Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the field of vision and windscreen wipers for wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors (Codified version)
Date: 2006-11-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Council of the European Union, EC Directive, codification of EU law, safety device, tractor, vehicle parts

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 3.11.2006 
COM(2006) 651 final 

2006/0216 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the field of vision and windscreen wipers for wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors 

(Codified version) 

(presented by the Commission) 

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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 are 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 codification instruments. 

is 

this  proposal 

to  undertake  a  codification  of  Council 
The  purpose  of 
Directive 74/347/EEC  of  25  June  1974  on  the  approximation  of  the  laws  of  the 
Member  States  relating  to  the  field  of  vision  and  windscreen  wipers  for  wheeled 
agricultural  or  forestry  tractors3.  The  new  Directive  will  supersede  the  various  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(87) 868 PV. 
See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions. 
Carried out pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the 
Council – Codification of the Acquis communautaire, COM(2001) 645 final. 
See Annex II, Part A of this proposal. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1 
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3 

4 

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5. 

The codification proposal was drawn up on the basis of a preliminary consolidation, 
in all official languages, of Directive 74/347/EEC and the instruments 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:208) 74/347/EEC (adapted) 

2006/0216 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the field of vision and windscreen wipers for wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors 

(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 the proposal from the Commission, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee5, 

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

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

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6 
7 

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9 

(cid:208) 

Council Directive 74/347/EEC of  25 June 1974  on the  approximation of  the laws of 
the Member States relating to the field of vision and windscreen wipers for wheeled 
agricultural or forestry tractors7 has been substantially amended several times8. In the 
interests of clarity and rationality the said Directive should be codified. 

for 

in  Council  Directive  74/150/EEC  as 

Directive  74/347/EEC  is  one  of  the  separate  Directives  of  the  EC  type-approval 
system  provided 
replaced  by 
Directive 2003/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 
on type-approval of agricultural or forestry tractors, their trailers and interchangeable 
towed machinery, together with their systems, components and separate technical units 
and  repealing  Directive  74/150/EEC9  and 
technical  prescriptions 
concerning the design and construction of wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors as 
regards  the  field  of  vision  and  windscreen  wipers.  These  technical  prescriptions 

lays  down 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ L 191, 15.7.1974, p. 5. Directive as last amended by Directive 97/54/EC of the European Parliament 
and of the Council (OJ L 277, 10.10.1997, p. 24). 
See Annex II, Part A. 
OJ L 171, 9.7.2003, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2005/67/EC (OJ L 273, 
19.10.2005, p. 17). 

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concern  the  approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  to  enable  the  EC  type-
approval procedure provided for in Directive 2003/37/EC, to be applied in respect of 
each type of tractor. Consequently, the provisions laid down in Directive 2003/37/EC 
relating  to  agricultural  or  forestry  tractors,  their  trailers  and  interchangeable  towed 
machinery, together with their systems, components and separate technical units apply 
to this Directive. 

(3) 

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:208) 74/347/EEC  
(cid:206)1 Corrigendum 74/347/EEC 
(OJ L 226, 18.8.1976, p. 16). 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 

Article 1 

1. ‘Agricultural or forestry tractor’ means any motor vehicle, fitted with wheels or (cid:206)1 endless 
tracks  and having at least two axles, the main function of which lies in its tractive power 
and  which  is  specially  designed  to  tow,  push,  carry  or  power  certain  tools,  machinery  or 
trailers  intended  for  agricultural  or  forestry  use.  It  may  be  equipped  to  carry  a  load  and 
passengers. 

2. This Directive shall apply only to tractors defined in paragraph 1 which are equipped with 
pneumatic tyres and have a maximum design speed of between 6 and (cid:206)1 40 km/h . 

(cid:208) 82/890/EEC Art. 1(1) (adapted) 
(cid:206)1 97/54/EC Art. 1 

(cid:208) 74/347/EEC (adapted) 

Article 2 

No Member State may refuse to grant EC type-approval or national type-approval of a tractor 
on grounds relating to windscreen wipers if these satisfy the requirements set out in Annex I. 

Article 3 

No Member State may refuse or prohibit the sale, ⌦ registration, ⌫ entry into service or use 
of tractors on grounds relating to windscreen wipers, if these satisfy the requirements set out 
in Annex I. 

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Article 4 

The amendments necessary to adapt the requirements of Annex I ⌦ to technical progress ⌫ 
shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure ⌦ referred to ⌫ in Article ⌦ 20(2) ⌫ 
of Directive ⌦ 2003/37/EC ⌫. 

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  

Article 5 

(cid:208)  

Article 6 

Directive 74/347/EEC, as amended by the Directives listed in Annex II, 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. 

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

Article 7 

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

It shall apply from [...]. 

(cid:208) 74/347/EEC 

Article 8 

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:208) 74/347/EEC Annex  

ANNEX I 

FIELD OF VISION 

DEFINITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS 

1. 

DEFINITIONS 

1.1. 

Field of vision 

‘Field of vision’ means all forward and lateral directions in which the driver of the 
tractor can see. 

1.2. 

Reference point 

‘Reference  point’  means  the  position,  fixed  by  convention,  of  the  tractor  driver’s 
eyes notionally located at a single point. The reference point is situated in the plane 
parallel to the longitudinal median plane of the tractor and passing through the centre 
of  the  seat,  700  mm  vertically  above  the  line  of  intersection  of  that  plane  and  the 
surface of the seat and 270 mm in the direction of the pelvic support from the vertical 
plane passing through the front edge of the surface of the seat and perpendicular to 
the  longitudinal  median  plane  of  the  tractor  (Figure  1).  The  reference  point  thus 
determined  relates  to  the  seat  when  unoccupied  and  fitted  in  the  central  position 
specified by the tractor manufacturer. 

1.3. 

Semi-circle of vision 

‘Semi-circle of vision’ means the semi-circle described by a radius of 12 m about a 
point situated in the horizontal plane of the road vertically below the reference point, 
in such a way that, when facing the direction of motion, the arc of the semi-circle lies 
in front of the tractor, while the diameter bounding the semi-circle is at right angles 
to the longitudinal axis of the tractor (Figure 2). 

(cid:208) 79/1073/EEC Art. 1 pt. 3 and 
Annex 

1.4.  Masking effect 

‘Masking effect’ means the chords of the sectors of the semi-circle of vision which 
cannot  be  seen  owing  to  structural  components  such  as  roof-pillars,  air  intakes  or 
exhaust stacks and the frame of the windscreen. 

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(cid:208) 74/347/EEC 
(cid:206)1 79/1073/EEC Art. 1 pt. 3 and 
Annex 

1.5. 

Sector of vision 

‘Sector of vision’ means that part of the field of vision bounded: 

1.5.1. 

at the top, 

by a horizontal plane passing through the reference point; 

1.5.2. 

in the plane of the road, 

by the zone lying outside the semi-circle of vision, and forming the continuation of 
the  sector  of  the  semi-circle  of  vision,  the  chord  of  which  is  9.5  m  long, 
perpendicular  to  the  plane  parallel  to  the  longitudinal  median  plane  of  the  tractor 
passing through the centre of the driver's seat and bisected by that plane. 

1.6. 

Swept area of the windscreen wipers 

‘Swept  area  of  the  windscreen  wipers’  means  the  area  of  the  outer  surface  of  the 
windscreen swept by the windscreen wipers. 

2. 

REQUIREMENTS 

2.1. 

General 

The tractor shall be constructed and equipped in such a way that, in road traffic and 
in farm and forest use, the driver has an adequate field of vision, under all the usual 
conditions  pertaining  to  highway  use  and  to  work  undertaken  in  fields  and  forests. 
The field of vision is considered adequate when the driver has, as far as possible, a 
view of part of each front wheel and when the following requirements are fulfilled. 

2.2. 

Checking of the field of vision 

2.2.1.  Procedure for determining masking effects 

2.2.1.1.(cid:206)1 The  tractor  must  be  placed  on  a  horizontal  surface  as  shown  in  Figure  2.  On  a 
horizontal  support  level  with  the  reference point,  there  must  be  mounted  two  point 
sources of light, e.g. 2 × 150 W, 12 V, 65 mm apart and symmetrically located with 
respect to the reference point. The support must be rotatable at its centre point about 
a vertical axis passing through the reference point. For the purpose of measuring the 
masking  effects,  the  support  must  be  so  aligned  that  the  line  joining  the  two  light 
sources is perpendicular to the line joining the masking component and the reference 
point.  

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(cid:208) 79/1073/EEC Art. 1 pt. 3 and 
Annex  

The silhouette (deepest shadow) overlaps projected on to the semi-circle of vision by 
the  masking  component  when  the  light  sources  are  switched  on  simultaneously  or 
alternately must be measured in accordance with point 1.4 (Figure 3). 

(cid:208) 74/347/EEC 
(cid:206)1 79/1073/EEC Art. 1 pt. 3 and 
Annex 

2.2.1.2.  (cid:206)1 Masking effects must not exceed 700 mm.  

2.2.1.3.  (cid:206)1 Masking  effects  due  to  adjacent  structural  components  over  80  mm  in  width 
must be so configured that there is an interval of not less than 2 200 mm — measured 
as  a  chord  of  the  semi-circle  of  vision  —  between  the  centres  of  two  masking 
effects.  

2.2.1.4.  There may be no more than six masking effects in the semi-circle of vision and no 

more than two inside the sector of vision defined in point 1.5. 

2.2.1.5.  (cid:206)1 Outside  the  sector  of  vision,  masking  effects  exceeding  700  mm  but  not 
exceeding  1 500  mm  are,  however,  permissible  if  the  components  causing  them 
cannot  be  redesigned  or  relocated:  on  each  side  there  may  be  a  total  of  either  two 
such  masking  effects,  one  not  exceeding  700  mm  and  the  other  not  exceeding 
1 500 mm, or two such masking effects, neither exceeding 1 200 mm.  

2.2.1.6.  Blind  spots  caused  by  type-approved  rear-view  mirrors  may  be  disregarded  if  the 
design of these mirrors is such that they cannot be installed in any other way. 

2.2.2.  Mathematical determination of masking effects for binocular vision: 

2.2.2.1.  (cid:206)1 as  an  alternative  to  the  procedure  set  out  in  point  2.2.1,  the  acceptability  of 
individual  masking  effects  can  be  determined  mathematically.  The  requirements  of 
points 2.2.1.2, 2.2.1.3, 2.2.1.4, 2.2.1.5 and 2.2.1.6 shall apply in respect of the size, 
distribution and number of the masking effects;  

2.2.2.2.  for  binocular  vision  with  an  inter-ocular  distance  of  65  mm,  the  masking  effect 

expressed in mm is given by the formula: 

(cid:208) 74/347/EEC (adapted) 

(cid:208) 74/347/EEC 

in which: 

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a 

b 

is the distance in millimetres between the component obstructing vision and the 
reference  point  measured  along  the  visual  radius  joining  the  reference  point, 
the centre of the component and the perimeter of the semi-circle of vision; 

is  the  width  in  millimetres  of  the  component  obstructing  vision  measured 
horizontally and perpendicular to the visual radius. 

2.3. 

The test methods referred to under point 2.2 may be replaced by others if the latter 
can be shown to be equivalent. 

(cid:208) 74/347/EEC (adapted) 
(cid:206)1 79/1073/EEC Art. 1 pt. 3 and 
Annex 

2.4 

Transparent area of the windscreen 

(cid:206)1 For  the  purpose  of  determining  the  masking  effects  in  the  sector  of  vision,  the 
masking effects due to the frame of the windscreen and to any other obstacle may, in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  point  2.2.1.4,  be  considered  as  a  single  effect, 
provided that the distance between the outermost points of this masking effect does 
not exceed 700 mm.  

2.5 

Windscreen wipers 

2.5.1.  Tractors  fitted  with  windscreens  must  also  be  equipped  with  motor-driven 
windscreen  wipers  ⌦ .  The ⌫  area  swept  by  these  wipers  must  ensure  an 
unobstructed  forward  view  corresponding  to  a  chord  of  the  semi-circle  of  vision  at 
least 8 m long within the sector of vision. 

2.5.2.  The rate of operation of the windscreen wipers must be at least 20 cycles per minute. 

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Figure 1 

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(cid:208) 79/1073/EEC Art. 1 pt. 3 and 
Annex 

Figure 2 

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(cid:208) 74/347/EEC 

Figure 3 

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(cid:207) 

ANNEX II 

Part A 

Repealed Directive with its successive amendments 
(referred to in Article 6) 

Council Directive 74/347/EEC 
(OJ L 191, 15.7.1974, p. 5) 

Commission Directive 79/1073/EEC 
(OJ L 331, 27.12.1979, p. 20) 

Council Directive 82/890/EEC  
(OJ L 378, 31.12.1982, p. 45) 

Only as regards the references to 
Directive 74/347/EEC in Article 1(1)  

Directive 97/54/EC of the European Parliament and 
of the Council 
(OJ L 277, 10.10.1997, p. 24) 

Only as regards the references to 
Directive 74/347/EEC in the first 
indent of Article 1 

Part B 

List of time-limits for transposition into national law and application 
(referred to in Article 6) 

Directive 

Time-limit for transposition 

Date of application 

74/347/EEC 

79/1073/EEC 

82/890/EEC 

97/54/EC 

1 January 1976(*) 

30 April 1980 

21 June 1984 

22 September 1998 

23 September 1998 

(*) In compliance with Article 3a, inserted by point 2 of Article 1 of Directive 79/1073/EEC: 

“1. 

With effect from 1 May 1980 no Member State may, on grounds relating to the field 
of vision of tractors: 

– 

refuse, in respect of a type of tractor, to grant EEC type-approval, to issue the 
document 
indent  of  Article  10(1)  of 
last 
in 
Directive 74/150/EEC, or to grant national type-approval,  

referred 

the 

to 

– 

or prohibit the entry into service of tractors,  

if  the  field  of  vision  of  this  type  of  tractor  or  of  these  tractors  complies  with  the 
provisions of this Directive. 

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2. 

With effect from 1 October 1980 Member States: 

– 

– 

may no longer issue the document referred to in the last indent of Article 10(1) 
of  Directive  74/150/EEC  in  respect  of  a  type  of  tractor  in  which  the  field  of 
vision does not comply with the provisions of this Directive,  

may refuse to grant national type-approval in respect of a type of tractor whose 
field of vision does not comply with the provisions of this Directive. 

3. 

With effect from 1 January 1983, Member States may prohibit the entry into service 
of  any  tractor  whose  field  of  vision  does  not  comply  with  the  provisions  of  this 
Directive.” 

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ANNEX III 

CORRELATION TABLE 

Directive 74/347/EEC 

This Directive 

Articles 1 to 3 

Articles 1 to 3 

Article 3a  

Article 4 

Article 5(1) 

Article 5(2) 

- 

Article 6 

Annex  

Table note (*), Annex II 

Article 4 

- 

Article 5 

Articles 6 and 7 

Article 8 

Annex I 

Annex, points 1 to 2.3 

Annex I, points 1 to 2.3 

Annex, point 2.4 

Annex, point 2.5 

Annex, point 2.6 

- 

Annex I, point 2.4 

Annex I, point 2.5 

Annex, figures 1, 2 and 3 

Annex I, figures 1, 2 and 3 

- 

- 

Annex II 

Annex III 

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