Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 96/53/EC laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic"
Date: 2001-01-24
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: commercial vehicle, inland transport, international transport, motor vehicle, technical standard, weight and size

C 123/76

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

25.4.2001

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European
Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 96/53/EC laying down for certain road
vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and
international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic’

(2001/C 123/19)

On 8 May 2000 the Council decided, under Article 71 of the Treaty establishing the European
Community, to consult the Economic and Social Committee on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society, which was responsible for
preparing the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 7 December 2000. The rapporteur
was Mr Kielman.

At its 378th plenary session (meeting of 24 January 2001) the Economic and Social Committee adopted
the following opinion by 50 vote to two, with two abstentions.

1.

Introduction

1.1.
On 28 September 1995 the Council of Ministers
discussed a Commission proposal for a Council Directive
laying down maximum authorised weights and dimensions
for road vehicles over 3,5 tonnes circulating within the
Community.

1.8.
On the basis of this report the Council of Ministers, at
its meeting of 29 March 1999, invited the Commission to
submit a proposal for an amendment to Directive 96/53/EC
aimed at harmonising the maximum authorised dimensions of
rigid buses and coaches in national and international transport.

Among other things, this proposal laid down a har-
1.2.
monised maximum length of 12 metres for all rigid motor
vehicles in the European Union.

2. General comments

1.3.
However, several Member States wished to permit rigid
buses with a maximum length of 15 metres. There was
therefore no majority for setting either a 12 metre limit for all
rigid vehicles or a 15 metre limit for rigid buses in the
Community.

1.4.
Parts of the Commission proposal were adopted as
Directive 96/53/EC, but no maximum dimensions for buses
were laid down.

For international transport in the EU as a whole, it is
1.5.
simply guaranteed that rigid buses of up to 12 m in length and
articulated buses of up to 18 m can circulate freely.

1.6.
Thus different maximum limits continue to apply for
national transport. The Council therefore felt that further
consideration should be given to harmonising the maximum
length of rigid buses and coaches at a limit greater than 12 m
throughout the EU.

1.7.
At the Council’s request the Commission thus prepared
a report on the use of buses and coaches of up to 15 m in
length, covering all aspects arising from the use of rigid buses
and coaches of over 12 m in length.

Since Directive 96/53/EC harmonises the length of
2.1.
buses only for international transport, the result is that for
national bus transport there are only national rules, which
have developed independently in different ways. This implies
that the free circulation in the Community of buses with a
length of more than 12 metres is not guaranteed, although
such buses are in common use in various Member States.

As regards the safety of passengers,

2.2.
it should be
pointed out that there is no evidence that rigid buses with a
maximum length of 15 metres would be less safe than similar
buses of no more than 12 metres.

The Commission states that in certain circumstances rigid 15-
metre-long buses would even be safer than articulated 18-
metre-long buses.

2.3.
Directives 96/53/EC and 97/27/EC on weights and
dimensions of road vehicles lay down requirements for all
vehicles to be able to turn in a swept circle with a prescribed
outer radius and inner radius. On that basis the Commission
concluded that it would be unjustified to introduce stricter
rules for rigid buses of over 12 metres in length.

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Many designs of rigid 15-metre-long buses do indeed have a
greater outswing when turning a corner than do 12 m rigid
buses and 18 m articulated buses. Some precautions at bus
stops would need to be taken for their use.

should be rejected. The Commission’s argument is that this
requirement is included to ensure that manufacturers keep to
the weight limits when designing vehicles and that the vehicles
do not damage existing roads.

2.4.
The Commission proposes that buses longer than
12 metres should have three or more axles, in view of their
higher maximum total weight. The length of buses with two
axles would then be limited in effect to 12 metres.

2.5.
The Commission also proposes a maximum length of
15 metres including skibox for rigid buses in national and
international transport.

2.6.

For buses with trailers the current rules are unclear.

The Commission proposal envisages removing any confusion
by adopting a maximum length of 18,75 metres for bus and
trailer combinations. This corresponds to the maximum length
permitted for lorry and trailer combinations throughout the
EU.

