Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on passenger hand-holds on two-wheel motor vehicles (Codified Version)
Date: 2003-03-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: approval, codification of EU law, marketing standard, safety device, two-wheeled vehicle

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 27.3.2003
COM(2003) 145 final

2003/0058 (COD)

Proposal for a

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on passenger hand-holds on two-wheel motor vehicles

(Codified Version)

(presented by the Commission)

1.

2.

3.

4.

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

In  the  context  of  a  people’s  Europe,  the  Commission  attaches  great  importance  to
simplifying  and  clarifying  Community  law  so  as  to  make  it  clearer  and  more
accessible to the ordinary citizen, thus giving him new opportunities and the chance
to make use of the specific rights it gives him.

This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous provisions that have been amended
several times, often quite substantially, remain scattered, so that they must be sought
partly  in  the  original  instrument  and  partly  in  later  amending  ones.  Considerable
research work, comparing many different instruments, is thus needed to identify the
current rules.

For  this  reason  a  codification  of  rules  that  have  frequently  been  amended  is  also
essential if Community law is to be clear and transparent.

On  1  April  1987  the  Commission  therefore  decided1  to  instruct  its  staff  that  all
legislative acts should be codified after no more than ten amendments, stressing that
this  is  a minimum requirement and that  departments  should  endeavour  to  codify  at
even  shorter  intervals  the  texts  for  which  they  are  responsible,  to  ensure  that  the
Community rules were clear and readily understandable.

The  Conclusions  of 
the  Edinburgh  European  Council
(December 1992) confirmed this2, stressing the importance of codification as it offers
certainty as to the law applicable to a given matter at a given time.

the  Presidency  of 

Codification  must  be  undertaken  in  full  compliance  with  the  normal  Community
legislative procedure.

Given  that  no  changes  of  substance  may  be  made  to  the  instruments  affected  by
codification, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have agreed,
by  an  interinstitutional  agreement  dated  20  December  1994,  that  an  accelerated
procedure may be used for the fast-track adoption of codified instruments.

is 

this  proposal 

to  undertake  codification  of  Council
The  purpose  of 
Directive 93/32/EEC of 14 June 1993 on passenger hand-holds on two-wheel motor
vehicles3. The new Directive will supersede the acts incorporated in it4; this proposal
fully preserves, the content of the acts being  codified and hence does no more than
bring  them  together  with  only  such  formal  amendments  as  are  required  by  the
codification exercise itself.

COM(1987) 868 PV
See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions.
Entered in the legislative programme for 2002.
Annex II, Part A of this proposal.

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5.

The codification proposal was drawn up on the basis of a preliminary consolidation,
in  all  official  languages,  of  Directive  93/32/EEC  and  the  instrument  amending  it,
carried out by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, by
means  of  a  data-processing  system.  Where  the  Articles  have  been  given  new
numbers, the correlation  between the old and the new  numbers  is  shown  in  a  table
contained in Annex III to the codified Directive.

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(cid:1) 93/32/EEC

Proposal for a

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of […]

on passenger hand-holds on two-wheel motor vehicles

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article
95 thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 92/61/EEC of 30 June 1992 relating to the type-approval
of two- or three-wheel motor vehicles1,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee2,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty3,

Whereas:

(1) 

Council Directive 93/32/EEC of 14 June 1993, on passenger hand-holds on two-wheel
motor  vehicles4,  has  been  substantially  amended5.  In  the  interests  of  clarity  and
rationality the said Directive should be codified.

(cid:1) 

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OJ L 225, 10. 8. 1992, p. 72. Directive as last amended by Directive 2000/7/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council (OJ L 106 of 3.5.2000, p. 1).
OJ C […], […], p. […].
OJ C […], […], p. […].
OJ L 188, 29.7.1993, p. 28. Directive amended by Commission Directive 1999/24/EC (OJ L 104, 21.4.1999, p. 16).
See Annex II, Part A.

4

                                                
(2) 

The  internal  market  comprises  an  area  without  internal  frontiers  in  which  the  free
movement  of  goods,  persons,  services  and  capital is  ensured.  The  measures  required
for that purpose need to be adopted.

(cid:1) 93/32/EEC Recital (1)

(3)  With  regard  to  their  passenger  hand-holds,  in  each  Member  State  two-wheel  motor
vehicles  must  display  certain  technical  characteristics  laid  down  by  mandatory
provisions  which  differ  from  one  Member  State  to  another.  As  a  result  of  their
differences, such provisions constitute a barrier to trade within the Community.

(cid:1) 93/32/EEC Recital (2)

(4) 

These  obstacles  to  the  operation  of  the  internal  market  may  be  removed  if  the  same
requirements are adopted by all Member States in place of their national rules.

(cid:1) 93/32/EEC Recital (3)

(cid:1) 93/32/EEC Recital (4)
(adapted)

(5) 

It is necessary to draw up harmonised requirements concerning passenger hand-holds
on  two-wheel  motor  vehicles  in  order  to  enable  the  type-approval  and  component
type-approval  procedures  laid  down  in  Directive  92/61/EEC  to  be  applied  for  each
type of such vehicle. (cid:2) That Directive will be replaced by Directive 2002/24/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council6 with effect from 9 November 2003. (cid:3)

(6) 

Given  the  scale  and  impact  of  the  action  proposed  in  the  sector  in  question,  the
Community  measures  covered  by  this  Directive  are  necessary,  indeed  essential,  to
achieve the aim in view, which is to establish Community vehicle type-approval. That
aim cannot be adequately achieved by the Member States individually.

(cid:1) 93/32/EEC Recital (5)

(7) 

This  Directive  should  be  without  prejudice  to  the  obligations  of  the  Member  States
relating  to  the  time-limits  for  transposition  into  national  law  and  application  of  the
Directives set out in Annex II, Part B,

(cid:1) 

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OJ L 124, 9.5.2002, p. 1.

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

(cid:1) 93/32/EC

(cid:1) 93/32/EC (adapted)

This Directive (cid:2) shall apply (cid:3) to passenger hand-holds of all types of two-wheel vehicles
as defined in Article 1 of Directive [92/61/EEC.]

Article 1

(cid:1) 93/32/EC

Article 2

The  procedure  for  the  granting  of  component  type-approval  in  respect  of  passenger
hand-holds  on  a  type  of  two-wheel  motor  vehicle  and  the  conditions  governing  the  free
movement  of  said  vehicles  shall  be  as 
in  [Chapters  II  and  III  of
Directive 92/61/EEC.]

laid  down 

Article 3

Any amendments necessary to adapt the requirements of Annex I to technical progress shall
be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in  Article  13  of  Council
Directive 70/156/EEC7.

(cid:1) 93/32/EC (adapted)

Article 4

Member  States  shall  communicate  to  the  Commission  the  texts  of  the  main  provisions  of
national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

(cid:1) 

Article 5

Directive 93/32/EEC, as amended by the Directive specified in Annex II, Part A, is repealed,
without  prejudice  to  the  obligations  of  the  Member  States  relating  to  the  time-limits  for
transposition into national law and application of the Directives set out in Annex II, Part B.

7

OJ L 42, 23. 2. 1970, p. 1.

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References  to  the  repealed  Directive  shall  be  construed  as  references  to  this  Directive  and
shall be read in accordance with the correlation table set out in Annex III.

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in
the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 6

(cid:1) 93/32/EEC Art. 5

Article 7

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, […]

For the European Parliament
The President
[…]

For the Council
The President
[…]

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(cid:1) 93/32/EEC Annex

ANNEX I

1.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Where provision is made for carriage of a passenger, the vehicle must be fitted with a
passenger  hand-hold  system.  That  must  take  the  form  of  a  strap  or  a  hand-grip  or
hand-grips.

1.1.

