9 Road safety
| (27903)
13869/06
+ ADDs 1-2
COM(06) 570
| Draft Directive on the retrofitting of mirrors to heavy goods vehicles registered in the Community
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| Legal base | Article 71; co-decision; QMV
|
| Department | Transport |
| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 10 May 2007
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| Previous Committee Report | HC 41-ii (2006-07), para 5 (29 November 2007)
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| To be discussed in Council | 7-8 June 2007
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
9.1 Under Directives 2003/97/EC and 2005/97/EC new goods vehicles
over 7.5 tonnes and certain goods vehicles between 3.5 and 7.5
tonnes have to be fitted, from January 2007, with an increased
number of mirrors in order to reduce blind spots, particularly
those in close proximity to high-sided vehicles, where the driver
often has an obstructed view of pedestrians, cyclists and other
vehicles. The provisions apply to goods vehicles between 3.5 and
7.5 tonnes which have cabs of sufficient height to enable close
proximity mirrors to be fitted at least two metres from the ground
and still be visible to the driver.
9.2 This draft Directive would require heavy goods vehicles to
be fitted retrospectively with enhanced devices, for example mirrors,
so as to reduce the number of fatal accidents involving vulnerable
road users. It would apply to all goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes
not covered by Directives 2003/97/EC and 2005/27/EC. The proposal:
● requires
vehicles covered to be fitted with a wide angle mirror and a close
proximity mirror complying with Directive 2003/97/EC on the passenger
side;
● where
it is impractical to fit mirrors conforming to Directive 2003/97/EC,
allows the use of indirect vision devices, for example cameras,
provided at least the same field of view is covered;
● requires
Member States to introduce initiatives to raise awareness of dangers
for road users arising from vehicle blind spots; and
● does
not apply to vehicles more than 10 years old, to vehicles not
able to mount a close proximity mirror and a wide angle mirror
more than two metres from the ground and visible to the driver
and to vehicles subject to national requirements prior to entry
into force of Directive 2003/97/EC and which are fitted with devices
such that the driver has a total field of vision not less than
95% of that required by that legislation for a close proximity
mirror and a wide angle mirror.
9.3 When we considered the proposal in November 2006
we noted that the draft Directive appeared to have the potential
to add to the useful mechanisms for improving road safety and
did not clear the document but asked to hear about:
● how
the draft Directive was developing in negotiation, particularly
in relation to the Government's wish for provisions to include
front mirrors, at least for the largest of vehicles, and for lenses
complying with the new requirements to bear identification marks
to provide both a clear indicator to the consumer when buying
replacements and a simple enforcement mechanism;
● a
resolution of the subsidiarity issue related to a proposed requirement
as to how a Member State deploys its road safety publicity budget;
and
● the
outcome of the Government's consultations.[21]
The Minister's letter
9.4 The Minister of State, Department of Transport
(Dr Stephen Ladyman) now responds on the matters on which we wished
to hear. He tells us there has been a considerable amount of progress
in negotiating this proposal and it is hoped that a first reading
deal will be possible at the Transport Council of 7-8 June 2007.
The European Parliament's plenary first reading on 10 May 2007
adopted 26 mainly textual amendments which are consistent with
the outcome of the negotiations in the Council Working Group.
The outcome includes:
● application
of the requirements to vehicles first registered on or after a
fixed date, 1 January 2000, rather than ten years prior to the
date of entry into force of the legislation;
● compliance
to be the responsibility of the individual Member State with the
most likely method being as part of the routine annual roadworthiness
test; and
● the
procedures for compliance testing as part of the roadworthiness
tests to be determined separately by comitology.[22]
9.5 The Minister says, in relation to provisions
to include front mirrors and for lenses complying with the new
requirements to bear identification marks, the Government pursued
these during negotiations but received insufficient support from
other Member States to persuade the Presidency to include them.
However, in the light of the Government's action, the present
text requires the Commission to report on blind-spot accidents
generally and review the cost-effectiveness of remedial measures,
including retro-fitting front mirrors to heavy goods vehicles.
9.6 As for the subsidiarity issue the Minister says
that the original proposal:
● allowed
only 12 months for implementation of the new requirements, that
is the date by which the national requirements must be in place;
and
● included
mandatory requirements upon Member States to conduct national
awareness campaigns highlighting the dangers to road users arising
from vehicle blind spots.
However, negotiations, including with the European
Parliament, have resulted in an amended implementation deadline
of 31 March 2009 and the dropping of the requirement for mandatory
national awareness campaigns, so eliminating the subsidiarity
problem.
9.7 The Minister tells us that his Department's consultation,
which ended on 4 May 2007, sought views from 77 interested parties,
including vehicle manufacturers, road haulage sector representatives,
police and road safety organisations and received 19 replies.
He notes that:
● organisations
concerned with vulnerable road users welcome the proposal, claiming
that cost should not be a consideration when lives can be saved;
● the
road haulage associations believe the cost of fitting additional
mirrors would be an excessive burden on their members when compared
to the benefits to road safety;
● they
also express concern over the difficulty of fitting mirrors retrospectively
and that manufacturers will not be able to design and produce
the mirrors required to ensure full compliance of the national
fleet in the time frame allowed; and
● the
Department's preliminary review of the responses show that 70%
of the respondents are in favour of the proposals, although 53%
had some concerns about the impact on industry.
The Minister encloses his Department's initial findings
on the consultation and we annex them.
9.8 The Minister says that the Government is content
with the outcome of negotiations and the responses from the consultation.
It believes that the road safety benefits of these proposals outweigh
the costs and that it should continue to support the proposal.
9.9 The Minister adds also that the fresnel lens[23]
trial he mentioned in his Explanatory Memorandum of 16 November
2006[24] has now officially
concluded but the final report is not yet available.
Conclusion
9.10 We are grateful to the Minister for this
account of where matters now stand on this draft Directive. We
note the improvements to the draft that have been secured and
that, despite the mixed response from consultees, the Government
believes that the road safety benefits of draft Directive outweigh
the costs and that it will continue to support the proposal. We
have no further questions to raise and clear the document.
21 See headnote. Back
22
Comitology is the system of committees which oversees the exercise
by the Commission of legislative powers delegated to it by the
Council and the European Parliament. Comitology committees are
made up of representatives of the Member States and chaired by
the Commission. There are three types of procedure (advisory,
management and regulatory), an important difference between which
is the degree of involvement and power of Member States' representatives.
Regulatory with Scrutiny, introduced in July 2006, gives a scrutiny
role to the European Parliament in most applications of comitology. Back
23
Fresnel lenses are flat lenses with a series of concentric rings,
typically used for example in overhead projectors. The idea is
to stick a lens on the inside of the off-side window to give the
driver a field of view around and beneath it. Back
24
See HC 41-ii (2006-07), para
5 (29 November 2007). Back
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