng  tvstwit 

The following  iteme are to be included in the roadworthineaa 
teat of vehicle Braking Système. The vehicle will  fail the teat 
if any of tha Mated  defeeta to thoaa  Iteme are detected.  The 
teet  reaulta achieved during the cheeke of the braking ayateme 
ahali be equivalent  to the technical  requlremente of the braking 
Directive  7 1 / 3 2 0 / E E C .M 

• 7 -

terns to be checked/tested 

Reasons for fa Mure 

1.1 

Mechanical  condition and 
operat ion 

1.11  Footbrake pedal  pivot 

1.12  Pedal  condition and travel 

of the brake operating device 

1.13  Vacuum  pump or compressor 

and  reservoirs 

1.14  Low praeeure warning 

indicator or gauge 

too tight 
bearing worn 
exceaaive wear/piay 

exceasive or insufficient 
rwr¥9  travel 
brake control not releaaing 
correctly 
anti  ai ip provision on 
brake pedal  missing,  loose 
or worn smooth 

time taken to build up air 
pressure/vacuum for the 
effective operation of the 
brakee la excessive 
insufficient air pressure/ 
vacuum to give aaaiatance 
for at leaat  two applica 
tions of the brake after 
the warning  device haa 
operated (or gauge 
ahowa unaafe  reading) 
air  leak causing a 
not Icable drop  In preeaure 
or  audible air leaka 

malfunctioning or defective 
low preeeure  indicator/ 
air  preeeure  gauge 

- 8 -

1.15  Hand operated  brake 
control  valve 

1.16  Parking brake,  lever control, 

parking brake  ratchet 

1.17  Braking  valvea  (footvalvea, 

un loadere, governore, etc) 

1.18  Coup linge for  trailer  brakea 

cracked or damaged  control, 
excessive wear 
malfunction of  control 

valve 
control  insecure on valve 
spindle or  valve unit 

Inaecure 
connect lone  loose or  leak 
in aystem 
unaatiafactory operation 

parking brake ratchet  not 
holding  correctly 
exceeeive wear  at  lever 
pivot 
or  ratchet mechanism 
exceeeive movement  of  lever 
indicating  incorrect 
adjuatment 

damaged, exceeeive air 
leakage 
exceeeive dlacharge of oil 
from  compressor 
inaecure/inadequate 
mounting 
dlacharge of  hydraulic 
brake  fluid 

defective  (eolation tape or 
aelf eeallng valve 
inaecure/inadequate 
mounting 
exceeeive  leaka 

.  9 « 

1.19  Energy  etorage reeervoir or 

preeeure  tank 

1.20  Brake servo unite, maater 

cylinder  (hydraulic eyetame) 

1.21  Rigid brake pipee 

1.22  Flexible brake hoaes 

1.23  Brake cover Inge  (linings 

pada) 

damaged, corroded,  leaking 
drain device  Inoperative 
Insecure/inadequate 
mounting 

servo unit  ia defective or 
Ineffective 
maater  cylinder  defective 
or  leaking 
maater  cylinder 
Ineecure 
Insufficient  quantity of 

brake fluid 
master  cylinder  reeervoir 
cap miaeing 
brake  fluid warning  light 
illuminated or  detective 
incorrect  functioning of 
brake  fluid  level  warning 
device 

riek of  failure or  fracture 
leaka from pipea or 
connect lone to couplings 
damaged or exceeeively 
corroded 
mleplaced 

riak of  failure or  fracture 
damaged, chafing, brake 
hoaes too short, twlated 

leaka from hoaea or 
coup I Inge 
hoae bulging under  preeeure 
porosity 

exceeeive wear 
(where vieible) 
contaminated  (oil, greaae, 
etc) (where  vieible) 

• 10 -

1.24  Brake drume, brake diece 

1.25  Brake cablee, rode, 

Ievere,  linkage 

1.26  Brake actuatora  (including 

apring brakes) or 
hydraulic wheel  cytindere 

exceeeive wear, exceeeive 
ecoring, cracka,  inaecure 
or  fractured 
contaminated  (oil, greaae, 
etc) where  vieible 
back plate  ineecure 

cablee damaged, knotted 
exceeeively worn or 
corroded 
cable or  rod  joint  insecure 

cable guide  defective 
any  restriction  to free 
movement  of  the brake 
eyetem 
any abnormal  movement  of 
levers/rods/Ilnkage 
indicating 
maladjustment  or  excessive 
wear 

cracked or  damaged 
leaking 

Ineecure/inadequate 
mounting 
exceeeively  corroded 
exceeeive  travel  of 
operating piaton or 
diaphragm mechanism 
duet  protection cover 

mieelng or exeeeively 
damaged 

- 11 -

1.27  Load sensing  valve 

1.28  Automatic  alack  adjuatere 

defective  linkage 
incorrect  adjustment 
seized, not  working 
missing 

eel ted or  abnormal  movement 
Indicating exceeeive wear 
or wrong adjuatment 
defective 

1.29  Retarder  eyetem  (where 

ineecure connectors or 

fitted or  required) 

mountings 
defective 

1.3 

Service brake performance 
and efficiency 

1.31  Performance 

(progressively  increased 

to maximum  effort) 

1.32  Efficiency 

little or no braking effort 
on one or more wheele 
braking effort  from any 
wheel  le leee than 70 X 
of  the higheat  recorded 
effort  from another 
wheel  on  the same axle 
(where road teet  necessary 
then vehicles deviation 
from a straight  line on 
braking  ia exceeeive) 
no gradual  variation of 
brake effort  (grabbing) 
abnormal  time  lag  In brake 
operation at any wheel 
exceeeive fluctuation of 
brake effort  due to ovallty 
of diece or  drume 

brakee  inefficient, minimum 
performance not met 

-  12 -

1.4 

Secondary  (emergency) brake 
performance and efficiency 
(if met  by separate  eyetem) 

1.41  Performance 

1.42  Efficiency 

1.5 

Parking brake  performance 
and  efficiency 

1.51  Performance 

1.52  Efficiency 

brake(e)  inoperative on one 

side 
braking effort  from any 
wheel  ia  leee than 70 X of 
the higheat  recorded effort 
from another  wheel on  the 
same axle 
no gradual  variation of 
efficiency  (grabbing) 
automatic brake eyetem not 
working  in the case of 
trailere 

brake  inefficient, minimum 
performance not met 

brake  inoperative on one 
eide 

brake  Inefficient, minimum 
performance not met 

-  13 -. 

1.6 

Retarder or exhaust brake 

no gradual  variation of 

system performance 

efficiency  (retarder) 

defective 

1.7 

Anti-lock  braking 

malfunction of  the 

ant I-lock warning device 

defective 

• 1  *f -

Article  2 

1. Member  States shall  take  the measures necessary  to comply  with  this 

Directive before  1 January  1993.  They  shall  forthwith  inform  the 

Commission  thereof. 

2. When  the Member  States adopt  the provisions referred  to  In 

paragraph  1, these  shall  contain  a reference  to thia Directive or 

ehall  be accompanied  by euch a reference  at  the time of  their 

official  publication.  The  form of  this reference ehall  be  decided 

by  the Member  Statee. 

3. Member  Statee ehall  communicate  to the Commission  the provielona  of 

national  law which  they adopt  In the  field governed  by  this 

Directive. 

Article 3 

Thle Directive  le addressed  to the Member  States. 

Done at Bruaeele, 

For  the Council 

The Preeldent 

Competitiveness  and  Employment  Impact  Statement 

I. What  is the main  reason  for  introduction  this measure? 

It  is recognised  as being  of  vital  importance  that  vehicles  are 

maintained  in such  a condition  so aa  to eneure  that  they  are 

safe  and  roadworthy. This  proposal  formaliaee  the key  iteme of 

the  vehicles braking  ayatem  that  need  to be  teeted  and  inspected 

giving  criteria  (both  objective  and  aubjective) on  the  reasons 

for  acceptance  or  failure  of  those  itema. The  proposal  aims at 

gaining  a  reasonable  assurance  that  vehiclea, across  the 

Community,  are maintained  in an acceptable  road  aafety 

condit ion. 

Il• 

Features  of  the  business  in  question 

All  users  of  vehicles,  the  subject  of  Directive  77/143/EEC  aa 

amended.  Also,  garages,  technical  serviced  and  agencies  charged 

with  vehicle  roadworthiness  testing.  As  things  etand  at  the 

moment, only  commercial  vehicles,  including  taxis and  ambulances 

are  covered  by  roadworthiness  Directives. The  amendment  to 

include  passenger  cars within  a Community  roadworthiness  scheme 

remains  on  the  table of  the Council. Until  this  amendment  is 

adopted  this proposal  on  vehicle  brake  teating  will  not  affect 

passenger  cars  nor  those  small  businesses  reeponeible  for  their 

operation  and  maintenance. 

M l.  What  obligations  does  the measure  impose  direct I y pn ftuaJjMSS? 

Member  States  current  roadworthiness  schemee  largely  encapaulate 

the  items  to be  tested  and  their  criteria  for  failure  aa  given 

in Annex  II. However,  for  those Member  States  that  have  yet  to 

adopt  roadworthiness  schemes  for  the  lighter  vehiclee  (both 

passenger  and  commercial),  the  technical  Annex  M  will  provide  a 

formula  for  the minimum  acceptable  etandard  in thia  aafety 

critical  area. However,  as yet  passenger  cara  will  be  unaffected 

by  this proposal  until  they  are  included  within  the 

roadworthiness  scheme. 

IV.  What  Indirect  obligations are national, regional  or  local 

authorities  URslY to Impose on business? 

Implementation of  the obtigationa aa deecribed  in ill. 

v. Are thgre any asocial provisions  in rtapsct of SMS't? 

Where  roadworthineee teeting  ie delegated  to private garagee it 
ia  likely  that  the equipment  and procedures that  those garages 
adopt  in teeting the vehiciee' brakee will  be  largely uneffected 
by  thie propoeal. 

vi. 

What  is the  likely affection: 

«) The coffipstmvenaas ftt.fruainssa 

Thia propoeal  will aqua M ae  the conditione of competition by 
etandardiaing on  the type of  teet  to be  applied. 

b) fqiPlQvment 

Neutral 

v u.  Have the relevant representative organisât lone freen consulted? 

All Member  Statee roadworthineee teeting author it lee, the 
coordinating  body of  roadworthineea  teeting agenciee  (CITA),  the 
European Garage Equipment  association, major  private  teeting 
organisations,  the European Motor Manufacturing  induatry  (CCMC 
and CLCA) and  the European Freight Organiaations have been 
coneuited. 

-  /13-

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(91) 243 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

07 

Catalogue number : CB-CO-91-285-EN-C 

ISBN 92-77-73774-3 

Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg