Amended proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on a transparent system of harmonised rules for restrictions on heavy goods vehicles involved in international transport on designated roads (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty)
Date: 2003-08-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: approximation of laws, commercial vehicle, international road transport, traffic control, traffic regulations

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 1.8.2003
COM(2003) 473 final

1998/0096 (COD)

Amended proposal for a

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on a transparent system of harmonised rules for restrictions on heavy goods vehicles
involved in international transport on designated roads

(presented by the Commission pursuant to
Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty)

A.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

Principles

On 25 May 1998 the Commission submitted to the Council a proposal for a Directive
on a transparent system of harmonised rules for restrictions on heavy goods vehicles
involved  in  international  transport  on  designated  roads  (COM(1998)115  final  –
98/0096 (SYN)).1

On  9  September  1999  the  Economic  and  Social  Committee  adopted  an  opinion
giving a cautious welcome to the proposal.

On 16 September 1999 the Committee of the Regions adopted an opinion  rejecting
the Commission proposal considering the needs of the citizen overrode those of the
road transport industry.

The  proposal proved to be  very  controversial.  The  Commission  therefore  adopted,
on  22  November  2000,  a  proposal  amending  the  proposal  of  25  May  1998
(COM(2000)759 final)2.

This amended proposal contained the following new elements:

(cid:1)  it stated more clearly that it dealt only with international lorry traffic on the Trans-
European road Network (TEN-R). Member States will continue to have the right
to set unlimited driving bans both for all roads other than the TEN-R network and
for all national traffic.

(cid:1)  it increased the time when driving bans are automatically permitted on the TEN-R
road network to a period of 24 hours, with an extension during the Summer period
which enabled Member States to have driving  bans on  the  TEN-R road  network
commencing  at  07:00  on  Saturdays  in  Summer  and,  if  desired,  lasting
uninterrupted until 22:00 on Sundays. The adoption of such limits ensured that the
proposal  did  not  conflict  with  most  existing  national  driving  bans,  whilst
simultaneously  stabilising  the  situation  on  driving  bans  in  the  EU.  It  therefore
highlighted  the  need  for  accession  negotiations  to  examine  the  driving  bans  in
future Member States.

(cid:1)  it  clearly  stated  in  an  annex  which  national  public  holidays  are  automatically
covered  by  driving  bans.  Member  States  would  continue  to  have  exclusive
competence  to  choose  their  national  holidays.  The  annex  would  be  revised
automatically following notification by a Member State.

6.

On 2 July the European Parliament adopted a series of amendments at first reading.
The  European Parliament now  agrees with  the  main elements of  the  Commission’s
amended proposal. The Commission has indicated in broad lines its position on the
amendments, indicating which groups of amendments it could accept either in full or
in  principle,  in  some  cases  subject  to  minor  redrafting  and  those  that  could  not  be
accepted. This position is reflected in the changes made to the amended proposal.

1
2 

OJ C 198, 24.6.1998, p. 17
OJ C 120E, 24.4.2001, p. 3

2

                                                
B

European Parliament amendments

Of  the  18  Amendments  adopted  by  the  European  Parliament  at  first  reading,  16  have  been
accepted by the Commission. They have been incorporated as follows:

I

Amendments accepted

Recitals

Amendment 1 elaborates the negative consequences of the current situation and clarifies the
text. (Recital 3)

Amendment 3 provides a further justification for the need for the  Directive, namely that the
legal certainty of the Community principles of free movement of goods as well as the freedom
to provide transport services are put into question. (Recital 5)

Amendment 5 elaborates in greater detail the kind of information system, which flows from
the proposed directive. (Recital 12)

Amendment 6 addresses the need for comparative statistics for the TENs network to facilitate
the  production  of  the  Commission’s  annual  report.  These  statistics  would  also  enable  the
Commission to gain an overview of developments on the network. (Recital 13)

Amendment  7  acknowledges  the  social  cost  of  driving  bans  for  hauliers  from  peripheral
Member States, without prescribing what measures should be taken. The Commission accepts
in principle the reasoning behind this amendment. (Recital 17)

Amendment  8  provides  a  concrete  acknowledgement  of  the  difficulties  which  driving  bans
can  impose  on  intraCommunity  transport  and  a  practical  solution  to  what  is  becoming  an
increasing  problem.  In  addition  the  Commission  sees  the  benefits  of  such  measures  to
facilitate compliance with Community rules on driving time and rest periods. (Recital 18)

Article 1

Amendment 9 elaborates the purpose of the proposal in line with the objective to be achieved,
namely provision of information to those who will be affected by driving bans.

Article 2

Amendment  10  completes  and  clarifies  the  definition.  It  avoids  a  perverse  effect  of  some
national weekend ban legislation by ensuring that trailers are not left abandoned in unsecured
parking lots over the weekend while the tractor unit makes for home  and  returns to retrieve
the trailer only after the ban is over. (first indent)

Amendment  11  defines  in  greater  detail  the  information  system  to  be  established  and
stipulates  links  with  national  systems.  As  this  amendment  introduces  a  definition  which  is
largely  taken  up  by  Amendment  17  which  the  Commission  also  accepted,  the  Commission
has decided to concentrate both within a separate Article, namely Article 5. The Commission
envisages a regularly updated website to which all interested parties would have access. This
would facilitate and promote transparency

3

Article 3

Amendment 14 makes clear again that the ambit of the proposal and the possible exemptions
only concern the TEN-road network.(paragraph 7, introduction)

Amendment 15 usefully enlarges and elaborates the concept of high traffic density mentioned
in the Commission text. (paragraph 7, point (a))

Amendment  16  specifies  two  special  circumstances  –  natural  disasters  and  urgent  public
safety  reasons  -    which  fall  under  the  current  category  of  special  weather  conditions.  This
improves the text’s clarity and as such can be accepted. (paragraph 7, point (d))

Article 5

Amendment 17 specifies the remit of a European road information system, and takes up once
again the definition set out in Amendment 11. As mentioned above, this Article will now be
dedicated to the system proposed by the Amendments. The Commission has however limited
the remit of  this information system to  the scope  of the  Directive,  as  to  do  otherwise  could
lead to major additional workload.

Article 10 (now Article 11)

Amendments  19  and  20  update  the  timing  of  the  transposition  and  entry  into  force  of  the
proposed Directive. The Commission can accept these amendments in principle. (paragraphs
1 and 3);

Annex I

Amendment  21  includes  the  transport  of  perishable  goods,  namely  fresh  flowers  or
horticultural products within the  exempted  transport operations Annex.  It is evident that  the
carriage of such produce should not be hindered by driving bans.

II 

Rejected Amendments

The  Commission  has  not  accepted  Amendment  2,  which  does  not  appear  to  be  pertinent.
Amendment  2  adds  a  comment  in  Recital  4  on  those  Member  States  disproportionately
affected  by  transit  traffic.  This  comment  does  not  relate  to  the  main  thrust  of  the  recital’s
argument and to the justification for the proposal.

The  Commission  also  cannot  accept  Amendment  18,  which  would  place  a  disproportionate
burden  on  Commission  resources  by  requiring  the  Commission  to  draw  up  a  list  of
infringements to the Directive and the penalties to  be applied  in  Member  States. This  could
entail  a  considerable  ongoing  exercise  not  only  for  the  Commission  in  co-ordinating  a
significant  volume  of  disparate  statistics,  but  also  for  Member  States  in  gathering  such
statistics.

4

1998/0096 (COD)

Amended proposal for a

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on a transparent system of harmonised rules for restrictions on heavy goods vehicles
involved in international transport on designated roads

(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
71.1 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission3,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee4,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions5,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty6

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

There are currently no harmonised rules across the Community on driving restrictions
for heavy goods vehicles on Sundays and public holidays.

This lack of harmonised rules results in differences as regards the duration of driving
restrictions and definitions of vehicles exempt from those restrictions.

This  situation  has  significant  negative  consequences  for  the  freedom  to  provide
transport services and the provision of information to road haulage operators and
professional drivers in the Community.

The existence of driving bans that differ from Member State to Member State makes it
impossible  to  make  round  trips  over  long  distances  without  excessive  interruptions.
Peripheral regions of the Community are, in particular, highly and disproportionately
affected by such driving restrictions because of their geographical situation.

(5)        In  addition,  the  existence  of  driving  bans  that  differ  from  Member  State  to
Member  State  is  a  cause  of  legal  uncertainty  in  relation  to  the  principle  of  the
free movement of goods and Community provisions on guaranteeing freedom to
provide transport services. The forthcoming enlargement and the resulting likely

3

4

5

6

OJ C , , p. .
OJ C , , p. .
OJ C , , p. .
OJ C , , p. .

5

                                                
(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

increase  in  heavy  goods  vehicle  traffic  can  only  make  the  situation  more
complicated.

In accordance with the subsidiarity and proportionality principles as set out in Article
5 of the Treaty, the objectives of the proposed action, namely to establish a transparent
system of harmonised rules for driving restrictions, thereby ensuring that the negative
consequences  for  the  freedom  to  provide  transport  services  are  reduced  as  far  as
possible, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can, therefore, by
reason of the scale of the action be better achieved by the Community. This Directive
confines itself to the minimum required in order to achieve those objectives and does
not go beyond what is necessary for that purpose.

It  is  desirable  that,  in  particular  for  international  transport,  the  negative  impact  of
driving  restrictions  be  minimised;  whereas  it  would  be  desirable  that  certain  roads,
indicated  in  Annex  I,  Section  2  of  Decision  No.  1692/96/EC  of  the  European
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23  July  1996  on  Community  guidelines  for  the
development  of  the  Trans-European  transport  Network  7,  be  kept  open  for
international  transport.  Therefore  such  roads  should  only  be  subject  to  new  driving
bans during certain hours on weekends, public holidays and the eve of public holidays.
The Commission should be notified of such driving restrictions. Existing driving bans
that are longer than the limits proposed shall be permitted to continue.

This  maximum  permitted  duration  should  be  extendible  in  exceptional  cases  when
such  extension  can  be  justified  on  environmental,  road-safety  or  social  grounds.  A
request for such an  extension should  be examined  without delay by the Commission
with the assistance of a committee.

Member  States  should  be  able  to  restrict  the  circulation  during  the  night  of  heavy
goods  vehicles  whose  noise  exceeds  Community  standards.  Member  States  should
also be able to restrict heavy goods vehicles when exceptionally high traffic density is
expected,  for  example  during  summer  holiday  periods.  The  Commission  should  be
notified of such driving restrictions.

(10) Under special environmental or weather conditions Member States should be  able to
restrict the circulation of heavy goods vehicles on grounds of environmental protection
or  road  safety.  For  practical  reasons,  it  should  be  possible  to  adopt  such  restrictions
without notifying the Commission.

(11)

(12)

The types of heavy  goods vehicles or  transport operations  which  are  exempted  from
bans in all Member States should be harmonised.

The introduction of driving restrictions at national, regional and local level is currently
done  in  an  uncoordinated  manner.  and  therefore  A  European  road  information
system,  which  can  be  accessed  in  real  time  by  all  road  haulage  operators  and
professional  drivers  should 
therefore  be  established,  enabling  reliable
informationnotification on the timing and extent of these restrictions to be provided
to  all  road  transport  operators.should  be  established.  On  the  basis  of  the
information collected under this system,these notifications the Commission should
produce an annual report to the Member States and the European Parliament.

