Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1012 of 7 April 2022 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the establishment of standards detailing the level of service and security of safe and secure parking areas and to the procedures for their certification
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1012of 7 April 2022supplementing Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the establishment of standards detailing the level of service and security of safe and secure parking areas and to the procedures for their certificationTHE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport and amending Council Regulations (EEC) No 3821/85 and (EC) No 2135/98 and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85OJ L 102, 11.4.2006, p. 1., and in particular Article 8a(2) thereof,Whereas:(1)In accordance with Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006, road transport drivers are to take daily and weekly rest periods. Some of those rest periods are frequently spent on the road, particularly in cases where the drivers are engaged in long-distance international transport operations. It is therefore of utmost importance that drivers have access to parking areas where they can rest safely, with appropriate facilities for them to access the services they need.(2)Article 8a(1) of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 sets out a list of requirements that parking areas accessible to drivers engaged in the carriage of goods and passengers by road need to fulfil to be certified as safe and secure parking areas, in relation to the levels of service and security of such parking areas.(3)A 2019 Commission study on safe and secure parking areas in the UnionCommission Study on safe and secure parking places for trucks (2019). Available at:https://sstpa.eu-study.eu/download/19/final-report/1188/final-report-sstpa-28022019-isbn.pdf, acknowledged the significant shortage of such facilities. It also came forward with some proposals, including as regards standards for safe and secure parking areas and certification procedures.(4)Given the current shortage of safe and secure parking areas in the Union, the development of such facilities should be encouraged at Union level to ensure that road transport drivers have access to them wherever they stop on Union roads.(5)To stimulate the development of safe and secure parking areas, it is necessary to develop a common framework at Union level to ensure that the sector has access to clear and harmonised information on safe and secure parking areas across the Union.(6)In order to improve working conditions of road transport drivers in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 561/2006, a minimum common level of services should be available on all safe and secure parking areas, regardless of their level of security.(7)In view of the increasing number of cargo crime incidents affecting road transport drivers on the road, the security of road transport drivers should be enhanced to ensure that they rest free of stress and that they do not accumulate fatigue. Providing good resting conditions to drivers on safe and secure parking areas is crucial to ensure road safety and reduce the risk of accidents due to fatigue.(8)Safe and secure parking areas are essential for the drivers and transport undertakings to protect their loads against cargo crime. Given the diversity of businesses and goods carried, transport operators and drivers may need parking areas with different levels of security, depending on the goods they carry. The Union standards should therefore cater for the different types of businesses, and parking areas should provide different minimum levels of security.(9)The security of parking areas should be achieved by ensuring that the appropriate security equipment and procedures are in place around its perimeter, on the parking area itself and at entry and exit points. Staff procedures should also be in place to ensure that risk prevention measures are adopted, and to mitigate the consequences of incidents when they occur.(10)In order to provide transparency and certainty for users of safe and secure parking areas, parking areas should be certified by an independent certification body, in accordance with procedures defined at Union level. Certification procedures on audits, re-audits and unannounced audits for safe and secure parking areas should be clearly specified to ensure that parking area operators know how to apply for certification or re-certification. It should also be ensured that adequate procedures are deployed when it is found that a safe and secure parking area does not comply anymore with the level of service or security to which it has been certified.(11)Complaint mechanisms should be available to users of safe and secure parking areas to report on non-compliance.(12)Certification bodies should be able to issue audit certificates to the operators and also to communicate that information to the Commission, so that the list of safe and secure parking areas on the relevant official website can remain up-to-date.(13)To take into account the fast development of digital technologies and to continuously improve working conditions of drivers, the Commission should assess the relevance of reviewing the harmonised standards and certification procedures no later than four years after the adoption of this act,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: