Directive 2007/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 on the retrofitting of mirrors to heavy goods vehicles registered in the Community
Date: 2007-07-11
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: commercial vehicle, road safety, safety device, technical regulations

14.7.2007

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 184/25

DIRECTIVE 2007/38/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the retrofitting of mirrors to heavy goods vehicles registered in the Community

of 11 July 2007

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

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

establishing the European

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (1),

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (2),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

A number of accidents are caused by drivers of heavy
goods vehicles who are not aware that other road users
are very close to or beside their vehicle. These accidents
are often related to a change of direction at crossings,
junctions or roundabouts when drivers fail
to detect
other road users in the blind spots which exist in the
area immediately around their vehicles. It is estimated
that every year about 400 people in Europe are killed
in such circumstances, most of them being vulnerable
road users such as cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians.

time

for 2010:

to decide’

In its White Paper of 12 September 2001 ‘European
transport policy
the
Commission set the target of halving the number of
road fatalities in the EU by 2010.
In its third Road
Safety Action Programme the Commission committed
itself
retrofitting heavy
goods vehicles already in circulation with devices for
indirect vision in order to reduce their blind spots and
thus to contribute to the reduction of road fatalities.

to investigating the issue of

(3)

In its 10 year roadmap in the Final Report ‘A Compe-
the 21st
titive Automotive Regulatory System for

(1) Opinion of 14 March 2007 (not yet published in the Official

Journal).

(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 10 May 2007 (not yet
published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 25 June
2007.

century’, the CARS 21 High Level Group recommended
an integrated approach with regard to road safety
including the compulsory introduction of new safety
features, such as mirrors to reduce the blind spots of
heavy goods vehicles.

Devices of indirect vision, such as wide-angle and close-
proximity mirrors, cameras, monitors, or other type-
approved systems of
the
indirect
driver's field of vision and increase vehicle safety.

improve

vision,

Directive 2003/97/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 10 November 2003 on the approximation
of the laws of the Member States relating to the type
approval of devices for indirect vision and of vehicles
equipped with these devices (3), whilst having great
potential for reducing the number of casualties affects
only newly registered vehicles.

Vehicles which are already in circulation are therefore not
in Directive
subject
2003/97/EC.
those vehicles
will not be fully replaced until 2023.

set out
the
It can be estimated that

obligations

to

In order to help reduce fatal and severe accidents caused
by those vehicles and involving vulnerable road users, it
is appropriate,
the
vehicles concerned be retrofitted with improved devices
for indirect vision.

in the meantime,

to provide that

Vehicles already in circulation should be equipped with
mirrors reducing the lateral blind spots whilst fulfilling
the technical requirements of Directive 2003/97/EC. That
is technically feasible for the majority of the vehicles
concerned.

for

and

derogations

It is, however, appropriate and proportionate to provide
vehicles whose
exemptions
remaining lifespan is short, vehicles which are equipped
with lateral mirrors whose field of vision covers only
marginally less than the fields of vision laid down in
Directive 2003/97/EC, and vehicles where fitting with
mirrors complying with that Directive is not econom-
ically viable.

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(3) OJ L 25, 29.1.2004, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Council

Directive 2006/96/EC (OJ L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 81).

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Vehicles in categories N2 and N3 which were originally
registered and/or type-approved and/or put into service
before 1 January 2000 and which are operated mainly
for their historical interest should not be affected by the
rules and procedures laid down in this Directive.

2367/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 16 December 2002 on the Community
statistical programme 2003 to 2007 (2), gather relevant
data from the Member States and process it appro-
priately.

(10)

(11)

for technical and/or
For heavy goods vehicles which,
economic reasons, cannot be made to fully comply
with the requirements of this Directive, the competent
authorities should allow for and approve alternative
solutions. In such cases, Member States should commu-
nicate lists of permitted and approved technical solutions
to the Commission, which should in turn make them
available to all Member States.

(12)

So that the market can cope with a high demand for
mirrors within a short period of
time, a transitional
period should be provided for.

(13) Heavy goods vehicles retrofitted before the dates for
transposition of Directive 2003/97/EC with devices of
indirect vision which largely cover the field of vision
required by that Directive should be exempted from
the requirements of this Directive.

(14)

(15)

(16)

The retrofitting exercise should be accompanied by
appropriate measures designed to raise awareness of the
dangers linked to the existence of blind spots of heavy
goods vehicles,
including information efforts directed
towards vulnerable road users and in relation to the
correct adjustment and use of indirect vision devices.

Vehicles other than those covered by this Directive, such
as light goods vehicles and buses, which are not equipped
with improved devices
indirect vision are also
for
involved in blind spot accidents. Therefore, Community
legislation on active and passive safety requirements
view to
continually
should be
improving and promoting road safety.

reviewed with a

In the interests of a more comprehensive analysis and a
future strategy on reducing blind spot accidents,
the
Commission should, pursuant
to Council Decision
93/704/EC of 30 November 1993 on the creation of a
Community database on road accidents (1) and other
as Decision No
relevant Community

such

acts,

(17)

(18)

Council Directive 96/96/EC of 20 December 1996 on
the approximation of the laws of the Member States
relating to roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and
their trailers (3) provides for periodic roadworthiness tests
for motor vehicles used for the carriage of goods and
having a maximum permissible mass exceeding 3,5 tons,
at least on a yearly basis. Heavy goods vehicles should,
among others things, be fitted with rear-view mirrors
complying with the requirements of
this Directive in
order to pass this roadworthiness test. Roadworthiness
certificates issued by the Member States for vehicles
registered on their territory are mutually recognised for
the purpose of the free circulation of vehicles on Member
State roads.

already

vehicles

Since the objective of this Directive, namely the retro-
fitting of
in circulation in the
Community, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the
Member States and can therefore, by reason of its scale
and effects, be better achieved at Community level, the
Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the
principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the
Treaty.
In accordance with the principle of propor-
tionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does
not go beyond what
is necessary to achieve that
objective.

(19)

In accordance with point 34 of
the Interinstitutional
Agreement on better law-making (4), Member States are
encouraged to draw up, for themselves and in the interest
of the Community, their own tables illustrating, as far as
possible, the correlation between this Directive and the
transposition measures, and to make them public,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

This Directive lays down requirements for the fitting with
systems of indirect vision of vehicles of categories N2 and N3
as referred to in point 2 of Annex II, Section A to Council
Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approxi-
mation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-
approval of motor vehicles and their trailers (5) which are
registered in the Community.

(2) OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 1. Decision as amended by Decision No

787/2004/EC (OJ L 138, 30.4.2004, p. 12).

(3) OJ L 46, 17.2.1997, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Regulation

(EC) No 1882/2003.

(1) OJ L 329, 30.12.1993, p. 63. Decision as amended by Regulation
(EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council
(OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).

(4) OJ C 321, 31.12.2003, p. 1.
(5) OJ L 42, 23.2.1970, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive

2007/37/EC (OJ L 161, 22.6.2007, p. 60).

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Article 2

This Directive shall apply to vehicles of categories N2 and
1.
N3 which are not type-approved or approved as a single vehicle
under Directive 2003/97/EC.

2.

This Directive shall not apply to any of the following:

(a) Vehicles of categories N2 and N3 registered before 1 January

2000;

(b) Vehicles of

category N2 having

permissible mass not exceeding 7,5 tons, where it
impossible to mount a class V mirror
ensures that the following conditions are fulfilled:

a maximum total
is
in a way that

(i) no part of the mirror is less than 2 m (a tolerance
of + 10 cm may be applied) from the ground, regardless
of the adjustment position, when the vehicle is under a
its maximum technically
load
permissible weight; and

corresponding

to

Vehicles referred to in Article 2 which,

for want of
3.
available, economically viable,
technical solutions, cannot be
equipped with mirrors complying with the requirements set
out in paragraphs 1 or 2 of this Article, may be equipped
with supplementary mirrors and/or other devices of indirect
vision, provided that the combination of such devices covers
not less than 95 % of the field of vision at ground level of a
class IV mirror and not less than 85 % of the field of vision at
ground level of a class V mirror under Directive 2003/97/EC.

technical
4. Member States shall communicate a list of
solutions complying with this Article to the Commission. The
Commission shall make the information notified publicly
available, via its website or any other appropriate means, to
all Member States.

Article 4

1.
Compliance with the requirements set out in Article 3(1),
(2) and (3) shall be established through proof furnished by a
Member State in accordance with Article 3 of Directive
96/96/EC.

(ii) the mirror is fully visible from the driving position;

(c) Vehicles of categories N2 and N3 that are subject to national
measures which entered into force before the dates for
transposition of Directive 2003/97/EC and which require
fitment, on the passenger side, of other means of indirect
vision covering not less than 95 % of the total
field of
vision at ground level of class IV and class V mirrors
under that Directive.

2.
The Commission, assisted by the committees referred to in
Article 8 of Directive 96/96/EC and Article 13(1) of Directive
70/156/EEC, each within their respective remits, shall take the
appropriate measures to ensure that the equipment referred to
in Article 3 of this Directive is installed and tested in order to
establish its compliance and roadworthiness in accordance with
the requirements of
this Directive. These measures shall be
taken not later than 6 August 2008.

Article 3

1. With effect from 6 August 2007, and not later than 31
March 2009, Member States shall require that all vehicles
referred to in Article 2(1) be equipped, on the passenger side,
with wide-angle and close-proximity mirrors which fulfil the
requirements for class IV and class V mirrors under Directive
2003/97/EC respectively.

submit

By 6 August 2011 the Commission shall
to the
European Parliament and to the Council a report on the imple-
mentation of this Directive together with a study on blind spot
accidents covering all vehicles and costs incurred, with the aim
of improving road safety. On the basis of a more compre-
hensive cost-benefit analysis, the Commission's report shall be
accompanied, if appropriate, by a proposal for the revision of
existing legislation.

Article 5

By way of derogation from paragraph 1, compliance with
2.
the requirements of
this Directive shall be deemed to be
achieved where vehicles are equipped, on the passenger side,
with wide-angle and close-proximity mirrors, whose combi-
nation of fields of vision covers not less than 95 % of the
field of vision at ground level of a class IV mirror and not
less than 85 % of the field of vision at ground level of a class
V mirror under Directive 2003/97/EC.

Article 6

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive by 6 August 2008. They shall forthwith communicate
to the Commission the text of those provisions and a corre-
lation table between those provisions and this Directive.

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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.

Article 8

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

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

Done at Strasbourg, 11 July 2007.

Article 7

This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

For the European Parliament
The President

For the Council
The President

H.-G. PÖTTERING

M. LOBO ANTUNES