Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use)(Amendment)(No. 4) Regulations 2005 and shall come into force on 12th December 2005.

Preliminary

2.  The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986(2) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of these Regulations.

Amendment of regulation 3 (interpretation)

3.  In regulation 3(2), in the definition “Community Directive, followed by a number”, after the words “Commission of the European Communities”, there shall be added “or the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union”.

Amendment of regulation 4 (application and exemptions)

4.—(1) Regulation 4 shall be amended as follows.

(2) In paragraph (4)—

(a)insert at the start of paragraph (4), the words “Subject to paragraph (7),”; and

(b)in the Table add the following item after item 10—

(3) After paragraph (6) insert—

“(7) The exemption provided by item 11 in the Table in paragraph (4) shall only apply to the extent that the vehicle examiner using the vehicle in question reasonably believes that any defects in that vehicle do not give rise to a danger of injury to any person while it is being used by that person for a purpose mentioned in that item.

(8) In item 11 in the Table in paragraph (4) and paragraph (7), “vehicle examiner” means an examiner appointed under section 66A of the Road Traffic Act 1988.”.

Amendment of regulation 33 (mirrors)

5.  For regulation 33, there shall be substituted the regulation set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.

Amendment to Schedule 2 (Community Directives and ECE Regulations)

6.—(1) In Table 1 in Schedule 2, in the appropriate numerical positions, there shall be added the following items—

(2) In Table 2 in Schedule 2, after item 21A there shall be added the following item—

Regulation 5

THE SCHEDULEREGULATION SUBSTITUTED FOR REGULATION 33

The regulation to be substituted for regulation 33 is—

“Mirrors and other devices for indirect vision

33.—(1) Save as provided in paragraphs (5) and (6), a motor vehicle (not being a road roller) which is of a class specified in an item in column 2 of the Table shall be fitted with such mirror or mirrors or other device for indirect vision, if any, as are specified in that item in column 3; and any mirror or other device for indirect vision which is fitted to such a vehicle shall, whether or not it is required to be fitted, comply with the requirements, if any, specified in that item in columns 4 and 5.

(2) Save as provided in paragraph (5), each exterior mirror with which a vehicle is required to be fitted in accordance with item 2 or 8 of the Table shall, if the vehicle has a technically permissible maximum weight (as mentioned in Annex 1 to Community Directive 71/127) exceeding 3500 kg, be a Class II mirror (as described in that Annex) and shall in any other case be a Class II or a Class III mirror (as described in that Annex).

(3) Save as provided in paragraph (5), in the case of a wheeled motor vehicle described in item 1, 2, 10 or 11 of the Table which is first used on or after 1st April 1969 the edges of any interior mirror shall be surrounded by some material such as will render it unlikely that severe cuts would be caused if the mirror or that material were struck by any occupant of the vehicle.

(4) Save as provided in paragraph (5), in the case of a motor vehicle falling within paragraph (a) in column 4 of items 1 and 7, or within item 8, of the Table—

(a)each mirror shall be fixed to the vehicle in such a way that it remains steady under normal driving conditions;

(b)each exterior mirror on a vehicle fitted with windows and a windscreen shall be visible to the driver, when in his driving position, through a side window or through the portion of the windscreen which is swept by the windscreen wiper;

(c)where the bottom edge of an exterior mirror is less than 2 m above the road surface when the vehicle is laden, that mirror shall not project more than 20 cm beyond the overall width of the vehicle or, in a case where the vehicle is drawing a trailer which has an overall width greater than that of the drawing vehicle, more than 20 cm beyond the overall width of the trailer;

(d)where the bottom edge of an exterior mirror, which complies with the requirements of Community Directive 2003/97 or 2005/27 or ECE Regulation 46.02, is less than 2 m above the road surface when the vehicle is laden, that mirror shall not project more than 25 cm beyond the overall width of the vehicle or, in the case where the vehicle is drawing a trailer which has an overall width greater than that of the drawing vehicle, more than 25 cm beyond the overall width of the trailer;

(e)each interior mirror shall be capable of being adjusted by the driver when in his driving position; and

(f)except in the case of a mirror which, if knocked out of its alignment, can be returned to its former position without needing to be adjusted, each exterior mirror on the driver’s side of the vehicle shall be capable of being adjusted by the driver when in his driving position, but this requirement shall not prevent such a mirror from being locked into position from the outside of the vehicle.

