Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 91/671/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to compulsory use of safety belts in vehicles of less than 3.5 tonnes
Date: 2000-12-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: approximation of laws, common transport policy, motor car, safety device, transport safety

C 96 E/330

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

27.3.2001

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council
Directive 91/671/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
compulsory use of safety belts in vehicles of less than 3,5 tonnes

(2001/C 96 E/29)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(2000) 815 final (cid:151) 2000/0315(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission on 7 December 2000)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 71(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of
Committee,

the Economic and Social

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty,

Whereas:

(4) Future developments

should point

greater
stringency in the use of
thus moving
closer to the principle of compulsory use referred to in
Article 2(2) of the Directive.

such devices,

towards

(5) With Council Decision 97/836/EC (4),

the Community
acceded to the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (ECE) Agreement concerning the adoption of
uniform technical prescriptions
for wheeled vehicles,
equipment and parts which can be fitted and/or used
on wheeled vehicles and the conditions for reciprocal
recognition of approvals granted on the basis of those
prescriptions.

(6) With its accession to the Agreement,

the Commission
regulations established
acceded to a defined list of
pursuant to that Agreement,
including that concerning
the approval of restraining devices for child occupants
of power-driven vehicles (child restraints).

(1) Article 153 of the Treaty requires that in order to provide
a high level of consumer protection, the Community shall
contribute to protecting the health, safety and economic
interests of consumers.

(7) Research has shown that the use of child restraints can
make a substantial contribution to reducing the severity of
injury in the event of a crash. The risk of severe crash
injury is seven times higher for unrestrained children than
for restrained children.

(2) In its resolution of 13 March 1984 (1)

the European
Parliament made the compulsory use of safety belts on
all roads, whether rural or urban, a priority measure. In
its resolution of 18 February 1986 (2),
the European
Parliament stressed the need for making the wearing of
safety belts compulsory for all passengers,
including
children, except in public service vehicles.

the laws of

(3) Council Directive 91/671/EEC of 16 December 1991 on
the approximation of
the Member States
relating to compulsory use of safety belts in vehicles of
less than 3,5 tonnes (3) provides for the compulsory use of
child restraints on seats fitted with safety belts. That
Directive does not specify the type of child restraint
system that would be appropriate and allows for the
carriage of children without being restrained by an appro-
priate child restraint where such a restraint is unavailable.

(8) The number of

fatally injured child car casualties is
relatively small when compared to child pedestrian or
cyclist
fatalities. The level of knowledge about good
child restraint protection is now so advanced that poor
design becomes increasingly difficult to accept.

(9) Commission

Directives

96/36/EC (5),

96/37/EC (6),
96/38/EC (7) in combination require that new vehicles in
categories M and N (except those vehicles in categories
M2 and M3 which are designed for the carriage of
standing passengers) must be equipped with safety belts,
appropriate seats and safety belt anchorages. As safety
belts are provided in these vehicles it
is considered
reasonable that seated passengers should be required to
use them.

(1) OJ C 104, 6.4.1984, p. 38.
(2) OJ C 68, 24.3.1986, p. 35.
(3) OJ L 373, 31.12.1991, p. 26.

(4) OJ L 346, 17.12.1997, p. 78.
(5) OJ L 178, 17.7.1996, p. 15.
(6) OJ L 186, 25.7.1996, p. 28.
(7) OJ L 187, 26.7.1996, p. 95.

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(10) Passengers in categories M2 and M3 vehicles should be
made aware of the need to wear their safety belts when
the vehicle is in motion,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Directive 91/671/EEC is hereby amended as follows:

1. The title is replaced by the following: (cid:145)on the approximation
of the laws of the Member States relating to compulsory use
of safety belts and child restraint systems in vehicles(cid:146).

(a) an integral class comprising a combination of straps or
flexible components with a securing buckle, adjusting
device, attachments, and in some cases a supplementary
chair and/or impact shield, capable of being anchored by
means of its own integral strap or straps;

(b) a non-integral class that may comprise a partial restraint,
which, when used in conjunction with an adult belt,
which passes around the body of the child or restrains
the device in which the child is placed, forms a complete
child restraint system.

___________
(1) OJ L 42, 23.2.1970, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 220, 29.8.1977, p. 95.

2. Article 1 and 2 are replaced by the following:

Article 2

(cid:145)Article 1

1.
This Directive shall apply to all motor vehicles in
categories M1, M2, M3 and N1, N2 and N3 as defined in
Annex I to Directive 70/156/EEC (1), intended for use on the
road, having at least four wheels and a maximum design
speed exceeding 25 km/h.

2.

For the purpose of this Directive:

(cid:151) the definitions for restraint systems,

including safety
belts and child restraints and the components thereof
to Directive
are those
77/541/EEC (2) with regard to vehicles in categories
M1 and N1.

contained within Annex I

(cid:151) (cid:147)rearward-facing(cid:148) means facing in the direction opposite

to the normal direction of travel of the vehicle.

3.

Child restraints fall into five (cid:147)mass groups(cid:148):

(a) Group 0 for children of a mass less than 10 kg;

(b) Group 0+ for children of a mass less than 13 kg;

(c) Group I for children of a mass from 9 kg to 18 kg;

1.
For M1 and N1 vehicles, Member States shall require
that all occupants of vehicles being used on the road shall
wear restraint systems where provided. Children of 12 years
of age or older may wear the approved adult safety belt.

system,

separate

Children under 12 years of age shall be restrained by a child
to the
restraint
adult-type safety belt, and suitable for the child’s mass as
is defined in Article 1(3). Where a child is less than 12 years
of age but whose mass is greater than 36 kg then an adult
safety belt may be worn.

additional

from or

Children under three years of age shall not be transported in
M1 vehicles, other than taxis, that do not provide appro-
priate child restraint systems.

Children shall not be transported in the front passenger seat
of a vehicle with a front passenger air bag using a rear-
facing safety seat unless the air bag has been de-activated.

Where a child restraint system is used it shall be approved
to the standards of UN-ECE Regulation 44/03, its equivalent
or any other subsequent adaptation thereto.

2.
For M2, M3, N2 and N3 vehicles, Member States shall
require that all drivers and occupants of vehicles on the
road wear the safety belts provided.

Passengers shall be informed of the requirement to wear
safety belts whenever they are seated and the vehicle is in
motion. They shall be informed in one or more of the
following ways:

(d) Group II for children of mass from 15 kg to 25 kg;

(cid:151) by the driver

(e) Group III for children of mass from 22 kg to 36 kg.

(cid:151) by the conductor, courier or official designated as group

leader

4.

Child restraint systems may be of two classes:

(cid:151) by audio-visual means (e.g. video)

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(cid:151) by signs

that
displayed at every seating position.(cid:146)

and/or pictograms

are prominently

their official publication.
reference on the occasion of
Member States shall determine how such reference is to be
made.

3. Article 4 is deleted.

Article 2

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive by 1 January 2002. They shall forthwith inform the
Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain
a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a

Article 3

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following
that of
the European
Communities.

its publication in the Official

Journal of

Article 4

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.