S.I. No. 158/1985 - Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations, 1985.

The Minister for the Environment in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 5 , 11 , and 13 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 , (No. 24 of 1961) hereby makes the following Regulations:—

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations, 1985.

(2) The Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) Regulations, 1963 to 1983 and these Regulations shall be construed as one and may be cited together as the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) Regulations, 1963 to 1985.

2. In these Regulations, save where the context otherwise requires:—

"Council Directive" means Council Directive 70/221/EEC of the 20th day of March, 1970¹ as amended by Commission Directive 79/490/EEC of the 18th day of April, 1979² and Commission Directive 81/333/EEC of the 13th April, 1981³.

"the Principal Regulations" means the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) Regulations, 1963 ( S.I. No. 190 of 1963 ).

"rear underrun protective device" means a device conforming with the description in item II.5.4 of the Annex to the Council Directive.

"vehicle" means a mechanically propelled vehicle and includes an articulated vehicle.

3. Article 24 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the deletion of sub-article (2) of that article and the substitution therefor of the following sub-article:—

¹ O.J. No. L 76/23, 6/4/1970.

² O.J. No. L 128/22, 26/5/1979.

³ O.J. No. L131/4, 18/5/1981.

"(2) where a windscreen made of glass is fitted

( a ) to a vehicle first registered on or after the 1st day of January, 1986, the glass shall be laminated safety glass and be clearly and indelibly marked with one of the approved standard marks specified in the First Schedule to these Regulations;

( b ) to a vehicle first registered prior to the 1st day of January, 1986, the glass shall be safety glass or laminated safety glass".

4. (1) A vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer to which this article applies shall, on or after the 1st day of January, 1986 at all times while used in a public place, be equipped with a rear underrun protective device.

(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-article (3), this article applies to goods vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers exceeding 1524 kilograms in weight unladen which are first licensed on or after the 1st day of January, 1986.

(3) This article shall not apply to—

( a ) a mechanically propelled vehicle which is incapable by reason of its construction of exceeding a speed of 15 miles per hour;

( b ) a mechanically propelled vehicle constructed or adapted to form part of an articulated vehicle;

( c ) an agricultural trailer;

( d ) a vehicle or trailer consisting of moveable engineering plant or equipment;

( e ) a land tractor;

( f ) a vehicle or trailer fitted at the rear with apparatus specially designed for spreading material on a road;

( g ) a vehicle or trailer so constructed that it can be unloaded by part of the vehicle or trailer being tipped rearwards;

(h) a vehicle or trailer belonging to or used for official purposes by the Defence Forces or by the Garda Siochana;

(i) a vehicle or trailer to the chassis of which no bodywork is fitted and which is being driven or towed to premises where bodywork or a rear underrun protective device is to be fitted;

(j) a vehicle or trailer specially designed and constructed, and not merely adapted, to carry other vehicles loaded on it from the rear;

(k) a vehicle or trailer specially designed and constructed to carry round timber, beams or girders, being items of exceptional length;

(l) a vehicle or trailer fitted with a tail lift so constructed that the lift platform forms part of the floor of the vehicle and this part has a length of at least 1 metre measured parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle; and

(m) a vehicle specially designed and not merely adapted for the carriage and mixing of liquid concrete.

(4) A vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer to which this article applies and which is fitted with a tail lift, bodywork or other part which renders it being equipped with a rear underrun protective device impracticable shall instead be equipped with two or more devices which comply with the following requirements:—

(a) not more than 500 millimetres shall lie between one device and the device next to it;

(b) all the devices together shall have the characteristics specified in paragraphs II.5.4.1 to II.5.4.5.5.2. of the Annex to the Council Directive.

5. (1) A vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer to which this article applies shall on or after the 1st day of January, 1986 at all time while used in a public place, be equipped with a side-guard, which complies with the specification in the Second Schedule to these Regulations, to give protection on any side of the vehicle where the distance between any two adjacent axles exceeds 3 metres.

(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-article (3), this article applies to goods vehicles, trailers or semi-trailers exceeding 1524 kilograms in weight unladen which are first licensed on or after the 1st day of January 1986.

(3) This article shall not apply to—

(a) a vehicle which is incapable by reason of its construction of exceeding a speed of 15 miles per hour;

(b) an agricultural trailer;

(c) a vehicle or trailer consisting of moveable engineering plant or equipment;

(d) a land tractor;

(e) a vehicle or trailer so constructed that it can be unloaded by part of the vehicle or trailer being tipped sideways or rearwards;

(f) a vehicle or trailer belonging to or used for official purposes by the Defence Forces or by the Garda Síochána;

(g) a vehicle or trailer to the chassis of which no bodywork is fitted and which is being driven or towed to premises where bodywork or a side-guard is to be fitted;

(h) a vehicle or trailer designed solely for use and used solely in connection with street cleansing, the collection or disposal of refuse or the collection or disposal of the contents of gullies or cesspools;

(i) a vehicle or trailer specially designed and constructed, and not merely adapted to carry round timber, beams or girders, being items of exceptional length;

(j) a mechanically propelled vehicle constructed or adapted to form part of an articulated vehicle;

(k) a vehicle or trailer specially designed and constructed, and not merely adapted, to carry other vehicles loaded on it from the front or the rear;

(l) a vehicle with a load platform the upper surface of which is not more than 750 millimetres from the ground along the length of the area to be protected as set out in the Second Schedule to these Regulations.

(4) The specifications in part A of the Second Schedule to these Regulations shall apply only so far as is practicable in the case of—

(a) a vehicle or trailer designed solely for the carriage of a fluid substance in a closed tank which is permanently fitted to the vehicle or trailer and provided with valves and hose or pipe connections for loading or unloading; and

(b) a vehicle or trailer which is fitted on one or both sides with a extendible device to provide stability in operation.

(5) the fitting of a side guard shall not increase the overall width of a vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer to which it is attached.

6. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the substitution for article 97 of the following article—

"97 (1) The Minister for the Environment may issue to any person a special permit authorising the use in public places of a particular vehicle or vehicles or a particular combination or combinations of vehicles notwithstanding that their use would contravene the provisions of these Regulations.

(2) In issuing a special permit referred to in sub-article (1) of this article, the Minister may specify limitations, restrictions or conditions on the vehicles referred to in sub-article (1) of this article as to—

(a) the public roads and public places in which the vehicles may be used,

(b) the number of passengers which may be carried in the vehicles and the method or means of calculating the number of such passengers,

(c) the weights, dimensions or other characteristics of the vehicle, and

(d) the construction or equipment of the vehicles."

Article: 3.

First Schedule

1. This number varies and relates to the country which issued the approval.

2. In association with the standard mark a serial number assigned by the issuing country is shown in this position.

Article 5.

SECOND SCHEDULE

A. Specification for Sideguards

1. The outermost surface of a sideguard shall be smooth, essentially rigid and either flat or horizontally corrugated.

2. The external edges of rigid components of a sideguard shall be rounded at a radius of at least 2.5 millimetres.

3. Every sideguard shall cover an area extending to at least 100 millimetres downwards from its highest edge, 100 millimetres upwards from it lowest edge and 100 millimetres rearwards and inwards from its foremost edge, and no sideguard shall have a vertical gap measuring more than 300 millimetres nor any vertical surface measuring less than 100 millimetres.

4. No sideguard shall be more than 30 millimetres in-board of the outermost part of the tyre of the widest rear axle on the same side of the vehicle or trailer except close to the foremost edge of the sideguards.

5. The external dimensions of a sideguard shall be equal to or greater than the dimensions of the area to be protected as set out in Part B of the Schedule.

B. The area to be protected by a Sideguard

1. The area to be protected by a sideguard shall be bounded at the rear by the transverse vertical plane situated 300 millimetres in front of the foremost part of the tyres of the rear axle or the foremost rear axle where more than one such axle is fitted.

2. The area to be protected by a sideguard shall be bounded to the front by the tranverse vertical plane situated—

(a) in the case of a mechanically propelled vehicle not being an articulated vehicle, 300 millimetres to the rear of the rearmost part of the tyres of the axle, preceding the plane described in 1 above;

(b) in the case of a trailer 500 millimetres to the rear of the rearmost part of the tyres of the axle preceding the plane described in 1 above;

(c) in the case of an articulated vehicle, 3.0 metres to the rear of the transverse vertical plane through the centre of the semi-trailer coupling king-pin.

3. The base line of the area to be protected by a sideguard shall be at a height of not less than 190 millimetres nor greater than 500 millimetres from the ground.

4. The top line of the area to be protected by a sideguard shall be at the height of the upper surface of the load carrying structure or at a height of 1.5 metres from the ground, whichever is the lesser.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Environment this

6th day of June, 1985.

LIAM KAVANAGH,

Minister for the Environment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations prescribe the following motor vehicle safety requirements with effect from 1st January, 1986 — the fitting of laminated glass windscreens on new motor vehicles and the fitting of rear underrun protective devices and side guards to goods vehicles and trailers with an unladen weight exceeding 1524 kilogrammes (1½ tons). The Regulations further empower the Minister to issue permits for special vehicles, including one person operated buses, subject to such conditions as may be specified in the permits.