The Commission presented the seventh report on the application by Member States of Directive 2000/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the technical roadside inspection of roadworthiness of commercial vehicles circulating in the Community (2017-2018).

Legal vacuum

The report noted that Directive 2000/30/EC was repealed by Directive 2014/47/EU on 20 May 2018, however the first report based on Directive 2014/47/EU will only cover the years 2019-2020. This means that in the absence of transitional measures set out by Directive 2014/47/EU, Member States were encouraged to submit their report in line with the requirements of Directive 2000/30/EC also for the period between 20 May 2018 and 31 December 2018, in order to achieve the objective of Directive 2000/30/EC and Directive 2014/47/EU, which have not changed, although the inspections carried out and the data they collected had already been based on Directive 2014/47/EU.

This legal vacuum caused significant practical problems for the Member States and resulted in some cases in erroneous reports and conclusions should be drawn with caution. The deadline for Member States to submit their data to the Commission for this reporting period was 31 March 2019.

The first reporting obligation when this target will be scrutinised will be due by 31 March 2021 for the years 2019-2020 respectively.

The main findings of the present report are as follows:

Data communicated

All Member States made use of the pre-prepared template to submit their data electronically. However not all Member States met the deadline for submitting their data. It should be noted that during this period, no infringement proceedings were initiated against any Member State for not communicating the data to the Commission.

Inspections

Compared to 2015-2016, 1 048 863 fewer vehicles were inspected in the 2017-2018 reporting period, which is a decrease of 20.9%. According to the explanations provided by the Member States, it is the combined result of reduced resources, reorganisation, changes of the national legislation and application of the rules. In any event, sixteen Member States carried out fewer inspections with percentage reductions ranging from 1.2% in the case of Italy to a 93.3% reduction in the case of Greece. On the other hand, twelve member States recorded increases in the number of inspections carried out with percentage increases ranging from 1.8% in the case of Latvia to 429.4 % in the case of Luxembourg.

57.7% of inspections carried out during the reporting period were on vehicles registered in the Member State where the inspection took place, 34.1% were on vehicles registered in another Member State and 8.2% were on vehicles registered outside the EU.

The proportion of domestic vehicles out of the total number of vehicles checked also varies substantially. In Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and marginally in Poland, where the proportion of checks on domestic vehicles is below 50%, efforts should be made to ensure a more balanced rate of checks, more in line with those in other Member States with significant transit traffic.

Prohibited vehicles

Compared to the previous period, 99 617 less vehicles were prohibited which is a decrease of 24.7%. Fourteen Member States recorded an increase in the number of prohibitions issued with increases ranging from 4.1% in the case of Austria to 3.203% in the case of Finland. On the other hand, fourteen Member States recorded decreases in the number of prohibitions issued ranging from 1.7% in the case of Germany to a 99% reduction in the case of Portugal.

In terms of the origin of vehicles prohibited, the overall prohibition rate for domestic vehicles was 8.1%; 7.6% for EU (excluding domestic) vehicles and 5.1% for vehicles registered outside the EU. This would indicate that, the standards are generally being universally applied for EU vehicles irrespective of the country of origin of the vehicle.

The average prohibition rate for EU registered vehicles across all Member States was 7.9%. Category N2 (or Heavy Goods Vehicles) were the vehicle type prohibited most often, i.e. a prohibition rate of 11.4%. Swedish and Maltese registered vehicles were prohibited more frequently with prohibition rates of 37.5% and 31.9% respectively. On the other hand, German and Luxembourgish vehicles were prohibited least often with prohibition rates of 1.7% and 2.6% respectively. The reasons for the differences in these prohibition rates are unknown to the Commission, so it has be assumed that it must be arising from the application of different inspection methods and categorisation of defects amongst the Member States.

Defects

The two most frequent types of deficiencies detected during inspections carried out during the reporting period related to the:

- ‘lighting equipment and electrical systems’ (26.4%);

- ‘axles, wheels tyres and suspension’ (16.5%);

- ‘other equipment including tachograph and speed limitation device’ (11.5%).

The report noted that checks for ‘nuissance including emisions and spillage of fuel and/or oil’have almost doubled from 3.3% in the 2015-2016 reporting period to 6.3% in the current one, indicating a positive sign towards vehicle environmental checks.

