S.I. No. 158/2009 - European Communities (Road Vehicles: Type-approval) Regulations 2009

• (a) it shall be possible to control the vehicle safely, taking account of the vehicle’s speed and acceleration capabilities;

• (b) it shall at all times be possible for the driver, while controlling the vehicle, to have a full view of the road and traffic ahead of the vehicle;

• (c) the clearance between any of the following parts of the vehicle, namely the tyres, wheels, other rotating components associated with the transmission of engine power or braking, moveable parts of the steering mechanism and fixed parts shall be sufficient to ensure no risk of fouling and the wheels and wheel fixings shall be compatible;

• (d) the vehicle structure (chassis or integral chassis-body), shall be so designed and constructed as to withstand the forces and vibration to which it is likely to be subject;

• (e) all entries and exits provided for the vehicle occupants (other than doors) shall be so designed as to allow easy and safe use;

• (f) all aperture covers (other than doors) including tail gates, boot and bonnet lids, shall be capable of being securely latched in the fully closed position;

• (g) the steering, suspension, axles and wheels shall be so designed, constructed and fitted as to withstand the forces and vibration to which they are likely to be subject;

• (h) the electrical system, including the battery, electrical components and wires, shall be securely attached to the vehicle. In particular, the maximum distance between attachments of wires, except those contained within hollow components, shall be 300 mm and wires shall be so fitted and protected as to avoid the risk of damage to insulation, such as abrasion. All components shall be so constructed and fitted as to minimise the risk of corrosion and fire.

Regulation 20.

SCHEDULE 4 MAXIMUM PERMITTED NUMBERS OF VEHICLES

FOR NATIONAL SMALL SERIES TYPE-APPROVAL

Regulations 20(12) and 23(7).

SCHEDULE 5 FORMS OF CERTIFICATE:

NATIONAL SMALL SERIES TYPE-APPROVAL AND INDIVIDUAL APPROVAL

Part 1 National Small Series Type-Approval Certificate

The prescribed form for a national small series type-approval certificate is set out overleaf.

Part 2 Individual Approval Certificate

The prescribed form for an individual approval certificate is set out overleaf.

Regulation 3(1).

SCHEDULE 6 AMENDING EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES REGULATIONS

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1060/2008 of 7 October 2008 replacing Annexes I, III, IV, VI, VII, XI and XV to Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles (Framework Directive). ⁵

5 OJ No. L.292, 31.10.2008, page 1.

Regulation (EC) No 78/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 January 2009 on the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to the protection of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users, amending Directive 2007/46/EC and repealing Directives 2003/102/EC and 2005/66/EC. ⁶

6 OJ No. L.35, 4.2.2009, page 1.

Regulation (EC) No 79/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 January 2009 on type-approval of hydrogen-powered motor vehicles, and amending Directive 2007/46/EC. ⁷

7 OJ No. L.35, 4.2.2009, page 32.

Regulation 23(5).

SCHEDULE 7 Individual Approval: Certain Varieties of Vehicle

• (1) falls within category M1 or N 1 ; and

• (2) which is:

• (a) a personally-imported vehicle, within the meaning of section 3 of this Schedule;

• (b) an amateur-built vehicle, within the meaning of section 4 of this Schedule;

• (c) a vehicle manufactured in very low volume, within the meaning of section 5 of this Schedule;

• (d) a vehicle manufactured using parts from a registered vehicle, within the meaning of section 6 of this Schedule;

• (e) a rebuilt vehicle within the meaning of section 7 of this Schedule;

• (f) a motor caravan;

• (g) an armoured vehicle;

• (h) an ambulance; or

• (i) a hearse.

“ambulance” has the meaning given in paragraph 5.3 of Part A of Annex II to the Framework Directive;

“armoured vehicle” has the meaning given in paragraph 5.2 of Part A of Annex II to the Framework Directive;

“hearse” has the meaning given in paragraph 5.4 of Part A of Annex II to the Framework Directive;

“motor caravan” has the meaning given in paragraph 5.1 of Part A of Annex II to the Framework Directive.

• (2) The conditions in this sub-paragraph are satisfied if:

• (a) the vehicle has been imported by A upon entry into the State,

• (b) A had, prior to the time the vehicle was imported, been normally resident in a country other than the State for a continuous period of at least 12 months,

• (c) A intends to become normally resident in the State,

• (d) the vehicle has been in the possession of and used by A in the country where A was normally resident for a period of at least 6 months before its importation, and

• (e) the vehicle is intended for A’s personal or household use in the State.

• (3) Subject to subparagraphs (4) to (6), for the purposes of this paragraph A is to be treated as being normally resident in a country if:

• (a) A usually lives in that country for a period of, or periods together amounting to, at least 185 days in a period of 12 months; and

• (b) that period or those periods of residence occur because of A’s occupational and personal ties to that country.

• (4) Where A has no occupational ties, subparagraph (3)(b) does not apply provided that A’s personal ties show close links with that country.

• (5) Where A has occupational ties in one country and personal ties in a second country, A is to be treated, for the purposes of this paragraph, as being normally resident in that second country if either:

• (a) A’s stay in the first country is in order to carry out a task of a definite duration, or

• (b) A returns regularly to the second country.

• (6) If A is an Irish citizen whose personal ties are in the State and whose occupational ties are in a country other than the State, A is to be treated as normally resident in that other country if A has lived there for a period of, or periods together amounting to, at least 185 days in the period of 12 months immediately preceding the date of entry into the State.

• (a) the vehicle was:

• (i) constructed or assembled or

• (ii) having previously been registered in the State under any legislation providing for the licensing and registration of mechanically-propelled vehicles, structurally modified,

for the personal use of a person (in this Schedule, “R”) who is a relevant individual, and

• (b) the whole, or a substantial part, of the construction, assembly or modification was carried out:

• (i) by R,

• (ii) by one or more relevant individuals acting on behalf, and under the direction, of R, or

• (iii) by R and one or more relevant individuals acting on behalf, and under the direction, of R.

• (2) For the purposes of this paragraph, a relevant individual in relation to a motor vehicle is an individual who does not, at any time during the period when the construction or assembly of the vehicle was being carried out, carry on a business in the course of which motor vehicles are normally constructed, assembled or modified.

• (2) The condition is that the total number of vehicles of the family of types to which the vehicle in question belongs which are manufactured in the world during any period of 12 months falling within the period of 36 months immediately preceding the month in which the vehicle was manufactured does not exceed 300.

• (a) it is constructed or assembled by a person carrying on a business in the course of which motor vehicles are normally constructed or assembled;

• (b) it is equipped with an engine which has previously been used as the engine of another vehicle which had been registered in the State under any legislation providing for the licensing and registration of mechanically-propelled vehicles; and

• (c) it is equipped with one or more of the following components taken from the same vehicle as the engine:

• (i) chassis,

• (ii) body,

• (iii) suspension,

• (iv) an axle;

• (v) transmission, or

• (vi) steering assembly.

• (a) is a vehicle to which the Approval Authority is required to assign a vehicle identification number,

• (b) is not an amateur-built vehicle or a vehicle manufactured using parts of a registered vehicle, and

• (c) has been rebuilt using a replacement chassis, or an integral chassis body, which is of the same design and construction as that of the original vehicle and which:

• (i) was supplied for the purpose without having been previously used, or

• (ii) previously formed part of a vehicle registered in the State under any legislation providing for the licensing and registration of mechanically-propelled vehicles.

• (2) For the purposes of subparagraph (1) the Approval Authority is required to assign a vehicle identification number to a vehicle where it appears to the authority upon receipt of an application under Regulation 23 that the vehicle does not have a vehicle identification number which:

• (a) satisfies the requirements set out in paragraph 3 of the Annex to Council Directive 76/114/EEC ⁸ ,

8 OJ No. L.24, 30.1.1976, page 1.

• (b) has previously been assigned under this Schedule, or

• (c) if it does not fall within paragraph (a) or (b), is adequate for the purpose of enabling the vehicle to be identified.

• (a) 4 or more seats,

• (b) a load area not exceeding 40% of its length, and

• (c) a maximum technically permissible mass not exceeding 6500 kilogrammes,

may be categorised as M1.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

29 April 2009

NOEL DEMPSEY.

Minister for Transport.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

These Regulations give effect to Directive 2007/46/EC (as amended principally by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1060/2008), and to each of the separate directives and EC regulations that individually regulate many components, systems and separate technical units of relevant vehicles, in so far as those Directives relate to the type-approval of certain motor vehicles and of certain components, systems and separate technical units. These Regulations also give further effect to Regulation (EC) No. 715/2007 concerning emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (“Euro 5” and “Euro 6”).

These Regulations apply principally to:

• • new vehicles (including certain special-purpose vehicles) of categories M1, M2, M3, N1, N2, N3, O1, O2, O3, O4, and their trailers, whether the relevant vehicle or trailer is complete or incomplete, and, from staggered dates until 2013, existing vehicles and trailers of those categories also; and

• • specified components, systems and separate technical units of such vehicles and trailers.

Among excluded categories of vehicle are two- and three-wheeled vehicles and certain agricultural and forestry vehicles, the type-approval of which remains governed by existing law.

These Regulations also replace, in respect of vehicles (with four or more wheels) to which Directive 2007/46/EC applies, on a staggered basis as each type of vehicle comes within the scope of these Regulations, the transitional European Communities (Motor Vehicles Type Approval) Regulations 2009 ( S.I. No. 127 of 2009 ). When these Regulations are fully in force in respect of all vehicle types to which Directive 2007/46/EC applies, ie from 29 October 2014 in every case (although in the case of many vehicle types on dates earlier than that), the European Communities (Motor Vehicles Type Approval) Regulations 2009 will apply exclusively to two- and three-wheeled vehicles (and other vehicles to which Directive 2002/24/EC applies).

Essentially, these Regulations provide that a relevant vehicle or trailer may be type-approved in accordance with:

• • the EU scheme (with specific provisions applying in the case of a small series of such vehicles (the number of which is strictly limited)), in which case that type-approval will be valid in every Member State, or

• • a national scheme in Ireland (relating only to a small series of such vehicles (the number of which is strictly limited) and to individual vehicles), in which case that type-approval or individual vehicle approval will be valid in Ireland only.

However, other Member States may, on a bilateral basis, choose to recognise national small series type-approvals or individual vehicle approvals that are granted by the Approval Authority for the State (the National Standards Authority of Ireland). Similarly, following a technical assessment by the Approval Authority of the vehicle assessment procedures in another Member State, the State may choose to recognise national small series type-approvals or individual vehicle approvals that are granted by that other Member State.

Relevant components, systems and separate technical units may not be covered by a national scheme and are always subject to the EU scheme.

These Regulations specify:

• • the procedures to be followed by a manufacturer who is seeking EC vehicle type-approval (including for a small series of vehicles) or EC system, component or separate technical unit type-approval;

• • the procedures to be followed and the technical requirements to be satisfied for a manufacturer or owner who is seeking, respectively, Irish small series type-approval or individual vehicle approval (including certain special category vehicles such as ambulances, motor caravans and hearses); and

• • the procedures and processes (including testing) to be carried out by the Approval Authority or any person acting on behalf of the Approval Authority.

An EC vehicle type-approval and an Irish type-approval may each be secured in steps, where a vehicle or trailer is manufactured in stages, with each manufacturer relying on the type-approvals of components, systems and separate technical units that are included within the incomplete vehicle or trailer and securing approval in respect of the incomplete vehicle or trailer in the incomplete state to which that manufacturer develops it.

The Approval Authority for the State is empowered to take action where a type of vehicle or trailer is subject to recall and where parts and equipment may pose a significant risk to the correct functioning of essential systems.

These Regulations penalise certain breaches of their terms and provide for the appointment and powers of authorised officers to ensure their effective implementation. These Regulations also create an internal review procedure regarding decisions of the Approval Authority, and revoke a large number of statutory instruments that have, until now, regulated some of the matters that these Regulations address.

Footnotes