(1)

To enable the use of king pin couplings on rigid drawbar towed vehicles, it is necessary to ensure their functional safety. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce braking requirements to such combinations of tractors and towed vehicles.

(2)

A significant number of towed vehicles are still in use with single-line couplings. In order to prevent accidents caused by incorrectly connected braking systems and to ensure that towed vehicles equipped with a single-line system perform correctly when connected to tractors equipped with two control lines, the requirements for such combinations should be specified to ensure the required level of safety by means of type-approval requirements.

(3)

UN Regulation No 148 combines the provisions of UN Regulations No 4, 6, 7, 23, 38, 50, 77, 87 and 91 into a single UN Regulation to simplify the lighting and light-signalling UN Regulations and to increase the clarity, to consolidate and streamline the complexity of requirements by reducing the number of UN Regulations through an editorial exercise without changing any of the detailed technical requirements already in force until the date of entry into force of UN Regulation No 148. Therefore, UN Regulation No 148 should be included in the list of applicable UN Regulations as an alternative requirement.

(4)

UN Regulation No 149 combines the provisions of UN Regulations No 19, 98, 112, 113, 119 and 123 into a single UN Regulation to simplify the lighting and light-signalling UN Regulations and to increase the clarity, to consolidate and streamline the complexity of requirements by reducing the number of UN Regulations through an editorial exercise without changing any of the detailed technical requirements already in force until the date of entry into force of UN Regulation No 149. Therefore, UN Regulation No 149 should be included in the list of applicable UN Regulations as an alternative requirement.

(5)

UN Regulation No 150 combines the provisions of UN Regulations No 3, 27, 69, 70 and 104 into a single UN Regulation to simplify the lighting and light-signalling UN Regulations and to increase the clarity, to consolidate and streamline the complexity of requirements by reducing the number of UN Regulations through an editorial exercise without changing any of the detailed technical requirements already in force until the date of entry into force of UN Regulation No 150. Therefore, UN Regulation No 150 should be included in the list of applicable UN Regulations as an alternative requirement.

(6)

The amendments to Commission Delegated Regulations (EU) 2015/68 (2) and (EU) 2015/208 (3) are both safety related and reflect the technological developments. For those reasons, it is appropriate to adopt them in a single act.

(7)

In order to reflect technical progress, it is appropriate to introduce electrical safety requirements that have already been developed for other vehicle categories with an electric powertrain, which will be followed by other requirements in terms of mechanical impacts, durability, cybersecurity and software updates.

(8)

Delegated Regulations (EU) 2015/68 and (EU) 2015/208 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(9)

The changes to Article 16 and Article 17 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/68 reflect the actual technical development. It would create an unnecessary administrative burden to require vehicle manufacturers to introduce an adjustment in production just for the short period before the publication of this Regulation. It is therefore justified to apply this Regulation as fast as possible and retrospectively,

(1)

in Article 2, point 25 is replaced by the following:

(2)

Article 16 is replaced by the following:

(3)

in Article 17, the fourth paragraph is replaced by the following:

‘With effect from 1 January 2025, national authorities shall prohibit the making available on the market, registration, or entry into service of new tractors fitted with braking systems that are only suitable for hydraulic connections of the single-line type.’;

(4)

Annex XIII is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation.