Council Directive of 16 December 1991 relating to the compulsory use of safety belts and child-restraint systems in vehicles (91/671/EEC)

• Published date: 31 December 1991
• Subject Matter: ravvicinamento delle legislazioni,trasporti,aproximación de las legislaciones,transportes,rapprochement des législations,transports
• Official Gazette Publication: Gazzetta ufficiale delle Comunità europee, L 373, 31 dicembre 1991,Diario Oficial de las Comunidades Europeas, L 373, 31 de diciembre de 1991,Journal officiel des Communautés européennes, L 373, 31 décembre 1991

1991L0671 — EN — 20.03.2014 — 002.001

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This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents

►B ▼M1 COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 16 December 1991 relating to the compulsory use of safety belts and child-restraint systems in vehicles (91/671/EEC) ▼B (OJ L 373, 31.12.1991, p.26)

Amended by:

		Official Journal
		No	page	date
►M1	DIRECTIVE 2003/20/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 8 April 2003	L 115	63	9.5.2003
►M2	COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DIRECTIVE 2014/37/EU of 27 February 2014	L 59	32	28.2.2014

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▼B

▼M1

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE

of 16 December 1991

relating to the compulsory use of safety belts and child-restraint systems in vehicles

(91/671/EEC)

▼B

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 75 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ( 1 ),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament ( 2 ),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee ( 3 ),

Whereas the national laws on compulsory use of safety belts differ widely from one Member State to another; whereas it is therefore necessary to harmonize that compulsory use;

Whereas the obligation to use safety belts should be harmonized in vehicles of less than 3,5 tonnes in order to guarantee road users a greater degree of safety;

Whereas Directives 76/115/EEC ( 4 ) and 77/541/EEC ( 5 ) concern the technical requirements relating to safety belts with which motor vehicles must comply, but not the use of safety belts;

Whereas in the resolution of 19 December 1984 ( 6 ), the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, undertook to ensure the rapid adoption of road safety measures, and invited the Commission to submit proposals;

Whereas resolutions of the European Parliament on road safety ( 7 ) have recommanded that the wearing of safety belts by all passengers, including children, on all roads and in all seats in passenger vehicles (except public service vehicles), should be compulsory;

Whereas provision should be made for the compulsory use of child restraint systems on seats fitted with safety belts;

Whereas, pending harmonized Community standards for child restraint systems, those standards which correspond to Member States' national requirements must be recognized throughout the Member States;

Whereas studies have also shown that rear seats are almost as hazardous as front seats for unbelted passengers and that rear-seat passengers not wearing belts increase the risk of injuries to front seat passengers; whereas deaths and injuries could thus be further reduced if the wearing of belts in rear seats was made compulsory;

Whereas the fixing of the date of entry into force of the measures referred to in this Directive should allow time for the drafting of the implementing provisions required, particularly in those Member States where as yet no provisions on this matter exist,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

▼M1

Article 1

1. This Directive shall apply to all motor vehicles in categories M1, M2, M3, N1, N2 and N3 as defined in Annex II to Directive 70/156/EEC ( 8 ), intended for use on the road, having at least four wheels and a maximum design speed exceeding 25 km/h.

2. For the purposes of this Directive:

— the definitions of safety systems, including safety belts and child restraints, with regard to vehicles in categories M1 and N1, and of the components thereof shall be those appearing in Annex I to Directive 77/541/EEC ( 9 ),

— ‘rearward-facing’ shall mean facing in the direction opposite to the normal direction of travel of the vehicle.

3. Child restraints shall be classified in five ‘mass groups’:

(a) group 0 for children of a mass of less than 10 kg;

(b) group 0+ for children of a mass of less than 13 kg;

(c) group I for children of a mass of from 9 kg to 18 kg;

(d) group II for children of a mass of from 15 kg to 25 kg;

(e) group III for children of a mass of from 22 kg to 36 kg.

4. Child restraints shall be subdivided into two classes:

(a) an integral class comprising a combination of straps or flexible components with a securing buckle, adjusting device, attachments and in some cases a supplementary chair and/or impact shield, capable of being anchored by means of its own integral strap or straps;

(b) a non-integral class that may comprise a partial restraint which, when used in conjunction with an adult belt which passes around the body of the child or restrains the device in which the child is placed, forms a complete child-restraint system.

Article 2

1. M1, N1, N2 and N3 vehicles:

(a)

▼M2

(i) For M1, N1, N2 and N3 vehicles, Member States shall require that all occupants of vehicles in use shall use the safety systems provided.

Children less than 150 cm in height occupying M1, N1, N2 and N3 vehicles fitted with safety systems shall be restrained by an integral or non-integral child-restraint system, within the meaning of Article 1(4)(a) and (b), which is suitable for the child's physical features in accordance with:

— classification provided for in Article 1(3), for child restraint systems approved in accordance with point (c)(i) of this paragraph;

— the size range and maximum occupant mass for which the child restraint system is intended, as indicated by the manufacturer, for child restraint systems approved in accordance with point (c)(ii) of this paragraph.

In M1, N1, N2 and N3 vehicles that are not fitted with safety systems:

— children under three years of age may not be transported,

— without prejudice to point (ii), children aged three and over and less than 150 cm in height shall occupy a seat other than a...