CELEX: 51992PC0330
Language: en
Date: 1992-09-23
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON THE MASSES AND DIMENSIONS OF TWO AND THREE-WHEEL MOTOR VEHICLES

9 . 11 . 92                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                    No C 293 / 1
                                                                   II
                                                          (Preparatory Acts)
                                                     COMMISSION
               Proposal for a Council Directive on the masses and dimensions of two and three-wheel motor
                                                               vehicles
                                                            92 / C 293 / 01 )
                                                  COM(92) 330 final — SYN 428
                                      (Submitted by the Commission on 28 September 1992)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                              Directive 92/. . ./ EEC 0 ) to be implemented in respect of
                                                                       each type of said vehicle ;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community , and in particular Article 100a                    Whereas , given the scale and impact of the action proposed in
thereof,                                                               the sector in question, the Community measures which are
                                                                       the subject of this Directive are necessary , or even
                                                                       indispensable , to attain the objective set , namely Community
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ,                    vehicle type-approval ; whereas this objective cannot be
                                                                       adequately achieved by the Member States individually ;
In cooperation with the European Parliament,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social               Whereas there is a need for the rapid adjustment of the
Committee ,                                                           technical requirements set out in the Annex to this Directive
                                                                      to take account of technical progress; whereas this task
                                                                      should be entrusted to the Commission in order to simplify
Whereas it is necessary to adopt measures intended gradually
                                                                      and expedite the procedure; whereas it is advisible, whenever
to establish the internal market during the period expiring on        the Council grants powers to the Commission for the
31 December 1992 ; whereas the internal market consists of
                                                                      implementation of the rules laid down in respect of two or
an area without internal frontiers within which goods,                three-wheel motor vehicles, to provide for an advance
persons , services and capital are able to move freely;
                                                                      consultation procedure between the Commission and the
                                                                      Member States within an Advisory Committee ,
Whereas in each Member State the masses and dimensions of
two and three-wheel vehicles must display certain mandatory
technical characteristics which differ from one Member State
to another ;                                                          HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE :
Whereas owing to those differences they constitute barriers
to trade within the Community ; whereas those barriers to the                                      Article 1
establishment and operation of the internal market may be
removed if the same requirements are adopted by all of the
Member States in place of their national regulations ;
                                                                      This Directive and its Annex shall apply to the masses and
                                                                      dimensions of all types of two or three-wheel motor vehicles
                                                                      as defined in Article 1 of Council Directive 92 /. . ./ EEC of
Whereas the drawing-up of harmonized requirements                     . . . on the type-approval of two or three-wheel motor
containing the masses and dimensions of two or three-wheel            vehicles.
vehicles is necessary in order to enable the type-approval and
component type-approval procedures covered by Council                 {>) OJ No L . . .
 ---pagebreak--- No C 293 / 2                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                    9 . 11 . 92
                           Article 2                                   The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition ,
                                                                       each Member State shall have the right to ask to have its
                                                                       position recorded in the minutes. The Commission shall take
 The procedure governing the granting of component
                                                                       the utmost account of the opinion delivered by the
type-approval in respect of the masses and dimensions of a             Committee . It shall inform the Committee of the manner in
type of two or three-wheel motor vehicle and the conditions
                                                                       which its opinion has been taken into account.
 applying to the free movement of said vehicles shall be those
 set out in Council Directive 92 /. . ./ EEC of . . ., in the
 Chapters II and III respectively .
                                                                                                 Article 5
                           Article 3
                                                                       1.     Member States shall bring into force the laws,
                                                                       regulations and administrative provisions necessary to
                                                                       comply with this Directive no later than 1 August 1994. They
Any amendments necessary to adapt the requirements of the              shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
Annexes to technical progress shall be adopted in accordance
with the procedure laid down in Article 4 of this                      They shall implement these provisions with effect from
Directive .                                                            1 October 1994 .
                                                                       2.     When the Member States adopt these provisions , the
                           Article 4                                   provisions shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall
                                                                       be accompanied by such a reference when they are published
                                                                       in official form. The procedures for making such reference
In all cases where reference is made to the procedure set out in       shall be adopted by Member States.
this Article, the representative of the Commission shall
submit to the Committee set up by Article 12 of Directive
70 / 156 / EEC (') a draft of the measures to be taken . The
Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time                                   Article 6
limit which the chairman may lay down according to the
urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote .                 This Directive is addressed to the Member States .