COM(2020)0107
EUR-Lex

The Commission presented the sixth report on the application by Member States of Directive 2000/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the technical roadside inspection of roadworthiness of commercial vehicles circulating in the Community (2015-2016).

Under Directive 2000/30/EC, commercial vehicles and their trailers circulating on the territory of a Member State shall be subject to technical roadside inspections of their roadworthiness in order to improve road and protect the environment. The Directive lists nine points which may be subject to roadside inspections. Failure to comply with one of the requirements may result in the use of the vehicle being prohibited.

The deadline for Member States to submit their data to the Commission for this reporting period was 31 March 2017.

The main findings of the present report are as follows:

Data communicated

All Member States made use of the pre-prepared template to submit their data electronically. However not all Member States met the deadline for submitting their data.

Inspections

Compared to the previous period, which showed already a decrease of 31.5%, the number of checked vehicles decreased further. In 2015-2016, 534 473 fewer vehicles were inspected which is a decrease of 9.6%. Reduced resources, reorganisation, changes of the national legislation and application of the rulesmay explain this.

In any event eighteen Member States carried out fewer inspections with percentage reductions ranging from 1% in the case of Croatia to a 68% reduction in the case of Greece. On the other hand, ten Member States recorded increases in the number of inspections carried out with percentage increases ranging from 1.2% in the case of Denmark to 429% in the case of Cyprus.

62% of inspections carried out during the reporting period were on domsetic vehicles, 33% were on vehicles registered in another Member State and 5% were on vehicles registered outside the EU.

Prohibited vehicles

Compared to the previous period, 60 112 more vehicles were prohibited which is an increase of 17.5%. Thirteen Member States recorded an increase in the number of prohibitions issued with increases ranging from 3% in the case of Sweden to approx. 7000% in the case of Portugal. On the other hand, fifteen Member States recorded decreases in the number of prohibitions issued ranging from 2.7% in the case of Slovakia to a 71.8% reduction in the case of Greece or 71.6% in the case of Bulgaria.

In terms of the origin of vehicles prohibited, the overall prohibition rate for domestic vehicles was 7.9%, while 9.0% for other EU Member States' vehicles and 3.2% for vehicles registered outside the EU. This would indicate that standards are generally being universally applied for EU vehicles irrespective of the country of registration of the vehicle. The reason the prohibition rate for non-EU vehicles is lower might be due to the fact that operators are choosing to send their newest and best maintained vehicles on those journeys that involve travel within the EU.

The average prohibition rate for EU registered vehicles across all Member States was 8.3%. Category N3 vehicles (Heavy Goods Vehicles) were prohibited most often, i.e. a prohibition rate of 9.6%. Maltese registered vehicles were prohibited more frequently with a prohibition rate of 43.9%. On the other hand, German and Bulgarian vehicles were prohibited least often with prohibition rates of 1.5% and 3.7% respectively.

Defects

The two most frequent types of deficiencies detected during the reporting period related to the:

- ‘lighting equipment and electrical systems’ (23%);

- ‘axles, wheels tyres and suspension’ (21.8%);

- ‘braking’ (13.9%).

However significant differences in prohibition rates per test area continue to exists amongst the Member States. For example, defects detected in Spain in the ‘other equipment including tachograph and speed limitation device’ inspection area accounted for 86% of the total defects recorded during the reporting period, whereas defects in this area only accounted for 0.6% of the total found in the UK. Once again, the reason for this is most likely due to different inspection methods being applied by Member States and the emphasis, focus of the authorities on certain defects.

COM(2020)0109
EUR-Lex

The Commission presented a report on the application by Member States of Directive 2000/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the technical roadside inspection of roadworthiness of commercial vehicles circulating in the Community (2013-2014).

Under Directive 2000/30/EC, commercial vehicles and their trailers circulating on the territory of a Member State shall be subject to technical roadside inspections of their roadworthiness in order to improve road and protect the environment. The Directive lists nine points which may be subject to roadside inspections. Failure to comply with one of the requirements may result in the use of the vehicle being prohibited.

Directive 2014/47/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council revised the rules and procedures for the roadside inspection of commercial vehicles. It will have to be applied by the Member States as from 20 May 2018.

Data communicated : every Member State that has fulfilled its obligation made use of the template attached to the Commission’s information letter and submitted the data in an electronic version. The data, however, were not always communicated in a timely manner . For some of them, the report was only transmitted following dialogues between the Commission and the authorities of the Member States concerned. The dialogues with France and Germany revealed that these Member States were not in a position to provide the required data.

The main conclusions of the report are as follows:

Vehicles checked : for the period 2013-2014, there were 2 561 820 fewer inspections compared to the previous period , a decrease of 31.5%. The Commission explained this reduction by more efficiently targeting potentially defective vehicles or by reducing the resources available in the Member States to carry out roadside checks.

A remarkable change has been observed in the data reported by Finland which does not include vehicle checks registered outside the EU. The percentage of Polish vehicles checked decreased from 92.1% to 47.3%, which shows that Poland is placing greater emphasis on checking foreign vehicles. In Belgium and in Luxembourg, domestic vehicles were inspected in fewer than 40% of cases whereas in other transit Member States the proportion is more balanced.

The Commission considered that further efforts should be made to achieve a more balanced rate of inspections.

Prohibited vehicles : according to the information sent by Member States, the proportion of vehicles prohibited in relation to all vehicles checked varies considerably from one Member State to another, from a high of 90.1% in Estonia to just 0.2% in the Czech Republic and even 0% in Portugal.

In Estonia, the percentage of prohibitions of domestic vehicles is 90.1% compared with 45% for vehicles from other Member States. The same rates in Sweden are 82.3% to 39.6%, 48.7% to 13.6% in Malta and 44.6% and 26.1% respectively in Italy.

The figures seem to indicate that Austria target poorly maintained vehicles more successfully which increases operational effectiveness and decreases administrative burden.

As of 2018 the new roadside inspection Directive 2014/47/EU requires Member States to adjust their inspection systems, moving from carrying out purely random checking to a more targeted approach.

Types of deficiencies : the most frequent deficiencies detected during inspections concern the roadworthiness condition of:

· lighting equipment and electric system (20.9%);

· axles, wheels, tyres, suspension (20.6%);

· braking equipment (18.8%); other equipment including tachograph and speed limitation device (17.4%).

Within the different items to be tested, considerable differences in deficiency rates were reported.

As regards the vehicles per category , heavy trucks (category N3) were prohibited most often, in 13.6% of the inspections in total. Trailers belonging to the category O3 were found to have a defect in the smallest proportion (6.8%).

The total number of prohibitions per Member State show that Swedish (80.9%) and Finnish (53.2%) vehicles were most often found with serious defects, while Greek (2. 2%) and Latvian (2.8%) only rarely.

The Commission encouraged Member States to pay particular attention to the categories of deficiencies that continue to be most problematic and to adjust the inspection methods they use accordingly.

COM(2017)0099
EUR-Lex

The Commission presents a report on the application by the Member States of Directive 2000/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the technical roadside inspection of the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles circulating in the community.

Under Directive 2000/30/EC, commercial vehicles and their trailers and semi-trailers circulating on the territories of the Member States are subject to technical roadside inspections of their roadworthiness, in order to improve road safety and protect the environment.

This is the fourth report on how Directive 2000/30/EC is applied in Member States; it covers the period 2011-12 .

Data communicated by the Member States : the Commission states that compliance with reporting obligations has improved, although reports from Member States still lack some key statistical data , notably on vehicle categories, inspection points, origin of vehicles checked and number of prohibitions imposed.

Member States did not always meet the deadline set in legislation for providing data. In some cases, these were only provided when the Commission had launched bilateral inquiries with the relevant Member State authorities. Some Member States continue not to use the standardised electronic format that the Commission has recommended for submitting data. The Commission continues to recommend that the standardised electronic format be used, as this will support the submission of more complete data.

The main conclusions of the report are:

Percentage of vehicles inspected : the total number of vehicles checked was 8 145984 vehicles for 2011-12, which corresponds to 46.12% of the overall fleet being subject to roadside checks each year, ranging from less than 1% in Portugal to more than 100% in Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria.

The future EU target of 5% — stipulated in the new roadside inspection Directive 2014/47/EU — should therefore be easily reachable for all Member States. However, 11 Member States remain substantially below the EU target and should therefore increase their technical roadside inspection activity.

Total number of vehicles checked : the proportion of domestic vehicles out of the total number of vehicles checked also varies substantially . In Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria, where the proportion of checks on domestic vehicles is below 50 %, efforts should be made to ensure a more balanced rate of checks, more in line with those in other Member States with significant transit traffic.

Prohibited vehicles : the proportion of vehicles prohibited in relation to all vehicles checked varies considerably from one Member State to another, from a high of 87.6% in Estonia to just 0.6% in Poland . The figures seem to indicate that targeting technical roadside inspections on poorly maintained vehicles, as currently done in Luxembourg, Austria and the United Kingdom.

The administrative burden for both enforcement authorities and transport operators could also be reduced through better targeting.

The new roadside inspection Directive 2014/47/EU requires Member States to change their inspection systems, moving from carrying out purely random checking to a more targeted approach.

Types of deficiencies detected : the most frequent deficiencies detected during inspections concern the roadworthiness condition of:

lighting equipment and electric system ( 47.0% ); axles, wheels, tyres, suspension ( 24.6% ); and chassis and chassis attachments ( 11.8% ).

There has been a decrease of three percentage points (from 4.1 % to 1.0 %) in the ratio of spillage of fuel and/or oil since the previous reporting period.

Even within the different items to be tested — such as braking equipment for example — considerable differences in deficiency rates were reported, ranging from 1.9% in Estonia to 47.3% in the United Kingdom.

The European Commission encourages Member States to pay particular attention to the categories of deficiencies that continue to be most problematic and to adjust the inspection methods they use accordingly.

COM(2014)0569
EUR-Lex

In accordance with Directive 2000/30/EC, the Commission presents the third report on the application of Directive 2000/30/EC in Member States covering the period 2009-2010. The data collected by the Member States relating to this period had to be communicated to the Commission by 31 March 2011 at the latest.

The Commission notes that, whilst there has been an improvement of the number of Member States communicating statistical data as well as of the details included in those data since the previous reporting period, the communication of data was not done in a timely manner and the Commission had to launch pre-infringement procedures against some Member States .

In order to facilitate communication of information, the Commission has developed a standardised form for reporting . Not all Member States have, however, made use of it, rendering it difficult for the Commission to draw reliable conclusions on issues such as place of registration of inspected vehicles, the nature of the prohibitions issued, as well as for reporting the deficiency rates of commercial vehicles.

The total number of checked vehicles amounts to 8,869,882 vehicles for the period of 2009-2010. In this period the number of commercial vehicles in the EU adds up to 72,264,8575 vehicles. The ratio of checked vehicles reported for 2009-2010 to the overall fleet is 11.9% which corresponds to 5.9% of roadside commercial vehicle checks per year.

Prohibited vehicles : the proportion of vehicles prohibited in relation to all vehicles checked varies considerably from one Member State to another, from a high figure of 58.5% in the United Kingdom to only 0.3% in Bulgaria. The figures seem to indicate that targeted technical roadside inspections on poorly maintained vehicles enhance operational effectiveness and decrease administrative burden. Member States adopting this approach seem to have a higher capture rate of faulty vehicles with fewer checks than other Member States with a higher number of inspections.

Types of deficiencies : the most frequent deficiencies detected during inspections concern the functionality of braking systems , the roadworthy condition of tyres and lighting systems (showing deficiency rates of 19.8%, 15.9% and 42.5% respectively). These figures highlight the importance of roadside inspections in relation to road safety. Comparing data with the previous reporting period these are the same problematic areas as reported before.

COM(2013)0303
EUR-Lex

This Commission presents this report in accordance with Directive 2000/30/EC which provides that every two years Member States must report on the number of commercial vehicles checked over the previous two years, broken down into seven classes listed in the Directive and by country of registration, and the items checked and deficiencies discovered. This information must be forwarded to the European Parliament. The Directive lists 12 points that may be checked. Non-compliance with the points checked and any ban on vehicles showing serious deficiencies should be mentioned in the inspection reports. The Directive also requires the Commission to report to the Council on the application of the Directive, using the data received from Member States, and summarise the results. This report is the second such Commission report on the application of Directive 2000/30/EC. It covers both 2005–2006 and 2007–2008, because of delays in receiving the information for 2005–2006.

Evaluation: the Commission notes that there is poor compliance by most Member States with the obligation to provide statistics and information under Directive 2000/30/EC:

• not all Member States send the data in a timely way;

• where data are sent, this is not done in enough detail to enable an adequate evaluation of the effectiveness of Community policies on road safety and environmental protection.

While the Directive provides a model for individual roadworthiness reports, the form is not easy to use to send all the relevant statistical data electronically to the Commission. As the Directive does not specify a format for sending statistical data, Member States send this information by very different methods, making it difficult to collate the results.

The report states that it would be better if in future the data were sent in a computer-processable format. It is necessary, therefore, to specify a common exchange format. On the basis of experience gained in this first exercise, the Commission could propose a common format for electronic transmission of statistical data to the Commission. There was some improvement for the period 2007–2008, when the Commission provided Member States with a reporting model in the form of a standard Excel sheet.

The report goes on to note that although the Directive requires a specific level of detail (vehicles classified by category and by country of registration, details of items checked and deficiencies encountered on the basis of Annex I to Directive 2000/30/EC), the requisite information is often transmitted in a highly aggregate form, rendering detailed analysis impossible.

The Commission might consider convening the Committee on the Adaptation to Technical Progress, which is responsible for assisting in the implementation of Directive 2000/30/EC, with a view to finding solutions to the difficulties encountered by Member States in collecting, compiling and transmitting statistical data concerning technical roadside inspections, including possible amendments to the specimen technical roadside inspection report laid down in Annex I to Directive 2000/30/EC. The significant variations in non-compliance levels noted between the Member States cannot be explained by an analysis of the information transmitted. An explanation will be sought in consultation with the Member States.

Non-compliant vehicles : for the period 2007–2008 the information sent by Member States shows that the proportion of vehicles considered not to comply with the requirements of Directive 2000/30/EC in relation to all checked vehicles registered in the EU varies considerably from one Member State to another, from a high figure of 63.0 % in Denmark to only 0.3 % in Bulgaria. The figure of 197.3 % of non-compliant vehicles in Cyprus is probably based on a different method of counting checks and non-compliant vehicles. These differences may reflect the relative importance which individual Member States attach to technical inspections compared with roadside checks on other aspects of road transport. For instance, the ratio reported by Belgium is not restricted exclusively to technical roadside inspections but includes all roadside checks. In general, the Belgian report distinguishes between checks on compliance with legislation on working time, exceptional loads, transport of dangerous goods, the Eurovignette, and other matters. Technical inspections tend not to be listed separately and the relevant information is not provided in detail. Of the 26 Member States which supplied information on the number of non-compliant vehicles and the total number of checked vehicles registered in the EU, three record a level of non-compliance of below 1.0 %

Registration of vehicles checked : many Member States mainly check vehicles registered in their own territory. The proportion of vehicles not registered in their territory in relation to all vehicles checked by the Member States varies greatly. For the periods 2005–2006, and 2007-2008, of the vehicles checked in 12 Member States for which all the information concerning the country of registration is available, more than 80 % are registered in their own territory. There is insufficient overall statistical data to cross-reference this information with the road traffic recorded by each Member State by country of registration. The geographical situation of certain Member States, for example Cyprus or Malta, also has to be borne in mind. The attention of Member States should be drawn to the fact that inspecting vehicles not registered in their territory helps to spread best practice. Consequently, this proportion ought to be as high as possible in relation to road traffic flows.

A more harmonised approach to testing methods and the assessment of deficiencies seems necessary to reduce the differences between Member States. Therefore the Commission will continue to examine whether future measures should be proposed in order to reduce differences. Compliance rates differ between the Member States, although there is no obvious evidence that vehicles originating from other Member States are judged differently from vehicles registered in the reporting Member State.

COM(2010)0754
EUR-Lex

The present Commission report is the first report on the application of Directive 2000/30/EC on the technical roadside worthiness of commercial vehicles circulating in the Community. It covers the period 2003-2004. The data collected by the Member States relating to this period had to be communicated to the Commission by 31 March 2005 at the latest.

By this deadline only three Member States had supplied information concerning technical roadside inspection. In order to get as complete a picture as possible in this area, the Commission has since the end of March 2005 issued several reminders in order to obtain the maximum number of statistical data. By the end of 2005, nine Member States had transmitted information on the implementation of Directive 2000/30/EC. Following a final reminder sent at the beginning of April 2006, this number rose to 17 Member States by the end of June 2006.

In the Commission’s opinion, the present report, based on information furnished by 17 Member States, enables it to make a first overall analysis which justifies the length of time it took to obtain the information required to compile the report.

The report concludes that there is poor compliance by most Member States with the obligation to provide statistics and information under Directive 2000/30/EC:

• the data are not communicated by all the Member States;

• where data are communicated, this is not done in proper detail, preventing adequate evaluation of the effectiveness of Community policies on road safety and environmental protection.

The Commission is initiating infringement procedures for failure to meet the obligations imposed by Directive 2000/30/EC against the Member States that have not or have incompletely communicated the data required by the said Directive (Infringements 2007-2041 to 2007-2045).

The Directive lays down the model for individual roadworthiness reports. It appears from experience gained with this form that in its present shape it is not easy to use for electronic transmission of all the relevant statistical data to the Commission. As the Directive does not specify any format for the transmission of statistical data, Member States communicate this information by very different methods, making it difficult to collate the results. It would be better if in future the data were communicated in a computer-processable format. It is necessary, therefore, to specify a common exchange format. On the basis of experience gained in this first exercise, the Commission could propose a common format for the electronic transmission of statistical data to the Commission.

Even though the Directive requires the transmission of data with a particular level of detail (vehicles classified by category and by country of registration, details of items checked and deficiencies encountered on the basis of Annex I to Directive 2000/30/EC), the requisite information is often transmitted in a highly aggregate form, rendering detailed analysis impossible.

The Commission could consider convening the Committee on the adaptation to technical progress responsible for providing assistance in the implementation of Directive 2000/30/EC to find solutions to the difficulties encountered by the Member States in collecting, compiling and transmitting statistical data concerning technical roadside inspections, including any amendments to the specimen technical roadside inspection report laid down in Annex I to Directive 2000/30/EC. The major variations in non-compliance levels noted between the Member States are inexplicable from the analysis of the information transmitted. An explanation will be sought in consultation with the Member States.

Many Member States mainly check vehicles registered in their territory. The proportion of vehicles not registered in their territory in relation to all vehicles checked by the Member States varies greatly. The attention of the Member States should be drawn to the fact that verification of vehicles not registered in their territory helps to spread best practice.

Consequently, this proportion ought to be as high as possible in relation to road traffic flows.

COM(2007)0270
EUR-Lex

32003L0026
OJ L 090 08.04.2003, p. 0037-0040

Directive 2000/30
OJ L 203 10.08.2000, p. 0001

EUR-Lex
COM(2000)0243

T5-0091/2000
OJ C 377 29.12.2000, p. 0022-0040

T5-0091/2000

Debate in Parliament

A5-0040/2000
OJ C 346 04.12.2000, p. 0004

A5-0040/2000

EUR-Lex
SEC(1999)2064

11287/1/1999
OJ C 029 01.02.2000, p. 0001

11287/1/1999

EUR-Lex
OJ C 116 26.04.2000, p. 0007 E
COM(1999)0458

EUR-Lex
COM(1999)0458

T5-0015/1999
OJ C 054 25.02.2000, p. 0056-0079

T5-0015/1999

A5-0005/1999
OJ C 054 25.02.2000, p. 0010

A5-0005/1999

EUR-Lex
SEC(1999)0581

OJ C 150 28.05.1999, p. 0015-0031
T4-0065/1999

T4-0065/1999

A4-0025/1999
OJ C 150 28.05.1999, p. 0003

A4-0025/1999

CES1136/1998
OJ C 407 28.12.1998, p. 0112

2108

EUR-Lex
OJ C 190 18.06.1998, p. 0010
COM(1998)0117

EUR-Lex
COM(1998)0117