29. 12. 86 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 333/7
The Community competition policy will be a success if are the true challenges of our time,
it accommodates these two forces for change, which
Done at Brussels, 23 October 1986.
The Chairman
of the Economic and Social Committee
Alfons MARGOT
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 77/143/EEC on the
approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to roadworthiness tests for motor
vehicles and their trailers
(86/C 333/02)
On 20 May 1986 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee,
under Article 75 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the
abovementioned proposal.
The Section for Transport and Communications, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 10 September 1986, in the light of
the oral report by Mr Corell Ayora.
At its 240th plenary session (meeting of 23 October 1986) (rapporteur-general: Mr Corell
Ayora, Article 18 of RP) the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion
unanimously.
1. General comments
1.1. The Committee welcomes the objectives of the
proposed Directive, which is aimed primarily at increas-
ing road safety and could also have an impact on:
— the protection of the environment by limiting noise
and reducing CO, HC and NOx emissions from
exhausts,
— fuel savings, new jobs, improved vehicle availability,
and the provision of better information for vehicle
owners and manufacturers.
1.2. By approximating legislation, the proposal will
also help to eliminate differences between Member
States and eventually to bring the Community together
in such a sensitive area as road safety.
1.3. It must be pointed out in this context that some
Member States have considerable ground to make up
and gaps to fill in their vehicle testing legislation: this
has serious consequences on road safety. The sharp rise
in the number of vehicles on the roads in recent years
has further aggravated the situation. In this respect
the Committee regrets that the Community institutions
and, first and foremost, the Council have been very
slow to do anything about introducing Community
legislation for the testing of light vehicles.
1.4. However, it must not be forgotten that the
extension of roadworthiness testing to private cars and
vans concerns only one aspect of road safety. Only if
measures are taken as soon as possible in other fields
—as the Committee has already suggested in its opinion
on European Road Safety Year (1986) (2)—will a con-
siderable improvement in road safety be possible. The
Commission's proposals on these matters are eagerly
awaited.
(J) OJ No C 133, 31. 5. 1986, p. 3. (2) OJ No C 101, 28. 4. 1986, p. 8.
No C 333/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 29. 12. 86
1.5. The Committee also points out that it has on
several occasions in the past stressed the need for
mandatory roadworthiness tests on vehicles travelling
on the Community's roads, e.g. in its opinions on
the roadworthiness testing of heavy vehicles and other
categories of vehicles, the Directives on the lead content
of petrol and motor vehicle emissions and European
Road Safety Year(!).
1.6. While accepting the Commission's proposal in
principle, the Committee thinks that its application
will pose problems and that some aspects should be
improved. Accordingly, it would make the following
comments.
2. Specific comments
2.1. The Committee deduces from the explanatory
memorandum to the Commission proposal that
adequate data were available to justify an extension of
Directive 77/143/EEC to the categories of vehicle in
question (cf. point 1.4.). In order to better assess the
full implications of the proposal the Committee would,
however, have liked to have detailed information on
the following:
— the tests currently carried out on private cars and
light goods vehicles in Member States (e.g. test
procedures and content, advantages and disadvan-
tages),
— the special circumstances in each country, e.g. the
number of vehicles on the roads, their classification
according to category and age, existence of test
centres and spare parts,
— the application to date in the Member States of
Directive 77/143/EEC, i.e. whether and to what
extent the Directive has been applied and with what
results.
In this connection the Committee urges the Commission
to take account of these points in the studies and
research which it intends to promote in the field of
road safety, including the creation of a Community
data bank for road safety to which all the Member
States would have access. Furthermore, the Committee
considers that it would be useful to have reliable docu-
mented data on the costs and benefits of the proposed
measures. (The experiences gained with the testing of
private cars in some countries are a valuable asset here.)
Conclusions can be drawn about whether such
(') OJ No C 60, 26. 7. 1986, p. 1; OJ No C 25, 28. 1. 1985, p.
46; OJ No C 101, 28. 4. 1986, p. 8.
measures ought to be applied once the costs and benefits
are compared. On the cost side a distinction must be
drawn between (a) the direct cost of building and
maintaining test centres and verifying that the measures
have been applied and (b) the indirect cost for vehicle
owners.
2.2. It must not be concluded from the foregoing,
however, that the reduction of the number of road
deaths and injuries is a 'negotiable' social objective.
2.3. The Committee regrets that the Directive does
not cover motorcycles, and that there are no special
provisions for other categories of vehicles (cf. 2.7.). It
also wonders how the roadworthiness of agricultural
machinery and tractors could be ensured. This should
not, however, hinder the rapid adoption of the Directive
by the Council.
2.4. The list of items to be tested (Annex III) is, on
the whole, adequate and sensible. Of course, certain
items might still have to be reconsidered, or elucidated
(e.g. nuisance of old vehicles, steering). Furthermore,
the Committee thinks that the content of the list must
be reviewed from time to time to make allowance for
changes in vehicle design and equipment (e.g. introduc-
tion of microelectronics in recent years).
2.5. It is also vital that most of the tests are carried
out on the basis of objective criteria. Subjective tests
(e.g. checking the suspension's or the steering's wear
and tear), an obvious source of controversy, should be
reduced to a minimum.
2.6. On the subject of testing procedures and the
content and frequency of tests, it should be considered
whether a distinction ought to be made between tests
relating to the mechanical condition of the vehicle (and
hence linked directly to road safety) and environment-
ally-related tests. Such distinctions are already made
within the Community.
2.7. Furthermore, the Committee would like to see
consideration given to a special roadworthiness test in
the following cases:
— private, commercial and hired vehicles (e.g. more
frequent tests for the latter),
29. 12. 86 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 333/9
— vehicles not type-approved prior to registration,
vehicles undergoing a periodic test and vehicles under-
going a special test following a change of owner or an
accident.
2.8. The Committee further considers that appli-
cation of the Directive by the Member States is in itself
not enough: it must also be applied uniformly. This
applies particularly to the content of the tests. A vehicle
which passes the test in one Member State should also
pass the test in any other Member State.
2.9. The Committee thinks that the roadworthiness
tests are the responsibility of the authorities. It is also
up to the Member State authorities to lay down the
procedures and to verify the application of the road-
worthiness test. However, the Committee agrees with
the Commission (Article 1 (3) of the proposal) that the
tests could be delegated to approved workshops which
have the necessary equipment, as is the case in some
countries. These workshops should come under perma-
nent State supervision.
2.10. There are no provisions in the proposal about
vehicles which fail roadworthiness tests. The Commit^
Done at Brussels, 23 October 1986.
tee thinks that the repair or demolition of such vehicles
should be made mandatory. For this purpose there
ought to be 'automatic checks', as there are in some
countries where a roadworthiness certificate is required
to obtain the documents necessary for putting a vehicle
on the road.
2.11. As far as the implementation of the Directive
is concerned (Article 2), the Committee thinks that
the Commission and the Council should review the
timetable of derogations in Article 2 (3) of the proposal
which, in its view, lays down overly short deadlines for
those Member States which do not have adequate test-
ing facilities at the moment.
2.12. Finally, the Committee considers that the infor-
mation to be supplied to the Commission by the Mem-
ber States with regard to the adopted measures (Article
2 (2) of the proposal) must be supplied annually on the
basis of documents common to all Member States. This
will make it possible to improve the accuracy, clarity
and regularity of the information given and check the
application of the measures more effectively. The Com-
mission, in turn, should publish periodic reports on the
information supplied by the Member States with regard
to the Directive's application, and should submit these
reports to the Committee.
The Chairman
of the Economic and Social Committee
Alfons MARGOT
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy