Tractors and agricultural or forestry machinery: front-mounted protection structures

With the primary aim of ensuring safety at work and road safety, the European Union has harmonised the technical requirements for front-mounted roll-over protection structures on narrow-track tractors.

ACT

Council Directive 87/402/EEC of 25 June 1987 on roll-over protection structures mounted in front of the driver's seat on narrow-track wheeled agricultural and forestry tractors [See amending acts ].

SUMMARY

Scope

The directive applies to narrow-track tractors, i.e. tractors with a minimum track width of less than 1 150 mm, an unladen weight of between 600 and 3 000 kg and ground clearance of not more than 600 mm beneath the lowest points of the front and rear axles, allowing for the differential.

No Member State may refuse or prohibit the sale, registration, entry into service or use of a tractor, or refuse to grant EC type-approval or national type-approval for a tractor, if it satisfies the requirements of the directive. All tractors covered by the directive must be fitted with a roll-over protection structure.

Construction and testing requirements

Annexes I and II set out construction and testing procedures and the conditions for granting EC component type-approval and type-approval. For each type of roll-over protection structure and its tractor attachment which Member States approve, they must issue to the manufacturer of the tractor or of the roll-over protection structure, or to his or her authorised representative, an EC component type-approval mark (conforming to the model in Annex VII).

Once a roll-over protection structure or its tractor attachment bears the EC component type-approval mark and it meets the conditions laid down in Annex IX, its placing on the market cannot be prohibited.

However, a Member State may prohibit the placing on the market of roll-over protection structures bearing the EC component type-approval mark which fail to conform to the approved type.

Information shared on a monthly basis

Each month, Member States must send to the other Member States copies of the component type-approval certificate (an example is provided in Annex VIII), completed for each type of roll-over protection structure which they approve or refuse to approve.

Repeal

167/2013 of 5 February 2013 repeals Directive 87/402/EEC with effect from 1.1.2016.

Last updated: 30.06.2014