REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Directive 2014/47/EU on the technical roadside inspection of commercial vehicles circulating in the Union and repealing Directive 2000/30/EC
Date: 2020-11-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, application of EU law, commercial vehicle, road safety, roadworthiness tests, technical regulations

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 3.11.2020  COM(2020) 676 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Directive 2014/47/EU on the technical roadside inspection of commercial vehicles circulating in the Union and repealing Directive 2000/30/EC                    
 
 
Table of Contents 

1. 

2. 

Introduction………………………………………………………………….2 

The Directive ……..………………………………………………………....4 

3.           National transposition measures notified by the Member States and the 
preliminary findings of their assessment …………………………………………..…7  

4.           Summary – conclusions ……………………………………………………..8 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

1.1.Background  

Vehicle inspections are fundamental to road safety. The EU rules setting minimum standards 
for  vehicle  checks  dated  back  to  1977,  with  only  minor  updates.  However,  vehicles,  driver 
behaviour and technology have developed a lot since then. The first substantial change in the 
roadworthiness 
the 
Roadworthiness  Package1  in  2014.  It  had  three  parts,  the  periodic  roadworthiness  tests,  the 
technical roadside inspections of commercial vehicles, and the vehicle registration documents.  

the  adoption  of 

introduced  with 

framework  was 

inspection 

The  proposal  of  the  Roadworthiness  Package  in  2012  was  prompted  by  the  Commission’s 
2010 policy orientations on road safety2. Under “objective no 4: Safer vehicles” of the policy 
orientations the Commission defined the action to “make proposals in view of the progressive 
harmonisation  and  strengthening  of  roadworthiness 
technical  roadside 
inspections”. 
Directive  2014/47/EU3  on  the  technical  roadside  inspection  of  commercial  vehicles 
(hereinafter  ‘the  Directive’)  has  applied  from  20  May  2018  and  it  introduced  substantial 
novelties compared to Directive 2000/30/EC4.   

tests  and 

The novelties include: 

 

Improving  the  quality  of  vehicle  tests  by  setting  common  minimum  standards  for 
equipment,  training  of  inspectors  carrying  out  more  detailed  inspections,  the 
assessment and follow-up of deficiencies. 

  Extension  of  the  risk  rating  system  of  road  transport  undertakings,  introduced  by 
Directive 2006/225, with information based on the technical roadside inspection.   

  Using a two-step approach for the roadside inspections by introducing the initial and 

more detailed inspection.   

  First measures for the inspection of cargo securing  

  Compulsory EU wide testing of high-speed tractors used for commercial road haulage 

purposes. 

1.2. The purpose and scope of this report 

1 https://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/events-archive/2014_04_30_rwp_en  
2 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and 
Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions,  Towards  a  European  road  safety  area:  policy 
orientations on road safety 2011-2020, COM(2010) 389 final. 

3 Directive 2014/47/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the technical roadside 
inspection  of  the  roadworthiness  of  commercial  vehicles  circulating  in  the  Union  and  repealing 
Directive 2000/30/EC, OJ L 127 29.4.2014, p. 134 

4 Directive 2000/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 June 2000 on the technical roadside 
inspection  of  the  roadworthiness  of  commercial  vehicles  circulating  in  the  Community,  OJ  L  203, 
10.8.2000, p.1 

5  Directive  2006/22/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  15  March  2006  on  minimum 
conditions for the implementation of  Council  Regulations  (EEC) No 3820/85 and (EEC) No 3821/85 
concerning  social  legislation  relating  to  road  transport  activities  and  repealing  Council  Directive 
88/599/EEC, OJ L 102, 11.4.2006, p. 35–44 

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Pursuant  to  Article  24(1)  of  the  Directive,  the  Commission  should  draw  up  a  report  by  20 
May  2020.    The  Commission  fully  acknowledges  and  deeply  regrets  the  late  submission  of 
the  report  that  should  have  been  prepared  by  20  May  2020.    Another  report  is  due  no  later 
than 20 May 2022 according to Article 24(2).  

The report according to Article 24(1) should  

  provide information on the implementation and effects of the Directive;  
  analyse in particular its effect in terms of improvement of road safety;    
  assess the costs and benefits of the possible inclusion of light duty vehicles (N1) and 

trailers (O2) within the scope of the Directive.  

 The report according to Article 24(2) should  

  provide information on the application and effects of the Directive, in particluar   

o  as regards the effectiveness and harmonisation of risk rating systems, notably 
in  the  definition  of  a  mutually  comparable  risk  profile  of  the  different 
undertakings concerned;    

  be  accompanied  by  a  detailed  impact  assessment  analysing  the  costs  and  benefits 
throughout the Union, made available to the European Parliament and to the Council 
at least six months prior to the submission of any legislative proposal, if appropriate, 
to include new categories of vehicles within the scope of the Directive.  

 As mentioned above, the Directive has applied from 20 May 2018. In order to generate data 
to  draw  meaningful  conclusions,  in  particular  its  effect  in  terms  of  improvement  of  road 
safety, on average an uninterrupted period of application of three years is required. Therefore 
the  data  collection  that  will  enable  drawing  conclusions  concerning  the  effects  of  the 
Directive may start in the second half of 2021 the earliest.  

As regards the cost  and  benefit  analysis of the possible inclusion of light duty  vehicles and 
light  trailers,  the  Commission  would  carry  out  the  necessary  analysis  in  the  frame  of  an 
impact assessment prior to a possible future Commission proposal.   

As far as the effectiveness and harmonisation of risk rating systems is concerned, it should be 
noted  that  the  Directive  only  supplements  the  risk  rating  system  by  adding  some  relevant 
information in relation to the technical roadside inspection. However, the obligation to create 
a  risk  rating  system  is  set  out  by  Article  9  of  Directive  2006/22/EC6.  Moreover,  Directive 
2006/22/EC has not harmonised the risk rating systems, therefore Member States were free to 
define the details of their national risk rating systems. Although Annex I to the Directive sets 
out  the  criteria  for  the  attribution  of  a  risk  profile  to  an  undertaking,  the  scope  of  these 
measures  are  limited  to  the  technical  roadside  inspections  and  they  are  also  only  optional. 
Therefore,  the  analysis  of  the  effectiveness  and  harmonisation  of  risk  rating  systems  would 
need  to  be  carried  out  in  the  frame  of  Directive  2006/22/EC,  once  the  respective  measures 
will have been introduced.  

In this respect, this report aims at providing an overview of the implementation actions of the 
Member States based on the preliminary findings of the transposition control.    

6  “(1)  Member  States  shall  introduce  a  risk  rating  system  for  undertakings  based  on  the  relative  number  and 
severity of any infringements of Regulations (EEC) No 3820/85 or (EEC) No 3821/85 that an individual 
undertaking has committed.” 

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2. 

THE DIRECTIVE  

2.1 The scope of the Directive 

The  Directive  kept  the  mandatory  testing  for  all  vehicles  which  have  already  been  tested 
regularly according to Directive 2000/30/EC, i.e. for heavy goods vehicles (N2, N3), busses 
(M2, M3) and heavy trailers (O3 and O4).  

However as a novelty, the Directive introduced the testing of tractors with a maximum design 
speed exceeding 40 km/h the use of which mainly takes place on public roads for commercial 
road haulage purposes.   

The  Directive  underlines  that  Member  States  have  the  right  to  carry  out  technical  roadside 
inspections on vehicles not covered by the Directive, such as light duty vehicles (N1), or carry 
out inspections in places other than public roads.       

2.2 Risk rating system; Selection of vehicles for initial technical roadside inspection 

As  a  novelty,  the  Directive  extends  the  risk  rating  system  established  by  Directive 
2006/22/EC.  Member  States  are  now  obliged  to  add  to  their  risk  rating  systems  the 
information concerning the number and severity of deficiencies detected during the technical 
roadside  inspection  on  heavy  goods  vehicles,  busses  and  heavy  trailers  but  not  on  speed 
tractors.    

The Directive sets out criteria, such as the number and severity of defects, in its Annex I for 
the  attribution  of  a  risk  profile  to  an  undertaking,  however  the  use  of  the  criteria  is  only 
optional, and Member States may use their own system.     

In  addition  to  the  information  collected  during  the  roadside  inspections  carried  out  on 
domestic vehicles, Member States also  have to add the information they  receive from other 
Member States to their risk rating system.    

Member  States  may  allow  undertakings  to  submit  their  vehicles  to  additional  voluntary 
roadworthiness  tests  and  the  information  on  these  inspections  may  be  taken  into  account  in 
order to improve the risk profile of an undertaking.  

Vehicles to be inspected may be selected either based on the high-risk profile of the operating 
undertaking or randomly, if there is a suspicion that the vehicle presents a risk to road safety 
or to the environment.    

2.3 The roadside inspection system; Contents and methods of the technical roadside 

inspections  

One  of  the  most  important  novelties  of  the  Directive  is  the  introduction  of  a  two-step 
approach for the technical roadside inspection.  

On each vehicle selected for a technical roadside inspection, the inspector has to perform at 
least the initial inspection. The initial inspection has both mandatory and optional elements. In 
each  case  the  inspector  has  to  check  the  latest  roadworthiness  certificate,  the  technical 
roadside  inspection  report  if  available  and  carry  out  a  visual  assessment  of  the  technical 
condition of the vehicle. Additionally the inspector also has to verify if any defects indicated 
in  the  last  roadside  inspection  report  have  been  rectified.  Optional  elements  are  the  visual 
inspection of the securing of the vehicle’s cargo and technical checks by any method deemed 
appropriate. The purpose of such technical checks is to substantiate a decision to submit the 
vehicle to a more detailed inspection or to request detected major or dangerous defects to be 
rectified before the vehicle is allowed to further circulate on public roads.  

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Based  on  the  outcome  of  the  initial  inspection,  the  inspector  decides  if  it  is  necessary  to 
submit the vehicle to a more detailed inspection.  

While for the initial inspection the Directive serves more as a frame and allows for a lot of 
flexibility  for  the  Member  States,  more  detailed  inspections  have  to  be  carried  out  by 
following strict rules set out by the Directive.  

Similar  to  Directive  2014/45/EU  on  the  periodic  roadworthiness  test,  the  Directive  in  its 
Annex II defines the items, methods, reasons for failures and the classification of the defects 
applicable as harmonised minimum during the technical roadside inspection. However while 
during  the  periodic  technical  inspection  the  inspector  has  to  check  each  item  and  cover  the 
whole Annex, during a technical roadside inspection only those items listed in Annex II to the 
Directive  have  to  be  covered,  which  are  considered  necessary  and  relevant.  Nevertheless 
particular  attention  has  to  be  paid  to  the  safety  of  the  brakes,  tyres,  wheels,  chassis  and 
nuisance.  

A  limit  to  the  technical  roadside  inspection  is,  that  if  according  to  the  roadworthiness 
certificate or a roadside inspection report an inspection of one of the items listed in Annex II 
has been carried out within the last three months, the inspector may only check that item, if an 
obvious deficiency justifies it.   

After a more detailed inspection, the inspector has to issue a report in accordance with Annex 
IV and has to give a copy of the report to the driver.  

2.4 Responsibilities; Inspectors; Inspection facilities; Penalties 

The Directive defines clear requirements, which Member States have to ensure:    

 

 

 

 

 

 

that  the  most  recent  roadworthiness  certificate  and  the  report  of  the  most  recent 
technical roadside inspection has to be kept on board of the vehicle in original or as a 
certified printout. The electronic evidence may also be acceptable;   
that  undertakings  and  drivers  of  the  inspected  vehicle  cooperate  with  the  inspectors 
and provide access to the vehicle, its parts and all relevant documentation; 
that  the  responsibilities  of  undertakings  for  keeping  their  vehicles  in  a  safe  and 
roadworthy  condition  are  defined,  without  prejudice  to  the  responsibilities  of  the 
drivers;  
that inspectors  refrain  from any discrimination  on grounds of the nationality of the 
driver or of the country of registration of the vehicle;  
that inspectors are free from any conflict of interest that could have any influence on 
the impartiality and objectivity of his decision and  
that  the  reward  of  inspectors  is  not  directly  related  to  the  results  of  initial  or  more 
detailed technical roadside inspections.  

Additionally, the Directive has set out a specific requirement concerning inspectors carrying 
out more detailed inspections. Such inspectors have to comply with the minimum competence 
and training requirements set out for inspectors carrying out periodic technical inspections. 

As regards the facilities used for the more detailed roadside inspections,  it may be a mobile 
inspection  unit  or  a  designated  roadside  inspection  facility,  or  a  periodic  roadworthiness 
testing  centre,  whichever  is  the  closest.  The  necessary  equipment  to  carry  out  certain 
inspections,  such  as  the  brakes  or  suspension,  has  to  be  available  in  both  the  mobile 
inspection  unit  and  the  designated  roadside  inspection  facility.  If  an  item  would  need  to  be 

5 

 
 
inspected for which the  necessary equipment  is  not  available, the vehicle has to  be directed    
to a testing centre inspection can be performed.  

2.5 Assessment of deficiencies; Follow-up in case of major or dangerous deficiencies; 

Inspection fees  

In  2010  the  Commission  adopted  a  recommendation7  in  order  to  provide  guidance  to 
inspectors and to ensure harmonised assessment of the defects listed in Annex II to Directive 
2009/40/EC.  The  recommendation  introduced  three  defect  categories  (minor,  major  and 
dangerous) and defined the category for each defect as guidance.  

Based  on  the  recommendation,  Directive  2014/45/EU  introduced  the  assessment  of 
deficiencies  as  a  harmonised  measure  for  the  periodic  roadworthiness  testing.  The  same 
approach has been used during the revision of the technical roadside inspection measures. The 
Directive introduced three different defect categories. Depending on their severity, defects can 
be minor, major or dangerous. Where several defects, falling in different severity categories, 
are  found  during  the  roadside  inspection,  the  vehicle  has  to  be  classified  according  to  the 
more  serious  deficiency.  Additionally,  if  a  vehicle  shows  several  defects  of  the  same 
inspection  area  (such  as  braking  or  steering)  the  vehicle  may  be  classified  in  the  next  most 
serious deficiency group if the combined effects of the defects result in a higher risk to road 
safety.  

2.6 Percentage  of  vehicles  to  be  inspected;  Inspection  report  and  databases  on 
technical roadside inspection; Communication of information to the Commission 

As a novelty, the Directive defined the overall objective that every  year the total number of 
initial technical roadside inspections in the EU has to correspond to at least 5 % of the total 
number of registered heavy goods vehicles, busses and heavy trailers.    

On a Member State level it means that each of them is required to make efforts to carry out a 
proportionate amount of initial technical roadside inspections, taken into account the number 
of such vehicles registered in its territory.  

Member  States  are  obliged  to  collect  certain  information  after  both  the  initial  and  the  more 
detailed technical roadside inspections. The collected information serves as the basis for the 
reports they have to send to the Commission every second year.  

The  first  national  reports  will  cover  2019  and  2020  and  will  be  due  to  be  sent  to  the 
Commission by 31 March 2021.   

2.7 Designation of a contact point; cooperation between Member States;  Concerted 

roadside inspections 

The Directive required Member States to designate and notify their national contact point to 
the Commission. The tasks of this contact points are,  

  To  ensure  coordination  with  the  national  contact  points  of  other  Member  States  in 
questions  related  to  the  Directive,  in  particular  where  during  a  roadside  inspection 
major  or  dangerous  deficiencies  were  identified  in  a  vehicle  registered  in  another 
Member State;  

7  Commission recommendation on the assessment of defects during roadworthiness testing in accordance with 
Directive 2009/40/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles 
and their trailers (2010/378/EU) 

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  To  send  to  the  Commission  every  second  year  the  data  of  technical  roadside 

inspections they carried out.   

3. 

NATIONAL TRANSPOSITION MEASURES NOTIFIED BY THE MEMBER STATES AND THE 
PRELIMINARY FINDINGS OF THEIR ASSESSMENT  

3.1 National transposition measures notified by the Member States  

Member States had to  adopt  and publish the national measures  required  to  comply with  the 
Directive  by 20 May 2017 and subsequently notify them  to  the Commission.  The measures 
have applied from 20 May 2018.  

By  20  May  2017  only  8  of  the  28  Member  States  informed  the  Commission  that  the 
transposition  of  the  Directive  had  been  completed.  In  line  with  the  procedural  rules,  the 
Commission  launched  infringement  procedures  urging  the  other  20  Member  States  to  adopt 
the required national transposition measures. The launch of the infringement procedures was 
the basis of intensive exchanges with the Member States and in the majority of the cases it led 
to the notification of the missing national transposition measures.   

3.2 Preliminary findings  

In  order  to  gain  a  preliminary  assessment  of  the  national  transposition  measures  on  their 
compliance  with  the  Directive’s  requirements,  the  Commission  has  contracted  an  external 
contractor. The findings of the contractor are being further analysed by the Commission, the 
work is expected to be finalised in the coming months. 

3.2.1  The scope of the Directive 

According to the preliminary analysis of the national transposition measures, the inclusion of 
speed-tractors  was  challenging  for  some  Member  States.  Some  minor  issues  could  also  be 
detected  in  relation  to  the  vehicle  categories  having  already  been  part  of  the  roadside 
inspection regime, which will require further clarification.    

