Motor vehicles with trailers: front underrun protection devices (until 2014)

1) OBJECTIVE

To improve the protection of the occupants of passenger cars and light vans from injury in the event of a head-on collision with heavy goods vehicles.

2) ACT

Directive

2000/40/EC

of the European Parliament and the Council of 26 June 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the front underrun protection of motor vehicles and amending Directive

70/156/EEC

of the Council [Official Journal L 203 of 10.08.2000].

3) SUMMARY

The Community has acceded to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Agreement concerning the adoption of uniform conditions of approval and reciprocal recognition of approval for motor vehicle equipment and parts. Through its accession to the Agreement, the Community subscribed to a defined list of Regulations, including Regulation No 93 concerning front underrun protective devices for commercial vehicles having a mass exceeding 3.5 tonnes.

In order to reduce the number of European road accident casualties, the Commission proposes the introduction of the measures established by that Regulation into the EC type-approval procedure set up by Council Directive 70/156/EEC.

A front underrun protective device is defined as "a front underrun protective device which is intended to be part of a vehicle and which can be approved as a separate technical unit in accordance with Directive 70/156/EEC".

Member States may not refuse to grant type-approval (EC or national), or prohibit the registration, sale or entry into service of vehicles on grounds relating to their front underrun protection if it complies with the technical requirements of the Directive.

Member States may no longer grant type-approval (EC or national) and must prohibit the registration, sale or entry into service of vehicles on grounds relating to their front underrun protection if it does not comply with the technical requirements of the Directive.

Applications for EC type-approval must be submitted by the manufacturer of the front underrun protective device, using the model information document in the Annex to the Directive as a basis. A representative sample of the type of device to be approved must be submitted to the technical service responsible for conducting the type-approval tests.

The technical requirements which have to be complied with in order to obtain a type-approval in accordance with the Directive are those set out in United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Regulation 93.

Last updated: 18.07.2005