CHAPTER II EXCEPTIONS

Article 4

1. Member States shall have the right to exclude from the scope of this Directive vehicles belonging to the armed forces, the forces of law and order and the fire service.

2. Member States may, after consulting the Commission, exclude from the scope of this Directive, or subject to special provisions, certain vehicles operated or used in exceptional conditions and vehicles which are never, or hardly ever, used on public highways, including vehicles of historic interest which were manufactured before 1 January 1960 or which are temporarily withdrawn from circulation.

3. Member States may, after consulting the Commission, set their own testing standards for vehicles considered to be of historic interest.

Article 5

Notwithstanding the provisions of Annexes I and II, Member States may:

(a)

bring forward the date for the first compulsory roadworthiness test and, where appropriate, require the vehicle to be submitted for testing prior to registration;

(b)

shorten the interval between two successive compulsory tests;

(c)

make the testing of optional equipment compulsory;

(d)

increase the number of items to be tested;

(e)

extend the periodic test requirement to other categories of vehicles;

(f)

prescribe special additional tests;

(g)

require for vehicles registered on their territory higher minimum standards for braking efficiency than those specified in Annex II and include a test on vehicles with heavier loads, provided such requirements do not exceed those of the vehicle’s original type-approval.