THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type approval of motor vehicles and their trailers ( 1 ), as last amended by Directive 92/53/EEC ( 2 ), and in particular Article 13 (2) thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 78/316/EEC of 21 December 1977 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the interior fittings of motor vehicles (identification of controls, tell-tales and indicators) ( 3 ), and in particular Article 4 thereof,

Whereas Directive 78/316/EEC is one of the separate directives of the EEC type-approval procedure which has been established by Council Directive 70/156/EEC; whereas, consequently, the provisions laid down in Directive 70/156/EEC relating to vehicle systems, components and separate technical units shall apply to this Directive;

Whereas, in particular, Articles 3(4) and 4(3) of Directive 70/156/EEC necessitate that each separate directive has attached to it an information document incorporating the relevant items of Annex I to that Directive and also a type-approval certificate based on Annex VI thereto in order that type-approval may be computerized;

Whereas Council Directive 76/756/EEC of 27 July 1976 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the installation of lighting and light-signalling devices on motor vehicles and their trailers ( 4 ), as last amended by Directive 91/663/EEC ( 5 ), established the symbol used to identify the control of headlamp-levelling devices, and this identification shall be maintained;

Whereas practical experience has shown that some requirements need to amended or clarified, in particular by using new symbols which are now internationally recognized and standardized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and by deleting certain symbols which are no longer used; whereas account should be taken of the new identification techniques which should enter into widespread use, consisting of the use of words or abbreviations instead of symbols for controls, tell-tales and indicators; whereas specific requirements will have to be introduced when more detailed knowledge is available to enable designs based on these new identification techniques to be made;

Whereas the provisions of this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for the Adaptation on Technical Progress established by Directive 70/156/EEC,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

— refuse, in respect of a type of motor vehicle, to grant EEC type-approval, or to grant national type-approval,

— or

— prohibit the registration, sale or entry into service of vehicles

— shall no longer grant EEC type-approval for a type of vehicle  and

— may refuse to grant national type-approval for a type of vehicle,

— the asterisks after the titles of Annexes I to IV and the related footnote shall be deleted,

— the title of Annex V shall read: ‘Information document’, and

— at the end of the list, a new Annex VI shall be added, with the following title:

‘EEC type-approval certificate’

.

‘3.1. The application for EEC type-approval pursuant to Article 3 (4) of Directive 70/156/EEC of a vehicle type with regard to its identification of controls, tell-tales and indicators shall be submitted by the manufacturer.’

‘3.2. A model for the information document is given in Annex V.’

4.1. If the relevant requirements are satisfied, EEC type-approval pursuant to Article 4 (3) of Directive 70/156/EEC shall be granted.

4.2. A model for the EEC type-approval certificate is given in Annex VI.

4.3. An approval number in accordance with Annex VII to Directive 70/156/EEC shall be assigned to each type of vehicle approved. The same Member State shall not assign the same number to another type of vehicle.’

‘5.1.2. If symbols are used for identifying the controls, tell-tales and indicators listed in Annex III, such symbols must be in conformity with those indicated in the said Annex.’

‘5.1.3 Symbols other than those shown in Annexes II and III may be used to identify controls, telltales and indicators, other than those listed in this Directive, provided that there is no danger of confusion with those shown in the said Annexes.’

‘5.1.5. An information display device may be used to display messages from any source meeting the following requirements:

5.1.5.1. the brake, main-beam and direction-indicator tell-tales shall not appear in the same information display device;

5.1.5.2. the tell-tales and indicators in an information display device must provide relevant information whenever the situation that causes them to operate arises;

5.1.5.3. if two or more messages are given, they must either be repeated automatically in sequence or be indicated in such a manner as to be visible to and identifiable by the driver;

5.1.5.4. the requirements of Annex III regarding colour do not apply to tell-tales and indicators appearing in an information display device.’

‘5.2.3. The symbols must stand out clearly against the background.’

‘5.2.4. The colours used for tell-tales must be those prescribed in Annexes II and III.’

‘5.2.5. Where a control, an indicator or a tell-tale are combined, a common symbol may be used for such a combination.’

6.1. In the case of amendments to approvals granted pursuant to this Directive, the provisions of Article 5 of Directive 70/156/EEC shall apply.

7.1. Measures to ensure the conformity of production shall be taken in accordance with the provisions laid down in Article 10 of Directive 70/156/EEC.’