3.2.2  Risk  rating  system;  Selection  of  vehicles  for  initial  technical  roadside 

inspection 

The preliminary assessment indicated possible problems in several Member States concerning 
the  extension  of  the  risk  rating  system  with  the  information  stemming  from  the  technical 
roadside inspections. This will require further analysis and exchanges with the Member States 
concerned.  

It seems that the majority of the Member States have introduced the optional measures of the 
Directive  concerning  the  selection  of  vehicles  and  no  substantial  concern  was  raised  during 
the preliminary assessment.    

3.2.3  The  roadside  inspection  system;  Contents  and  methods  of  the  technical 

roadside inspections 

According  to  the  preliminary  findings,  the  introduction  of  the  separate  initial  and  more 
detailed stage of the technical roadside inspection proved challenging. It seems that the clear 
separation of the two stages has not been introduced in some Member States, which may raise 
further questions on issues directly related to the different stages, such as the data collection, 
more detailed roadside inspection report or the training of inspectors.     

3.2.4  Responsibilities; Inspectors; Inspection facilities; Penalties 

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The  preliminary  analysis  did  not  raise  major  concerns  but  some  points  in  relation  to  the 
requirements  set  out  for  the inspectors will need further assessment  and exchanges with  the 
Member States concerned.     

3.2.5  Assessment  of  deficiencies;  Follow-up  in  case  of  major  or  dangerous 

deficiencies; Inspection fees 

The  overall  conclusions  of  the  preliminary  assessment  were  positive,  but  some  points  will 
require further clarifications.    

It  seems  that  only  a  few  Member  States  introduced  the  optional  measures  to  require  the 
payment of a fee linked to carrying out the inspection where defects have been found during 
the more detailed inspection.  

3.2.6  Percentage of vehicles to be inspected; Inspection report and databases on 
technical  roadside  inspection;  Communication  of  information  to  the 
Commission 

As regards the 5 % threshold and the proportionate amount of inspections on Member State 
level  and the communication of information  to  the Commission  every second  year, national 
transposition measures were in some cases difficult to identify but the preliminary assessment 
did not identify no major issues.    

On the other hand, the new obligation on the collection of different sets of information after 
initial and more detailed inspections seems to have been challenging for some Member States 
and further clarification and exchange with the Member States concerned will be necessary.  

Concerning  the  information  to  be  collected  on  national  level,  it  should  be  noted  that  in  the 
absence  of  transitional  measures,  the  Directive  created  a  difficult  situation  for  the  Member 
States. The Directive applies from 20 May 2018, but the first national reports in accordance 
with the Directive will only cover 2019 and 2020. This means, that the data for the entirety of 
2018  would  still  need  to  be  collected  and  the  national  reports  prepared  in  accordance  with 
Directive 2000/30/EC, however this has been repealed on 20 May 2018, with the application 
start of the Directive. This legal vacuum posed substantial practical problems for the Member 
States during the compilation of their 2017-2018 roadside inspection reports.    

3.2.7  Designation  of  a  contact  point;  cooperation  between  Member  States; 

Concerted roadside inspections;   

Member States notified their national  contact  points  by 20 May  2015 and have sent  regular 
updates since then. Based on the notifications and their subsequent updates, the Commission 
has  drawn  up  a  list  of  the  notified  national  contact  points  and  regularly  distributes  it  to  the 
Member States.  

2.  SUMMARY – CONCLUSSIONS  

The Roadworthiness Package adopted in 2014 introduced a number of novelties in the field of 
periodic roadworthiness testing, the technical roadside inspection of commercial vehicles and 
the vehicle registration documents, while at the same time it kept the majority of existing and 
functioning requirements in place.  

8  Member  States  have  completed  the  transposition  of  the  Directive’s  measures  into  their 
national legislation on time. The other 20 have fulfilled their transposition obligation after the 
Commission has launched the official procedures urging them to do so.  

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As  regards  the  compliance  of  the  national  measures  with  those  of  the  Directive,  the 
preliminary assessment indicates that the transposition appears to be overall satisfactory in the 
majority of Member States, however in some cases the Commission may consider launching 
exchanges  with  the  Member  States  concerned  in  order  to  clarify  potential  non-compliance 
issues.  

Concerning  the  effects  of  the  Directive  on  the  various  aspects  of  the  technical  roadside 
inspection  of  commercial  vehicles,  meaningful  conclusions  could  be  drawn  only  based  on 
data  generated  after  three  years’  uninterrupted  period  of  application.  Nevertheless  the 
Commission will closely monitor the situation and follow up with an ex-post evaluation when 
the time comes.   

9