The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986

Emission of smoke, vapour, gases, oily substances etcE+W+S

61.—(1) Subject to [F1paragraph (3B)], every vehicle shall be constructed [F2and maintained] so as not to emit any avoidable smoke or avoidable visible vapour.

(2) Every motor vehicle using solid fuel shall be fitted with—

(a)a tray or shield to prevent ashes and cinders from falling onto the road; and

(b)an efficient appliance to prevent any emission of sparks or grit.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4) and to the exemptions specified in an item in column 4 of [F3Table I], every wheeled vehicle of a class specified in that item in column 2 shall be constructed so as to comply with the requirements specified in that item in column 3.

[F4(3A) A motor vehicle to which an item in Table II applies shall be so constructed as to comply with the requirements relating to conformity of production models set out in the provisions specified in that item in column (4) of that Table.]

[F5(3B) Instead of complying with paragraph (1) a vehicle may comply with a relevant instrument.

(3C) Instead of complying with such provisions of items 1, 2 and 3 in Table I as apply to it, a vehicle may at the time of its first use comply with a relevant instrument.]

(4) [F6For the purposes of paragraphs (3B) and (3C), a reference to a vehicle complying with a relevant instrument is a reference to a vehicle complying]—

(a)if it is propelled by a compression ignition engine, with Community Directive 72/306 (or, in the case of an agricultural vehicle, 77/537) or ECE Regulation 24.01, 24.02 or 24.03; or

[F7(b)if it is propelled by a spark ignition engine, with any instrument mentioned in column (4)(a) of Table II.]

(5) No person shall use, or cause or permit to be used, on a road any motor vehicle—

(a)from which any smoke, visible vapour, grit, sparks, ashes, cinders or oily substance is emitted if that emission causes, or is likely to cause, damage to any property or injury or danger to any person who is, or who may reasonably be expected to be, on the road;

(b)which is subject to the requirement in item 2 of [F3Table I] (whether or not it is deemed to comply with that requirement by virtue of paragraph (4)), if the fuel injection equipment, the engine speed governor or any other parts of the engine by which it is propelled have been altered or adjusted so as to increase the emission of smoke; or

(c)which is subject to the requirement in item 1 of the Table if the device mentioned in column 2 in that item is used while the vehicle is in motion.

(6) No person shall use, or cause or permit to be used, on a road a motor vehicle to which item 3 of [F3Table I] applies unless it is so maintained that the means specified in column 3 of that item are in good working order.

[F8(7) Subject to paragraphs [F9(7A),] [F10(7B), (7C), (7D),] [F11(7E), (7F), (7G), (7H),] (8), (9) and (10), no person shall use, or cause or permit to be used, on a road a motor vehicle to which an item in Table II applies if, in relation to the emission of the substances specified in column (6) of the item, the vehicle does not comply with the requirements relating to conformity of production models specified in column (4) unless the following conditions are satisfied in respect to it–

(a)the failure to meet those requirements in relation to the emission of those substances does not result from an alteration to the propulsion unit or exhaust system of the vehicle,

(b)[F12neither would those requirements] be met in relation to the emission of those substances nor would such emissions be materially reduced if maintenance work of a kind which would fall within the scope of a normal periodic service of the vehicle were to be carried out on the vehicle, and

(c)the failure to meet those requirements in relation to such emissions does not result from any device designed to control the emission of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen or particulates fitted to the vehicle being other than in good and efficient working order.

[F13(7A) In relation to a vehicle to which Part III of Schedule 1B of the Type Approval (Great Britain) Regulations applies, item 8 of Table II shall have effect as if for the entry in column (3) there were substituted “31st December 1993”.]

[F14(7B) In relation to a vehicle to which Part III of Schedule 1B of the Type Approval for Goods Vehicles Regulations applies, item 9 of Table II shall have effect as if for the entry in column (3) there were substituted “1st October 1994”.

(7C) In relation to a vehicle to which neither the Type Approval of Goods Vehicles Regulations not the Type Approval (Great Britain) Regulations applies, and which was one among the first specified number of relevant vehicles to have been manufactured, item 9 of Table II shall have effect as if for the entry in column (3) there were substituted “1st October 1994”.

(7D) For the purposes of paragraph (7C) above, in relation to a vehicle (“the vehicle in question”),—

(a)“specified number” is 10 per cent. of the total number of vehicles to which neither the Type Approval for Goods Vehicles Regulations nor the Type Approval (Great Britain) Regulations applies that were both—

(i)manufactured by the manufacturer of the vehicle in question; and

(ii)registered under the Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971 during the period beginning with 1st October 1992 and ending with 30th September 1993;

or 50 whichever is the greater; and

(b)“a relevant vehicle” is a vehicle [F15to which neither the Type Approval for Goods Vehicles Regulations nor the Type Approval (Great Britain) Regulations applies and] which—

F16(i). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(ii)was manufactured by the manufacturer of the vehicle in question on or after 1st April 1991 and before 1st October 1993;

(iii)was in the territory of a member State at some time before 1st October 1993;

(iv)was in existence on 1st October 1993; but

(v)had not been registered under the Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971 before1st October 1993.]

[F17(7E) In relation to a vehicle to which either Part IV of Schedule 1B of the Type Approval (Great Britain) Regulations or Part IV of the Type Approval for Goods Vehicles Regulations applies, item 11 of Table II shall have effect as if for the entry in column (3) there were substituted “1st October 1995”.

(7F) In relation to a vehicle to which neither the Type Approval (Great Britain) Regulations nor the Type Approval for Goods Vehicles Regulations applies, and which was one among the first specified number of relevant vehicles to have been manufactured, item 11 of Table II shall have effect as if for the entry in column (3) there were substituted “1st October 1995”.

(7G) For the purposes of paragraph (7F) above, in relation to a vehicle (“the vehicle in question”),—

(a)“specified number” is 10 per cent. of the total number of vehicles to which neither the Type Approval (Great Britain) Regulations nor the Type Approval for Goods Vehicles Regulations applies that were both—

(i)manufactured by the manufacturer of the vehicle in question; and

(ii)registered under the Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971 or the Vehicles Excise and Registration Act 1994 during the period beginning with 1st October 1993 and ending with 30th September 1994;

or 50 whichever is the greater; and

(b)a “relevant vehicle” is a vehicle to which neither the Type Approval (Great Britain) Regulations nor the Type Approval for Goods Vehicles Regulations apply and which—

(i)was manufactured by the manufacturer of the vehicle in question on or after 1st August 1992 and before 1st August 1994;

(ii)was in the territory of an EEA State at some time before 1st October 1994;

(iii)was in existence on 1st October 1994; but

(iv)had not been registered under the Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971 or the Vehicles Excise and Registration Act 1994 before 1st October 1994.

(7H) In paragraph (7G) above—

“EEA State” means a State which is a Contracting Party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993, but until that Agreement comes into force in relation to Liechtenstein does not include the State of Liechtenstein.]

(8) Paragraph (7) shall not apply to a vehicle first used before 26th June 1990.

(9) Where–

(a)a vehicle is fitted with a device of the kind referred to in sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (7),

(b)the vehicle does not comply with the requirements specified in that paragraph in respect to it, and

(c)the conditions specified in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of that paragraph are satisfied in respect to the vehicle,

nothing in paragraph (7) shall prevent the vehicle being driven to a place where the device is to be repaired or replaced.

[F18(10) Where a vehicle is constructed or assembled by a person not ordinarily engaged in the business of manufacturing motor vehicles of that description, the date on which it is first used shall, for the purposes of paragraphs (3A), (7), (8) and (9), be regarded as being the 1st January immediately preceding the date of manufacture of the engine by which it is propelled.

However, the date on which a vehicle is first used shall not, by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, be regarded in any circumstances as being later than the date on which it would otherwise have been regarded as being first used had those provisions been omitted.]

[F19[F20(10A) Without prejudice to paragraphs (1) and (7) and subject to the following provisions of this regulation, no person shall use, or cause or permit to be used on a road, a vehicle first used on or after 1st August 1975 and propelled by a four-stroke spark ignition engine, if the vehicle is in such a condition and running on such fuel that—

(a)when the engine is idling the carbon monoxide content of the exhaust emissions from the engine exceeds—

(i)in the case of a vehicle first used before 1st August 1986, 4.5%; or

(ii)in the case of a vehicle first used on or after 1st August 1986, 3.5%;

of the total exhaust emissions from the engine by volume; and

(b)when the engine is running without load at a rotational speed of 2,000 revolutions per minute, the hydrocarbon content of those emissions exceeds 0.12% of the total exhaust emissions from the engine by volume.]

[F21(10AA) Without prejudice to paragraphs (1) and (7) and subject to the following provisions of this regulation, no person shall use, or cause or permit to be used on a road, a vehicle to which this paragraph applies and which is propelled by a spark ignition engine, if the vehicle is in such a condition and running on such fuel that Part I of Schedule 7B applies to the vehicle.

(10AB) Subject to paragraphs (10AC) and (10B), paragraph (10AA) applies to—

(a)a passenger car which—

(i)is first used on or after 1st August 1992 and before 1st August 1994, and

(ii)is of a description mentioned in the Annex to the emissions publication;

(b)a vehicle which—

(i)is not a passenger car,

(ii)is first used on or after 1st August 1994 and before 1st August 1996, and

(iii)is of a description mentioned in the Annex to the emissions publication;

(c)a passenger car which is first used on or after 1st August 1994; or

(d)a vehicle which—

(i)is not a passenger car,

(ii)is first used on or after 1st August 1996, and

(iii)has a maximum gross weight not exceeding 3,500 kg,

and in this paragraph, “emissions publication” has the meaning given in Part I of Schedule 7B.

(10AC) Until 1st August 1997, paragraph (10AA) shall not apply to a vehicle in Class V or VI within the meaning of the Motor Vehicles (Tests) Regulations 1981.

(10AD) Paragraph (10A) does not apply to a vehicle to which paragraph (10AA) applies.]

(10B) [F22Paragraphs (10A) and (10AA) do not] apply to—

(a)a vehicle if at the date that the engine was manufactured, that engine was incapable of meeting the requirements specified in that paragraph;

(b)a vehicle being driven to a place where it is to undergo repairs;

(c)a vehicle which was constructed or assembled by a person not ordinarily engaged in the business of manufacturing motor vehicles of that description;

(d)an exempt vehicle within the meaning given by paragraph (12)(a) F23...;

(e)a goods vehicle with a maximum gross weight exceeding 3,500 kg;

(f)engineering plant, an industrial tractor, or a works truck; F24...

F25(g). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [F26or

(h)a vehicle first used before 1st August 1987 if the engine is a rotary piston engine; and for the purposes of this paragraph “the engine”, in relation to a vehicle, means the engine by which it is propelled.]]

[F27(10BA) Without prejudice to paragraphs (1) and (7), no person shall use, or cause or permit to be used on a road, a vehicle propelled by a compression ignition engine, if the vehicle is in such a condition and running on such fuel that Part II of Schedule 7B applies to the vehicle.

(10BB) Paragraph (10BA) shall not apply to—

(a)a vehicle if, at the date that the engine was manufactured, that engine was incapable of meeting the requirements specified in that paragraph;

(b)a vehicle being driven to a place where it is to undergo repairs;

(c)an exempt vehicle within the meaning given by paragraph (12)(a);

(d)engineering plant, an industrial tractor or a works truck; and

(e)a vehicle in Class III, IV, V or VII within the meaning of the Motor Vehicles (Tests) Regulations 1981 and first used before 1st August 1979.

(10BC) Until 1st April 1996, paragraph (10BA) shall not apply to a vehicle in respect of which there is in force a licence under section 6 of the Metropolitan Carriage Act 1869.]

[F28(10C) For the purposes of this regulation—

(a)any rotary piston engine shall be deemed to be a four-stroke engine; and

(b)“rotary piston engine” means an engine in which the torque is provided by means of one or more rotary pistons and not by any reciprocating piston.]

(11) In this regulation, a reference to a vehicle to which an item in Table II applies is a reference to a vehicle which–

(a)is of a class specified in that item in column (2) of that Table,

(b)is first used on or after the date specified in that item in column (3) of that Table, and

(c)is not exempted by the entry in that item in column (5) of that Table.

[F29and for the purposes of determining whether a vehicle is a vehicle to which [F30any item numbered 8 or more] in that Table applies, regulation 4(2) shall be disregarded]

[F31(11A) In this regulation, “passenger car” means a motor vehicle which—

(a)is constructed or adapted for use for the carriage of passengers and is not a goods vehicle;

(b)has no more than five seats in addition to the driver’s seat; and

(c)has a maximum gross weight not exceeding 2,500kg.]

(12) In Table II–

(a)“exempt vehicle” means–

(i)a vehicle with less than 4 wheels,

(ii)a vehicle with a maximum gross weight of less than 400 kg,

(iii)a vehicle with a maximum speed of less than 25 km/h, or

(iv)an agricultural motor vehicle;

(b)“direct injection” means a fuel injection system in which the injector communicates with an open combustion chamber or the main part of a divided combusion chamber.

(c)“indirect injection” means a fuel injection system in which the injector communicates with the subsidiary part of a divided combustion chamber.

(d)a reference in column (5) to a vehicle complying with an item is a reference to a vehicle that complies with the provisions specified in that item in column (4) whether the vehicle is or is not within the class of vehicles to which that item applies and any instrument mentioned in that item shall for the purposes of the reference have effect as if it applied to the vehicle in question (whether it would otherwise have done so or not).]