7

OJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p.1, with Corrigendum published in OJ L15, 17.1.1997, p. 1

6

                                                
(13)      Comparative  statistics  are  needed  on  the  level  of  use  of  international  routes  to
give  an  overall  picture  of  traffic  in  the  European  Union  and  the  applicant
countries  and,  on  the  basis  of  these  statistics,  to  be  able  to  assess  the  impact  of
driving  restrictions  on  policies  for  the  regulation  and  organisation  of  road
transport.

(14)

(15)

(16)

Since the measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive are measures of
general scope within the meaning of Article 2 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28
June  laying  down the  procedures  for  the  exercise  of  implementing  powers  conferred
on  the  Commission8,  they  should  be  adopted  by  use  of  the  regulatory  procedure
provided for in Article 5 of that Decision.

Each  Member  State should  determine the  penalties to  be  imposed  in  the  event  of  an
infringement of the provisions adopted for the implementation of this Directive.

For the purposes of transparency, it is desirable to list in an Annex the national public
holidays  upon  which driving bans  currently  apply.  The  Commission  will  amend  this
Annex at the request of Member States.

(17)      In order to  ensure that driving  bans  on  heavy  goods  vehicles  do not  exacerbate
inequalities  in  respect  of  social  conditions  or  working  conditions  for  drivers,
accompanying social measures should be adopted taking account in particular of
the geographical origin of traffic.

(18)      Member States which impose driving bans, forcing drivers to spend a weekend or
part of a weekend in lorry parks, should ensure that there are sufficient parking
spaces and sanitary facilities available.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

This  Directive  establishes  a  transparent  system  of  harmonised  rules  and  information
concerning  driving  restrictions  applied  for  certain  periods  to  heavy  goods  vehicles
undertaking international transport on certain roads of the European Community.

8

OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23

7

                                                
For the purposes of this Directive:

Article 2

- “heavy goods vehicle”

- “driving restrictions”

"TENs network”

“international
transport”

- “public holiday”

- “cars”

- “load”

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

shall  mean  all  motor  vehicles  with  a  gross  weight  of  7,5  t.
and above, used for the transport of goods;, including their
component  parts  (tractors  or  trailers),  where  the  latter
are used separately;

shall mean a ban on the circulation of heavy goods vehicles
for certain periods;

shall  mean  the  network  of  roads  as  indicated  in  Annex  I,
Section 2 of Decision No 1692/96/EC;

shall mean transport operations with a place of departure and
place of arrival in two different Member States;

shall  mean those  public  holidays  on  which  a  Member  State
applies a national driving ban;

shall  mean  motor  vehicles  in  category  M1  as  defined  in
Annex II to Council Directive 70/156/EEC9;

shall mean at least 1 tonne of cargo, including packaging.

1.

2.

3.

4.

9

10

The scope of this Directive is limited to the TENs network.

Article 3

Member  States  shall  not  impose  driving  restrictions  on  heavy  goods  vehicles
involved  in  international  transport  which  are  stricter  than  those  applied  to  heavy
goods vehicles involved in national transport.

Member States may impose driving restrictions for all heavy goods vehicles

(cid:1)  From  16  September  to  14  June  between  the  hours  of  22h00  on  Saturday  and
22h00 on Sunday, and between the hours of 22h00 on the eve of a public holiday
and 22h00 on the day of a public holiday;

(cid:1)  From  15  June  to  15  September  between  the  hours  of  07h00  on  Saturday  and
22h00 on Sunday, and between the hours of 22h00 on the eve of a public holiday
and 22h00 on the day of a public holiday.

Member  States  may  impose  driving  restrictions  during  the  night,  from  22h00  to
05h00,  which  apply  to  all  heavy  goods  vehicles  which  do  not  comply  with  noise
emission standards provided by Directive 96/20/EC10.

OJ L 42, 23.2.1970
OJ L 92, 13.4.1996, p. 23

8

                                                
4a.

5.

6.

Member  States  with  driving  restrictions  in  operation  as  of  1  November  2000  that
exceed  the  limits  laid  down  in  paragraph  3  above  may  continue  to  apply  them.
Should the Member State concerned modify these driving restrictions, it can only do
so in the sense of alignment with the restrictions mentioned in paragraph 3.

Member States may only impose driving restrictions additional to those laid down in
paragraphs 3 and 4 on condition that heavy goods vehicles involved in international
transport are exempted from those additional driving restrictions.

Notwithstanding  paragraph  5  Member  States  may  in  exceptional  cases  impose
driving  restrictions  extending  the  time  limits  laid  down  in  paragraphs  3  and  4  on
heavy  goods  vehicles,  including  those  undertaking  international  transport,  provided
that they submit evidence indicating that such additional restrictions can be justified
on  environmental,  road  safety  or  social  grounds  and  after  having  received  prior
agreement  from  the  Commission  in  accordance  with  the  Committee  procedure  laid
down in Article 89.

The  evidence  shall  include  an  analysis  which  justifies  the  restrictions  as  a
proportional measure by comparison with alternative traffic management measures.

The evidence shall quantify the effects of the  additional  restrictions  on  the  basis of
one or more of the following criteria:

a)

b)

c)

d)

relevant statistics and/or estimates, both including and excluding the circulation
of  heavy  goods  vehicles,  concerning  traffic  density  on  weekends  during
different  periods  of  the  year  (summer,  winter,  during  holiday  periods)  and
possible effects on congestion;

relevant statistics and/or estimates, both including and excluding the circulation
of  heavy  goods  vehicles,  concerning  rates  of  accidents  both  during  periods
where the additional restrictions would apply and at times when no restrictions
are in force;

relevant  data  and/or  estimates  concerning  the  gaseous  emissions  saved,  or
noise pollution reduced by additional restrictions, including the negative effect
that  bans  may  have  on  the  emissions  of  diversionary  traffic  and  on  traffic
concentrated on periods of the week where no restrictions apply;

Social analysis on the impact of additional restrictions on the average working
conditions of drivers of heavy goods vehicles registered both in Member States
where  these  restrictions  apply  and  in  the  other  Member  States,  taking  into
account existing Community legislation in this field.

7.

Notwithstanding paragraph 5, Member States may impose special driving restrictions
on heavy goods vehicles, including those undertaking international transport on the
TENs network, on those days and roads where:

a)

b)

exceptionally  high  traffic  density  is  expected,  for  example  during  public
holidays and holiday outward and return journey periods or peak times;

circulation  bans  for  limited  periods  of  time  are  applying  to  cars,  notably  for
environmental reasons;

9

c)

d)

restrictions for maintenance of infrastructure are deemed necessary;

restrictions  are  required  under  special  weather  conditions,  in  the  event  of
natural disasters or for urgent reasons of public safetyare required.

Article 4

Heavy  goods  vehicles  and/or  particular  transport  operations  as  defined  in  Annex  I  shall  be
exempted from the driving restrictions which are laid down in accordance with Articles 3(3),
3(5), 3(6) and point (a) of 3(7).

Article 5

1.            A  European  road  information  system  shall  be  set  up  under  the  aegis  of  the

Commission, the task of which shall be to

– 

– 

– 

Collect,  with  the  support  of  road  information  centres  in  the  Member
States,  all  data  concerning  the  rules  applied  to,  and  the  regulation  and
characteristics of, driving restrictions on the TENs network;

Process and disseminate such data in real time to road haulage operators
and professional drivers within the territory of the Union;

Create a monitoring centre for traffic on the TENs network for statistical
and analytical purposes.

Article 6

1.

2.

3.

Member  States  wishing  to  impose  extended  driving  restrictions  in  accordance  with
Article 3(6) shall present a request to the Commission.

The Commission shall decide on such request in accordance with the procedure set
out in Article 8 9 within two months of receipt of the receipt request.

Member  States  wishing  to  impose  driving  restrictions  in  accordance  with  Article
3(3),  3(4),  or  point  (a)  of  3(7)  shall  notify  the  Commission  at  least  60  days  in
advance, giving details of the extent of those restrictions.

