Definitions
Article 2
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply in addition to the definitions set out in Regulation (EU) 2018/858 and Regulation (EC) No 661/2009:
1. ‘vehicle type’ means a set of vehicles as defined in Part B of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2018/858;
2. ‘standard equipment’ means the basic configuration of a vehicle which is equipped with all the features that are required under the regulatory acts referred to in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/858, including all features that are fitted without giving rise to any further specifications on configuration or equipment level;
3. ‘optional equipment’ means all the features not included in the standard equipment which are fitted to a vehicle under the responsibility of the manufacturer that can be ordered by the customer;
4. ‘mass in running order’ means
  1. in the case of a motor vehicle:
the mass of the vehicle, with its fuel tank(s) filled to at least 90 % of its or their capacity/ies, including the mass of the driver, of the fuel and liquids, fitted with the standard equipment in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications and, when they are fitted, the mass of the bodywork, the cabin, the coupling and the spare wheel(s) as well as the tools;
  2. in the case of a trailer:
the mass of the vehicle including the fuel and liquids, fitted with the standard equipment in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications, and, when they are fitted, the mass of the bodywork, additional coupling(s), the spare wheel(s) and the tools;
5. ‘mass of the optional equipment’ means the maximum mass of the combinations of optional equipment which may be fitted to the vehicle in addition to the standard equipment in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications;
6. ‘actual mass of the vehicle’ means the mass in running order plus the mass of the optional equipment fitted to an individual vehicle;
7. ‘technically permissible maximum laden mass’ (M) means the maximum mass allocated to a vehicle on the basis of its construction features and its design performances; the technically permissible laden mass of a trailer or of a semi-trailer includes the static mass transferred to the towing vehicle when coupled;
8. ‘technically permissible maximum laden mass of the combination’ (MC) means the maximum mass allocated to the combination of a motor vehicle and one or more trailers on the basis of its construction features and its design performances or the maximum mass allocated to the combination of a tractor unit and a semi-trailer;
9. ‘technically permissible maximum towable mass’ (TM) means the maximum mass of one or more trailers that may be towed by a towing vehicle which corresponds to the total load transmitted to the ground by the wheels of an axle or a group of axles on any trailer coupled to the towing vehicle;
10. ‘axle’ means the common axis of rotation of two or more wheels whether power-driven or freely rotating, and whether in one or more segments located in the same plane perpendicular to the longitudinal centre-line of the vehicle;
11. ‘group of axles’ means a tandem axle, or a triaxle, as defined in each case in regulation 2 of the Road Vehicles (Authorised Weight) Regulations 1998;
12. ‘solo axle’ means an axle that cannot be considered as part of a group of axles;
13. ‘technically permissible maximum mass on the axle’ (m) means the mass corresponding to the maximum permissible static vertical load transmitted to the ground by the wheels of the axle, on the basis of the construction features of the axle and of the vehicle and their design performances;
14. ‘technically permissible maximum mass on a group of axles’ (μ) means the mass corresponding to the maximum permissible static vertical load transmitted to the ground by the wheels of the group of axles, on the basis of the construction features of the group of axles and of the vehicle and their design performances;
15. ‘coupling’ means a mechanical device including component items as defined in points 2.1 to 2.6 of Regulation No 55 of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) — Uniform provisions concerning the approval of mechanical coupling components of combinations of vehicles and a close-coupling device as defined in point 2.1.1 of UNECE Regulation No 102 — Uniform provisions concerning the approval of I.A close-coupling device (CCD) II. Vehicles with regard to the fitting of an approved type of CCD ;
16. ‘coupling point’ means the centre of engagement of the coupling fitted to a towed vehicle within the coupling fitted to a towing vehicle;
17. ‘mass of the coupling’ means the mass of the coupling itself and of the parts necessary for the attachment of the coupling to the vehicle;
18. ‘technically permissible maximum mass at the coupling point’ means:
  1. in the case of a towing vehicle, the mass, corresponding to the maximum permissible static vertical load on the coupling point (‘S’ or ‘U’ value) of a towing vehicle, on the basis of the construction features of the coupling and of the towing vehicle;
  2. in the case of a semi-trailer, a centre-axle trailer or a rigid drawbar trailer, the mass corresponding to the maximum permissible static vertical load (‘S’ or ‘U’ value) to be transferred by the trailer to the towing vehicle at the coupling point, on the basis of the construction features of the coupling and of the trailer;
19. ‘mass of the passengers’ means a rated mass depending on the vehicle category multiplied by the number of seating positions including, if any, the seating positions for crew members and the number of standees, but not including the driver;
20. ‘mass of the driver’ means a mass rated at 75 kg located at the driver’s seating reference point;
21. ‘pay-mass’ means the difference between the technically permissible maximum laden mass and the mass in running order increased by the mass of the passengers and the mass of the optional equipment;