Strap

(cid:1) 1999/24/EC Art.1

The strap must be fitted to the seat or to other parts connected to the frame in such a
way that it may easily be used by the passenger. The strap and its attachment must be
designed  in  such  a  way  that  they  withstand,  without  snapping,  a  vertical  traction
force  of  2 000 N  applied  statically  to  the  centre  of  the  surface  of  the  strap  at  a
maximum pressure of 2 Mpa.

1.2.

Hand-grip

(cid:1) 93/32/EEC

If a hand-grip is used it must be close to the saddle and symmetrical to the median
longitudinal plane of the vehicle.

This hand-grip must be designed in such a  way that it is able to withstand, without
snapping,  a  vertical  traction  force  of  2 000 N  applied  statically  to  the  centre  of  the
surface of the hand-grip at a maximum pressure of 2 MPa.

If  two  hand-grips  are  used  they  must  be  fitted  one  on  each  side  in  a  symmetrical
manner.

These  hand-grips  must  be  designed  in  such  a  way  that  each  is  able  to  withstand,
without snapping, a vertical traction force of 1 000 N applied statically to the centre
of the surface of the hand grip at a maximum pressure of 1 MPa.

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Appendix 1

Information document in respect of passenger hand-holds on a type of two-wheel motor
vehicle

(to be attached to the application for component type-approval if this is submitted separately
from the application for vehicle type-approval)

Order No (assigned by the applicant): .........................................................................................

The  application  for  component  type-approval  in  respect  of  passenger  hand-holds  on  a  two-
wheel motor vehicle must contain the information set out under the following points in Annex
II to Council Directive 92/61/EEC:

– 

Part A, sections:

– 

– 

– 

0.1

0.2

0.4 to 0.6;

– 

Part B:

– 

1.4 to 1.4.2. included.

(cid:1) 1999/24/EC Art.1

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(cid:1) 93/32/EEC

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(cid:4) 

ANNEX II

Part A

Repealed Directive with its successive amendment
(referred to in Article 5)

Council Directive 93/32/EEC

(OJ L 188, 29.7.1993, p. 28)

Commission Directive 1999/24/EC

(OJ L 104, 21.4.1999, p. 16)

Part B

List of the time-limits for transposition into national law and application
(referred to in Article 5)

Directive

93/32/EEC

1999/24/EC

Time-limit for
transposition

14 December 1993

31 December 1999

_____________

Date of application

14 June 19951

1 January 20002

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2

In conformity with the third subparagraph of Article 4(1) of Directive 93/32/EEC:
"From  the  date  in  the  first  subparagraph  Member  States  may  not,  for  reasons  connected  with  the
passenger  hand-holds,  prohibit  the  initial  entry  into  service  of  vehicles  which  conform  to  this
Directive".
In conformity with Article 2 of Directive 1999/24/EC:

"1. With effect  from  1  January  2000,  Member  States  shall  not,  on  grounds  relating  to  passenger

hand-holds:
– 

– 

refuse, in respect of a  type  of  two-wheel  vehicle  or  a  type  of  passenger  hand-hold,  to
grant EC type-approval,
prohibit the  registration,  sale  or  entry  into  service  of  two-wheel  motor  vehicles  or  the
sale or entry into service of passenger hand-holds,

2.

if the passenger hand-holds comply with the requirements of Directive 93/32/EEC, as amended
by this Directive.
With effect  from 1 July 2000, Member States shall refuse to  grant  EC  type-approval  for  any
type of two-wheel  motor vehicle on grounds  relating  to  passenger  hand-holds  or  any  type  of
passenger  hand-hold,  if  the  requirements  of  Directive  93/32/EEC,  as  amended  by  this
Directive, are not fulfilled."

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ANNEX III

CORRELATION TABLE

Directive 93/32/EEC

This Directive

Articles 1 – 3

Article 4(1)

Article 4(2)

–

–

Article 5

Annex

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

–

–

Articles 1 – 3

–

Article 4

Article 5

Article 6

Article 7

Annex I

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Annex II

Annex III

_____________

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