Member States wishing to amend any of the dates listed in Annex II as their national
public holidays on which driving bans apply shall notify the Commission at least 60
days in advance. The Commission shall amend Annex II accordingly.

Article 67

On the basis of the information referred to in Articles 5 and 6, the Commission will prepare
annually by 30 November a report on driving restrictions permitted under Articles 3(3), 3(4)
3(6) and point (a) of 3(7) for heavy goods vehicles performing international operations on the
TENs network for the forthcoming year.

10

The Commission shall adopt any amendments necessary to adapt Annex I in accordance with
the procedure laid down in Article 89.

Article 78

Article 89

1.

2.

3.

The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  a  committee,  composed  of  representatives  of
the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission.

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  the  regulatory  procedure  laid  down  in
Article 5 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, in compliance with Article 7(3) and
Article 8 thereof.

The period provided for in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be [3] months.

Article 910

Member States shall determine the penalties applicable to infringements of this Directive and
shall take all necessary measures to ensure that they are enforced. The penalties they provide
for  shall  be  effective,  proportionate  and  dissuasive.  Member  States  shall  notify  the
Commission  of  those  measures  no  later  than  the  date  specified  in  the  first  subparagraph  of
Article 101 and shall notify it of amendments to them without delay.

Article 101

Member  States  shall  bring  into  force  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions
necessary  to  comply  with  this  Directive  by  [31  December  20004]  at  the  latest.  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 reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member
States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

Member States shall apply these provisions from [1 July 20015].

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

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

Article 112

11

Article 123

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament
The President

For the Council
The President

12

ANNEX I

Transport operations/types of vehicles exempt from driving restrictions

Vehicles performing combined transport operations as defined in Council Directive
92/106/EEC;

Certified ATP vehicles11 transporting a load of ATP-defined perishable foodstuffs;

Certified ATP tankers for the transportation of liquid milk at controlled temperatures;

Vehicles transporting a load of perishable fruits, or vegetables;

Vehicles  transporting  exceptional  loads  as  defined  by  Article  4(3)  of  Council  Directive
96/53/EC12.;

Vehicles transporting fresh flowers or horticultural products.

11

12

As  defined  in  the  UN-ECE  Agreement  on  the  international  carriage  of  perishable  foodstuffs  and  the
special equipment to be used for such carriage (ATP).
OJ L 235, 17.9.1996, p. 59

13

                                                
ANNEX II

National public holidays on which Member States apply driving bans

National Public Holidays in Austria

New Year’s Day

Epiphany

Easter Monday

Labour Day

Ascension Day

Whit Monday

Corpus Christi

Assumption

Austrian National Day (26 October)

All Saints Day

Immaculate Conception

Christmas Day

St. Stephen’s’ Day

National Public Holidays in France

New Year’s Day

Easter Monday

Armistice Day (8 May)

Ascension Day

Whit Monday

Bastille Day (14 July)

Assumption

All Saints Day

Armistice Day (11 November)

Christmas Day

14

National Public Holidays in Germany

New Year’s Day

Good Friday

Easter Monday

Labour Day

Ascension Day

Whit Monday

Day of German Unification (3 October)

Christmas Day

St. Stephen’s’ Day

National Public Holidays in Italy

New Year’s Day

Epiphany

Good Friday

Easter Monday

Liberation Day (25 April)

Labour Day

All Saints Day

Immaculate Conception

Christmas Day

National Public Holidays in Luxembourg

New Year’s Day

Easter Monday

Labour Day

Ascension Day

Whit Monday

Luxembourg National Day (23 June)

Assumption

All Saints Day

Christmas Day

St. Stephen’s’ Day

15

National Public Holidays in Spain

New Year’s Day

Epiphany

Maundy Thursday

Good Friday

Labour Day

All Saints Day

Spanish Constitution Day (6 December)

Immaculate Conception

Christmas Day

16