(5) Instead of complying with paragraphs (1) to (4) a vehicle may comply—

(a)if it is a goods vehicle with a maximum gross weight exceeding 3500 kg first used on or after 1st April 1985 and before 1st August 1989, with Community Directive 79/795, 85/205, 86/562 or 88/321 or ECE Regulation 46.01;

(b)if it is a goods vehicle first used on or after 1st August 1989 and before 26th January 2007—

(i)in the case of a vehicle with a maximum gross weight exceeding 3500 kg but not exceeding 12,000 kg, with Community Directive 79/795, 85/205, 86/562 or 88/321 or ECE Regulation 46.01; and

(ii)in the case of a vehicle with a maximum gross weight exceeding 12,000 kg, with Community Directive 85/205, 86/562 or 88/321 or ECE Regulation 46.01;

(c)if it is an agricultural motor vehicle, with Community Directive 71/127, 74/346, 79/795, 85/205, 86/562 or 88/321 or ECE Regulation 46.01;

(d)if it is a two-wheeled motor cycle with or without a side-car, with Community Directive 71/127, 79/795, 80/780, 85/205, 86/562 or 88/321 or ECE Regulation 46.01; and

(e)if it is any other vehicle, with Community Directive 71/127, 79/795, 85/205, 86/562 or 88/321 or ECE Regulation 46.01.

(6) Instead of complying with the provisions of column 4 in items 3, 4, 7 or 8 of the Table a mirror may comply with the requirements as to construction and testing set out in—

(a)Annex I to Community Directive 71/127, excluding paragraphs 2.3.4 and 2.6;

(b)Annex I to Community Directive 79/795, excluding paragraphs 2.3.3 and 2.6;

(c)Annex II to Community Directive 2003/97, excluding paragraph 3.4; or

(d)Annex II to Community Directive 2005/27, excluding paragraph 3.4.

(7) In this regulation—

(a)“devices for indirect vision” mean devices to observe the traffic area adjacent to the vehicle which cannot be observed by direct vision and may include conventional mirrors, camera-monitors or other devices able to present information about the indirect field of vision to the driver;

(b)“mirror” means any device with a reflecting surface, excluding devices such as periscopes, intended to give a clear view to the rear, side or front of the vehicle;

(c)“interior mirror” means a device defined in sub-paragraph (a), which can be fitted in the passenger compartment of a vehicle;

(d)“exterior mirror” means a device defined in sub-paragraph (a), which can be fitted on the external surface of a vehicle.

(8) In the case of—

(a)an agricultural motor vehicle, or

(b)a vehicle described in items 2 or 8 in the Table,

when drawing a trailer the references to a vehicle in the definitions in paragraph (7) shall be construed as including references to that trailer.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (“the 1986 Regulations”).

Regulation 3 amends regulation 3 of the 1986 Regulations so that the definition of “Community Directive, followed by a number”, also includes Directives adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Parliament.

Regulation 4 adds a new exemption into regulation 4(4) of the 1986 Regulations. A vehicle used by a vehicle examiner will be exempt from the requirements of the regulations in Part 2 (governing the construction, equipment and maintenance of vehicles), regulation 67 (condition relating to plate showing the vehicle identification number), regulations 75 to 79 (conditions relating to laden weight) and regulation 100 (condition relating to the avoidance of danger), where the intended purpose is to submit that vehicle for an examination at a vehicle testing station in order to ensure that the examination carried out there is in accordance with the required testing standards. The exemption also allows the vehicle to be driven away from the vehicle testing station after the completion of the examination. In order to fall within the exemption two requirements must be met. Firstly, the vehicle must be being used by a vehicle examiner who has been authorised in writing by the Secretary of State for these purposes. Secondly, the vehicle examiner using the vehicle must reasonably believe that any defects in the vehicle do not give rise to a danger of injury to any person while it is being so used for the purpose specified in the exemption.