22. ‘length’ means the dimension defined in points 6.1.1, 6.1.2 and 6.1.3 of Standard ISO 612:1978; this definition also applies also to articulated vehicles made up of two or more sections;
23. ‘width’ means the dimension defined in point 6.2 of Standard ISO 612:1978;
24. ‘height’ means the dimension defined in point 6.3 of Standard ISO 612:1978;
25. ‘wheelbase’ means the following:
  1. for motor vehicles and drawbar trailers, the horizontal distance between the centre of the first and the last axle;
  2. for centre-axle trailers, semi-trailers and rigid drawbar trailers, the distance between the vertical axis of the coupling and the centre of the last axle;
26. ‘axle spacing’ means the distance between two consecutive axles; for centre axle trailers, semi-trailers and rigid drawbar trailers, the first axle spacing is the horizontal distance between the vertical axis of the front coupling and the centre of the first axle;
27. ‘track’ means the distance referred to in point 6.5 of Standard ISO 612:1978;
28. ‘fifth wheel lead’ means the distance referred to in point 6.19.2 of Standard ISO 612: 1978, taking into account the note referred to in point 6.19 of the same standard;
29. ‘front fitting radius of semi-trailer’ means the horizontal distance from the axis of the kingpin to any point at the front of the semi-trailer;
30. ‘front overhang’ means the horizontal distance between the vertical plane passing through the first axle or the kingpin axle in the case of a semi-trailer and the foremost point of the vehicle;
31. ‘rear overhang’ means the horizontal distance between the vertical plane passing through the last rear axle and the rearmost point of the vehicle; where the vehicle is fitted with a coupling that is not removable, the rearmost point of the vehicle is the coupling point;
32. ‘length of the loading area’ means the distance from the foremost internal point to the rearmost internal point of the cargo area, measured horizontally in the longitudinal plane of the vehicle;
33. ‘rear swing-out’ means the distance between the initial point and the actual extreme point reached by the rear end of a vehicle when manoeuvring in the conditions specified in Section 8 of Part B of Annex I or in Section 7 of Part C of that Annex;
34. ‘axle-lift device’ means a mechanism fitted to a vehicle for the purpose of raising the axle clear off the ground and lowering it to the ground;
35. ‘lift axle or retractable axle’ means an axle which can be raised from its normal position and re-lowered by an axle-lift device;
36. ‘loadable axle’ means an axle the load on which can be varied without the axle being raised by the use of an axle-lift device;
37. ‘air suspension’ means a suspension system on which at least 75 % of the spring effect is caused by the air spring;
38. ‘class of a bus or of a coach’ means a set of vehicles as defined in points 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 of UNECE Regulation No 107 – Uniform provisions concerning the approval of category M2 or M3 vehicles with regard to their general construction ;
39. ‘articulated vehicle’ means a vehicle of category M2 or M3 as defined in point 2.1.3 of UNECE Regulation No 107;
40. ‘indivisible load’ means a load that cannot, for the purposes of carriage by road, be divided into two or more loads without undue expense or risk of damage and which, owing to its mass or dimension, cannot be carried by a vehicle the masses and dimensions of which comply with the maximum authorised masses and dimensions set out in regulation 4 of the Road Vehicles (Authorised Weight) Regulations 1998 and regulations 7 and 8 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, read for these purposes as if they did not include regulation 7(3A)(a);
41. ‘aerodynamic devices and equipment’ mean devices or equipment that are designed to reduce the aerodynamic drag of road vehicles, with the exception of elongated cabs.
OJ L 227, 28.8.2010, p. 1.
OJ L 351, 20.12.2008, p. 44.
OJ L 255, 29.9.2010, p. 1.
Substituted by Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/1892 of 31 October 2019 amending Regulation (EU) No 1230/2012 as regards type-approval requirements for certain motor vehicles fitted with elongated cabs and for aerodynamic devices and equipment for motor vehicles and their trailers (Text with EEA relevance).
Substituted by Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1151 of 1 June 2017 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council on type-approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information, amending Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Regulation (EC) No 692/2008 and Commission Regulation (EU) No 1230/2012 and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 692/2008 (Text with EEA relevance).
Inserted by Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/1892 of 31 October 2019 amending Regulation (EU) No 1230/2012 as regards type-approval requirements for certain motor vehicles fitted with elongated cabs and for aerodynamic devices and equipment for motor vehicles and their trailers (Text with EEA relevance).
Words in Art. 2 substituted (31.12.2022 at 11.00 p.m.) by The Road Vehicles and Non-Road Mobile Machinery (Type-Approval) (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1273), regs. 1(2), 71(3)(a)
Words in Art. 2(1) substituted (31.12.2022 at 11.00 p.m.) by The Road Vehicles and Non-Road Mobile Machinery (Type-Approval) (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1273), regs. 1(2), 71(3)(b)
Words in Art. 2(2) substituted (31.12.2022 at 11.00 p.m.) by The Road Vehicles and Non-Road Mobile Machinery (Type-Approval) (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1273), regs. 1(2), 71(3)(c)
Words in Art. 2(11) substituted (31.12.2022 at 11.00 p.m.) by The Road Vehicles and Non-Road Mobile Machinery (Type-Approval) (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1273), regs. 1(2), 71(3)(d)
Words in Art. 2(40) substituted (31.12.2022 at 11.00 p.m.) by The Road Vehicles and Non-Road Mobile Machinery (Type-Approval) (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1273), regs. 1(2), 71(3)(e)