Document ID: 31996L0079

DIRECTIVE 96/79/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 16 December 1996 on the protection of occupants of motor vehicles in the event of a frontal impact and amending Directive 70/156/EEC
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers (1), and in particular Article 13 (4) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty (4),
Whereas the total harmonization of technical requirements for motor vehicles is necessary in order fully to achieve the internal market;
Whereas, in order to reduce the number of road accident casualties in Europe, it is necessary to introduce legislative measures for improving the protection of occupants of motor vehicles in the event of a frontal impact as much as possible; whereas this Directive introduces frontal impact test requirements, including biomechanical criteria, to ensure that a high level of protection in the event of a frontal impact is provided;
Whereas the aim of this Directive is to introduce requirements based on the results of research conducted by the European Experimental Vehicles Committee allowing the establishment of test criteria which are more representative of actual road accidents;
Whereas lead times are required by vehicle manufacturers for the implementation of acceptable test criteria;
Whereas, to avoid duplication of standards, it is necessary to exempt vehicles which comply with the requirements of this Directive from the need to comply with now superseded requirements in another Directive in respect of the behaviour of the steering wheel and column in an impact;
Whereas this Directive will be one of the separate directives which must be complied with in order to ensure the conformity of vehicles with the requirements of the EC type-approval procedure established by Directive 70/156/EEC; whereas, therefore, the provisions of Directive 70/156/EEC relating to vehicle systems, components and separate technical units apply to this Directive;
Whereas the procedure for determining the seating reference point in motor vehicles is given in Annex III to Council Directive 77/649/EEC of 27 September 1977 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the field of vision of motor vehicle drivers (5); whereas it is therefore unnecessary to repeat it in this Directive; whereas reference should be made in this Directive to Council Directive 74/297/EEC of 4 June 1974 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the interior fittings of motor vehicles (the behaviour of the steering mechanism in the event of an impact) (6); whereas reference is made to the United States of America Code of Federal Regulations (7),
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
For the purposes of this Directive, 'vehicle` shall have the meaning given to it in Article 2 of Directive 70/156/EEC.
Article 2
1. No Member State may, on grounds concerning the protection of occupants of vehicles in the event of a frontal impact:
- refuse, in respect of a vehicle type, to grant EC type-approval or national type-approval, or
- prohibit the registration, sale or entry into service of a vehicle,
if it complies with the requirements of this Directive.
2. With effect from 1 October 1998, Member States:
- may no longer grant EC type-approval for a vehicle type in accordance with Article 4 of Directive 70/156/EEC,
- may refuse national type-approval for a vehicle type,
unless the vehicle satisfies the requirements of this Directive.
3. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to vehicle types approved before 1 October 1998 pursuant to Directive 74/297/EEC, or to subsequent extensions to that type-approval.
4. Vehicles type-approved in accordance with this Directive shall be regarded as satisfying the requirements of paragraph 5.1 of Annex I to Directive 74/297/EEC.
5. With effect from 1 October 2003, Member States:
- shall consider certificates of conformity which accompany new vehicles in accordance with Directive 70/156/EEC to be no longer valid for the purposes of Article 7 (1) of that Directive, and
- may refuse the registration, sale or entry into service of new vehicles which are not accompanied by a certificate of conformity in accordance with Directive 70/156/EEC,
if the requirements of this Directive, including paragraphs 3.2.1.2 and 3.2.1.3 of Annex II, are not fulfilled.
Article 3
In Part I of Annex IV to Directive 70/156/EEC, the table shall be supplemented as follows:
TABLE
Article 4
In the framework of the adaptation of this Directive to technical progress, the Commission shall:
(a) review the Directive, within two years from the date mentioned in Article 5 (1), with a view to increasing the test speed and including vehicles of category N1. The review will cover inter alia accident research data, full-scale car-to-car test results, cost-benefit considerations and, in particular, the existing performance requirements (both biomechanical and geometric) and the addition of new requirements relating to footwell intrusion. The review will examine the potential gains in occupant protection and the industrial feasibility of increasing the test speed and extending the scope of the Directive to include vehicles of category N1. The results of this review will be submitted to the European Parliament and the Council in a report drawn up by the Commission;
(b) before the end of 1996 review, and, if appropriate, amend Appendix 7 to Annex II so as to take into account assessment tests on the Hybrid III dummy's ankle including vehicle tests;
(c) before the end of 1997, review and, if appropriate, amend the limit values for neck injury (as specified in paragraphs 3.2.1.2 and 3.2.1.3 of Annex II) on the basis of the values recorded during type-approval tests and on accident study and biomechanical research data;
(d) also make, before the end of 1997, the necessary amendments to the separate Directives so as to ensure the compatibility of the type-approval and extension procedures provided by the directives with those in this Directive.
Article 5
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive no later than 1 October 1996. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
When Member States adopt these provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.
2. 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.
3. Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that the results of the type-approval tests carried out by their approval authorities are made available to the public.
Article 6
This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Article 7
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 16 December 1996.

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