Regulation 5 implements Directive 2003/97/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ No. L25, 29.1.2004, p.1), which replaces Council Directive 71/127/EEC (OJ No. L68, 22.3.1971, p.1) with effect from 24th January 2010; and Commission Directive 2005/27/EC (OJ No. L81, 30.3.2005, p.44) which amends Directive 2003/97/EC.

It amends the 1986 Regulations by substituting a new regulation 33 set out in the Schedule to these Regulations. The main changes to the substituted regulation 33 relates to the Table, with the addition of new items to it and a new column 5 to cover the requirements to be complied with where a vehicle is fitted with any other device for indirect vision. The table below shows the numbering for the new and old (renumbered) items.

New item 4 extends the requirement to heavy goods vehicles with a maximum weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes but not exceeding 12 tonnes, which are first used on or after 26th January 2007, to be fitted with two wide-angle mirrors, a close-proximity mirror and a front mirror.

Item 4 also extends the requirement to goods vehicles with a maximum weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes but not exceeding 7.5 tonnes (but having cabins of a similar height to goods vehicles exceeding 7.5 tonnes) which are first used on or after 26th January 2007, to be fitted with two wide-angle mirrors and a close-proximity mirror.

New item 6 extends the requirement to goods vehicles with a maximum weight exceeding 12 tonnes, which are first used on or after 26th January 2007, to be fitted with an additional wide-angle mirror and a front mirror.

In all cases where a front mirror is specified, if it is not possible to fit a front mirror, a device for indirect vision (for example a camera and monitor device) may be used instead.

New item 9 extends the requirement to motor vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of passengers and comprising no more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat, which are first used on or after 26th January 2010, to be fitted with a Class III exterior rear-view mirror on both the driver’s side and the passenger’s side of the vehicle; whereas previously there was a requirement for such a mirror to be fitted only to the driver’s side of the vehicle.

Paragraph (4)(d) of the substituted regulation 33, provides that where the lower edge of an exterior mirror, which complies with the requirements of Directive 2003/97 or 2005/27 or ECE Regulation 46.02, is less than 2 metres above the ground when the vehicle is loaded, this mirror must not project more than 25 cm beyond the overall width of the vehicle. In the case of a vehicle drawing a trailer, where the trailer is wider than the drawing vehicle, the mirror must not project more than 25 cm beyond the overall width of the trailer.

Paragraph (7) of the substituted regulation 33, provides for definitions of mirrors and devices for indirect vision. Paragraph (8) provides that the reference to “vehicle” in the definitions in paragraph (7) will also include a reference to a trailer in respect of the stated vehicles when drawing a trailer.

Regulation 6 amends Table 1 (Community Directives) in Schedule 2 by inserting new items into it (items 87 and 89 refer to Directives 2003/97 and 2005/27); and amends Table 2 (ECE Regulations) by inserting new item 21A(1) (to include a reference to ECE Regulation 46.02).

A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business (in respect of the provisions relating to the implementation of Directives 2003/97/EC and 2005/27/EC) is available from Transport Technology and Standards Division, Department for Transport, 2nd floor, Great Minister House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR (telephone 020 7944 2076). A copy has been placed in the library of each House of Parliament. The regulatory impact assessment may also be accessed on the HMSO website www.opsi.gov.uk.

A transposition note is available and can be obtained from the Department for Transport, as above.

Copies of the EC Directives and ECE Regulations referred to in these Regulations can be obtained from the Stationery Office.