(') OJ No L42, 23 . 2. 1970, p. 1 , as last amended by Directive
    92/53 /EEC ( OJ No L 225, 10. 8. 1992, p. 1 ).
 ---pagebreak--- 9 . 11 . 92                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                             No C 293 / 3
                                                                   ANNEX
                                    DEFINITIONS , GENERAL AND SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS
            1.        DEFINITIONS
                      For the purposes of this Directive :
            1.1 .     'length' means the distance between two vertical planes that are perpendicular to the longitudinal plane
                      of the vehicle and tangent to the front and rear of the vehicle, respectively . All components of the vehicle
                      and, in particular, any fixed component extending towards the front or rear (bumpers, mudguards, etc.)
                      shall be included within those two planes ;
            1.2 .     'width' means the distance between two planes parallel to the longitudinal plane of the vehicle and
                      tangent to the vehicle on either side of that plane. All parts of the vehicle and, in particular, all fixed
                      components extending sideways shall be included within those two planes, with the exception of the rear
                      view mirror(s );
            1.3 .     'height' means the distance between the plane supporting the vehicle and a parallel plane that is tangent
                      to the upper part of the vehicle. All fixed components of the vehicle shall be included within those two
                      planes , with the exception of the rear view mirror(s);
            1.4 .     'longitudinal plane' means a vertical plane running parallel to the straight-ahead direction of travel of the
                      vehicle;
            1.5 .     'unladen mass'      f
                                         J The definitions set out in notes d) 1 and d) 2 to Annex II to Council Directive
            1.6.      'kerb mass'        1 92/. . ./EEC shall apply.
            2.        GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
                      The following requirements must be met during checks:
            2.1 .     The dimensions shall be measured with the vehicle at its kerb mass and its tyres inflated to the pressure
                      recommended by the manufacturer for the kerb mads ;
            2.2.      The vehicle shall be in a vertical position and the wheels in a position corresponding to travel in a straight
                      line ;
            2.3 .     One of the wheels of the vehicle shall be borne by the supporting plane, with the exception of any spare
                      wheel .
            3.        SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS
            3.1 .     Maximum dimensions
            3.1.1 .   The maximum dimensions authorized for two or three-wheel motor vehicles shall be as follows:
            3.1.1.1 . — length:      4,00 m ;
            3.1.1.2 . — width :      2,00 m ;
            3.1.1.3 . — height:      2,50 m .
            3.2 .     Maximum masses
            3.2.1 .   The maximum authorized kerb masses for two or three-wheel motor vehicles are as follows:
            3.2.1.1 . two-wheel motor vehicles: technically permissible mass declared by the manufacturer
            3.2.1.2 . three-wheel motor vehicles : 1 000 kg ( no account is taken of the mass of traction batteries for electric
                      vehicles ).
            3.2.2 .   The towable mass of two or three-wheel motor vehicles shall not exceed 50 % of the kerb mass of the
                      vehicle .
            3.2.3 .   The maximum masses which may be carried by three-wheel mopeds shall be as follows :
            3.2.3.1 . — Three-wheel mopeds :                    800 kg;
            3.2.3.2 . — Tricycles:                            1 500 kg.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 293 / 4                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                        9 . 11 . 92
                                                                 Appendix 1
                  Information document in respect of the masses and dimensions of a type of two or three-wheel vehicle
             (to be attached to the application for component type-approval where this is submitted separately from the
                                                    application for vehicle type-approval )
             Order No ( assigend by the applicant ):
             The application for component type-approval in respect of the masses and dimensions of a type of two or
             three-wheel motor vehicle shall contain the information set out under the following points in Annex II to Council
             Directive 92 /. . ./ EEC , of . . .
             — under A :
                  — 0.1
                  — 0.2
                  — 0.4 to 0.6
                  — 1.2
                  — 2.1 to 2.5 ;
             — under C :
                  — 1.2.1 .
                                                                  Appendix 2
              Certificate of component type-approval in respect of the masses and dimensions of a type of two or three-wheel
                                                                 motor vehicle
                                                                                                          Name of administration
              Report No                                by testing body                          date
              Component type-approval :                                  Extension No .:
              1.   Make or trade name of vehicle :
              2 . Type of vehicle :
              3.   Manufacturer's name and address :
              4 . Name and address of manufacturer's representative ( if any ):
              5.   The vehicle submitted for test on :
              6 . Component type-approval granted / refused (*):
              7.   Place :
              8.   Date :
              9 . Signature :
              (') Delete as appropriate .