2.7.
It should be mentioned that the Committee issued an
from the
opinion on 27 January 1999 on the ‘Report
Commission on the use of buses and coaches of up to 15 m in
length’ (1).

3.2.
However, weight limits and axle loads for vehicles
in international transport have already been laid down at
Community level. Exceptions to the weight limits are allowed
for national transport. The Commission thinks it necessary,
with reference to proper functioning of the cabotage market,
to harmonise by making a third axle obligatory for vehicles
longer than 12 m.

The Committee takes the view that this part of the
3.3.
Commission proposal is superfluous. In any case, countries
which allow at national level vehicles with higher weights than
those agreed at Community level will discover the disadvantage
for themselves, since cabotage transport in other countries will
be impossible; while countries allowing vehicles with weights
equal to or lower than the Community limit will be able to
carry out cabotage transport in other countries. The problem
will therefore solve itself.

2.8.
In this opinion the Committee opts for permitting a
maximum length of 15 metres for rigid vehicles throughout
the EU, without any additional requirements, so that all
vehicles with a length of 12,75 m, 13,5 m or 13,75 m are
permitted regardless of the number of axles.

The Committee takes the view that the Commission’s
3.4.
idea that all buses, regardless of length, must comply with the
maximum outswing limit laid down in Directive 97/27/EC in
order to qualify for type-approval is incompatible with its
proposal to permit 15-metre-long buses in the single market.

2.9.
The Committee is happy with the Commission’s pro-
posal to introduce a transitional period up to and including
31 December 2009 for vehicles used in national transport
which do not meet the criteria laid down in the draft directive.
After 31 December 2009 these vehicles would no longer be
allowed to circulate.

3.

Specific comments

3.1.
In line with its opinion of 27 January 1999, the
Committee takes the view that the Commission’s proposal to
require vehicles longer than 12 m to have three axles

(1) COM(97) 499 final — ESC Opinion of 27 January 1999, OJ

C 101, 12.4.1999, p. 22.

3.5.
It is clear that 15-metre-long buses cannot meet the
requirements for outswing of buses as laid down in Directive
97/27/EC. Only buses with a maximum length of 14,6 m
including skibox comply with them. This means that all 15-
metre-long buses currently in use should disappear from
the market. The Committee advocates amending Directive
97/27/EC in such a way that the outswing requirements allow
the 15-metre-long bus to remain in circulation.

Finally,

the Committee can agree with the Com-
3.6.
mission’s observation that increasing the maximum length of
buses in some Member States will mean that fewer buses are
needed to transport the same number of passengers, with a
corresponding reduction in the number of journeys — which
would be welcome in both environmental and economic
terms.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

25.4.2001

4.

Summary and conclusions

The Committee takes the view that the Commission’s
4.1.
proposal to arrive at a harmonised maximum length for rigid
buses in both national and international transport is essentially
a commendable one.

4.2.

Thus the Committee can endorse the following aspects:

— extending the scope of Directive 96/53/EC to cover

national passenger transport;

— laying down a maximum length of 15 metres (including

skibox) for rigid buses and coaches;

— laying down a maximum length of 18,75 metres for

buses with trailers;

— stipulating a transitional period of nine years.

The Committee takes the view that the following parts

4.3.
of the Commission proposal should be modified:

— The requirement for buses longer than 12 metres to have
three axles. In view of the internationally agreed weights
as laid down in Directive 96/53/EC, this requirement is
unnecessary. If the scope of the Directive were extended
to national transport, manufacturers themselves could
decide — within legal requirements — whether they
prefer a two-axle or a three-axle design.

— The requirement for 15-metre-long buses to comply with
the maximum outswing specifications laid down in
Directive 97/27/EC. The Committee feels that,
if the
Commission thinks that the 15-metre-long bus should be
harmonised throughout the EU, then Directive 97/27/EC
should be amended in accordance with national outswing
specifications, so that the 15-metre bus can continue to
be used.

Brussels, 24 January 2001.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS