The Motor Vehicles (Type Approval) (Great Britain) (Amendment) Regulations 1989

Explanatory Note

This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Motor Vehicles (Type Approval) (Great Britain) Regulations 1984.

Previously only vehicles with petrol engines were subject to type approval requirements relating to the content of exhaust emissions (as opposed to the density of smoke) and there were no requirements relating to particulate emissions. These Regulations replace three items in Schedule 1 of the 1984 Regulations and add two new items. The three substituted items re-enact the existing requirements for vehicles with petrol engines. They also introduce new alternative requirements for vehicles with petrol engines and new requirements for vehicles with diesel engines. The table below sets out the derivations of the substituted items in so far as they re-enact previous items and the subject matter of the items. It also identifies the requirements that are new.

Subject matter of item	Previous Schedule Item	New Schedule Item	Extent that requirements are new
Exhaust emissions	4B	4B	—
Exhaust emissions	4C	4C	New so far as the requirement applies to vehicles with diesel engines
Exhaust emissions	4D	4D	New so far as the requirement applies to vehicles with diesel engines
Exhaust emissions	—	4E	A new requirement for vehicles with diesel engines as a result of Council Directive 88/77/EEC
Particulate emissions	—	27	A new requirement for diesel engines as a result of Council Directive 88/436/EEC

The application dates for the new alternative requirements, are determined in accordance with the new Schedule 1B which is added by regulation 6. The dates of cessation of the existing requirements and some of the new requirements, in so far as they are not set out in the items, are also determined in accordance with that Schedule.

Regulation 7 changes the name of the subject matter of items 5, 5A and 5B from “exhaust emission” to “smoke emissions”. These items relate only to vehicles with diesel engines and the change is made to avoid confusion with the exhaust emission requirements set out in items 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E.

Copies of the EEC Directives and ECE Regulations (and amendments) referred to in these Regulations can be obtained from Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.