Two- or three-wheeled motor vehicles: audible warning device

1) OBJECTIVE

To harmonize national laws on audible warning devices for two- or three-wheeled motor vehicles.

2) ACT

Council Directive 93/30/EEC of 14 June 1993 on audible warning devices for two- or three-wheeled motor vehicles. [Official Journal L 188 of 29.07.1993].

3) SUMMARY

This proposal comes under the type- approval procedure for two- or three-wheeled motor vehicles , initially put in place by Directive 92/61/EEC which was repealed and replaced by Directive 2002/24/EC.

The vehicles covered by the proposal are divided into:

• mopeds: two- or three-wheeled vehicles fitted with an engine having a cylinder capacity not exceeding 50 cm3 and a maximum design speed of not more than 45 km/h;
• motorcycles: two-wheeled vehicles with or without sidecar, fitted with an engine having a cylinder capacity of more than 50 cm3 and/or having a maximum design speed of more than 45 km/h;
• motor tricycles: vehicles with three symmetrically arranged wheels fitted with an engine having a cylinder capacity of more than 50 cm3 and/or a maximum design speed of more than 45 km/h;
• quadricycles: vehicles with four wheels whose engine cylinder capacity does not exceed 50 cm3, whose maximum design speed is not more than 45 km/h and whose unladen mass is less than 350 kg are considered to be mopeds; other quadricycles are classed as tricycles.

Recognition of equivalence between the provisions of the proposal for a Directive and those of Regulation No 28 of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE).

Requirements relating to the design of audible warning devices:

• maximum A-weighted sound level: - 115 dB(A) for audible warning devices intended mainly for mopeds, motorcycles and tricycles developing a power of not more than 7 kW;- 118 dB(A) for audible warning devices intended mainly for motorcycles and tricycles developing a power of more than 7 kW;
• durability test: - 10 000 times in the case of warning devices intended mainly for mopeds, motorcycles and tricycles developing a power not exceeding 7 kW;- 50 000 times in the case of warning devices intended mainly for motorcycles and tricycles developing a power of more than 7 kW.

Procedure for adapting the provisions to technical progress or to amendments to the UN/ECE Regulation.

Procedure for granting type-approval:

• the application for type-approval is submitted by the manufacturer to the competent authority of a Member State;
• the competent authority grants type-approval for audible warning devices if they conform to the technical requirements of this proposal and to the data provided by the manufacturer;
• to this end it fills in the type-approval certificate contained in the annex to the proposal.

The requirements relating to audible warning devices form part of a list of 47 characteristics set out in Council framework Directive 92/61/EEC all of which must be complied with by manufacturers for two- or three-wheeled motor vehicles to be approved and marketed in the Community.

Last updated: 14.07.2005