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| Scooters, bicycles, dirt bikes, quad bikes, snowmobiles and other off-road machinery The law concerned with vehicles and their use off-road is fraught with complications and is poorly understood. The following notes are intended to help clarify the situation for persons involved in the importing of vehicles for on and off-road use. These notes apply primarily to the situation in the UK, and while the Machinery Directive applies consistently throughout the European Union, the same is not true of the rules which apply to vehicles used on the road. Although there are procedures which allow vehicles to be approved for on-road use in all countries in Europe, there are also differences in the legislation which mean that vehicles approved for use in one EU country may not automatically be legal for the same use in another country.
The definition of "public highway" is an important factor. Essentially, for the purposes of this discussion, the public highway is any area to which the public may have access. This might include places such as municipal parks and supermarket car parks as well as the "normal" highway. In particular, it is important to realise that a public highway does not have to have a tarmac surface - "green lanes" with a public right of vehicular access, where off-road driving enthusiasts may go, are also public highways and so the vehicles which use them must comply with C+U (see below) as well as any applicable tax and insurance requirements of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The rules apparently also apply to land designated for open access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. Only private land which is closed to public access is truly off-road in the sense that vehicles which do not comply with C+U may be used there. Road vehicle Construction and Use Regulations All vehicles used on the public highway in the UK must comply with the Construction and Use Regulations (C+U). These Regulations establish rules for the safety of the vehicle, both for the vehicle's occupants and for other road users. C+U includes requirements for braking, lights, seatbelts and many other safety features. The rules are different for different types and uses of vehicle (e.g. there is no need for seatbelts on motorcycles and the requirements for agricultural tractors are different to those for passenger carrying vehicles) but nonetheless the C+U regs will always apply, to a greater or lesser extent, to any vehicle used on the road. In addition, there are requirements for taxing and insuring most vehicles which will apply but these are outside the scope of this discussion. In the first instance, compliance with C+U is the responsibility of the driver of the vehicle, but in the vast majority of cases concerning new vehicles, the vehicle manufacturer actually deals with this on behalf of the driver by submitting the vehicle for European Whole Vehicle Type Approval. Once the vehicle has the appropriate type approval, all the driver has to do is to submit the vehicle for regular MOT check-ups to ensure it remains safe. Type Approval (also known as homologation) is a harmonised process. This means that the rules are the same in all EU states and if the vehicle type is approved in one state, all other EU states will recognise the approval and will not demand that a separate approval be obtained before the vehicle can be sold or used in their territory. This is because it is a procedure designed for use by volume manufacturers who want to make a single model of vehicle for sale in multiple countries. Type Approval is also expensive, and it involves an assessment of manufacturing capability (quality control) so it's not a procedure which can be followed by an individual who has manufactured a special vehicle (or modified a homologated vehicle), or who has imported a single vehicle from outside the area where the Type Approval applies (e.g. from the US into the UK). For these circumstances there is a special procedure, called the Single Vehicle Approval (SVA) which is similar to the MOT test but assesses the design of the vehicle as well as its condition. Single Vehicle Approval only allows use in the UK and must be obtained before the vehicle can be taxed and used on the road. There is also a half-way house between European Whole Vehicle Type Approval and SVA called "The UK Low Volume Approval Scheme for Cars". It is open to low-volume car manufacturers (up to 500 cars per year) and their authorised representatives to get their cars approved for UK road use only without having to get each car inspected individually and without the administrative burden of European Whole Vehicle Type Approval. Combustion engine and electrically powered vehicles also meet the definition of "machinery" laid out in the Machinery Directive 98/37/EC. However, this directive has a number of specific exclusions:
This makes sense since such vehicles are already the subject of other, more specific legislation (C+U in the UK, and their equivalents in other countries, Medical Devices Directive, Toy Safety Directive, police and military standards.) It is difficult to think of a type of vehicle that is excluded from the Machinery Directive but not covered by other more specific legislation. However, any vehicle which does not fit the definition of these exclusions must be within the scope of the Machinery Directive and will need to be CE marked. For manufacturers and importers of off-road vehicles (e.g. powered scooters, dirt bikes, quad bikes, etc) this represents an opportunity. So long as such vehicles are sold as being exclusively for off-road use (and note carefully the above comment about what constitutes "off-road") then they may be sold without having undergone any Type Approval or SVA procedure. Instead, they must be CE marked. The proper procedure for CE marking machinery is covered elsewhere, but it may be summarised as demonstrating compliance with the Essential Health and Safety Requirements (EHSRs) of the Machinery Directive. Thus, in order for an off-road vehicle to be legitimately CE marked, it must have a Technical File which shows how the EHSRs have been complied with, and explains the application of the harmonised standards used. It must be stressed that the rules for CE marking machinery and those which apply to road vehicles under C+U are completely independent of one another. Vehicles which comply with C+U will not necessarily comply with the Machinery Directive, and vice-versa. CE marking is not a substitute for Type Approval or SVA, and a CE marked vehicle cannot be used legally on the road unless it also complies with C+U. Nevertheless, some requirements (e.g. a horn and adequate brakes) are a feature of both sets of requirements and so there is no legal means by which vehicles can be sold without these. CE marking "normal" off-road machines used in industrial and agricultural environments, such as earth moving equipment, forklifts etc. is relatively straightforward since there are harmonised standards which will help the manufacturer interpret the EHSRs. However, for recreational vehicles such as dirt bikes, scooters, go-karts and quad bikes there are no harmonised standards and so what constitutes compliance with the EHSRs is a lot harder to determine. If the vehicle is designed as an aid for disabled persons, then it fits into a special category under C+U because there are rules which permit disabled persons to use an invalid carriage on the public highway and which disapply most of the C+U rules (The Use of Invalid Carriages on Highways Regulations). However, these regulations only apply to disabled persons, so an invalid carriage or a powered wheelchair cannot be used on the public highway by an able bodied person unless it complies with all of the C+U requirements which would apply to, for instance, a motor cycle.
Electrically assisted bicycles Special rules (the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983) also apply to electrically assisted bicycles and again these disapply some aspects of C+U. However, for the exclusions to be valid the bicycle must have functional pedals and be limited in top speed, among other requirements. Other requirements apply for vehicles fitted with pedals and a motor that can provide power assistance at any time without the rider pedalling, or if the motor is not speed limited. Further information can be found on the Department for Transport webpage on Electrically assisted pedal cycles in Great Britain. The other CE marking directive which may be relevant is the Toy Safety Directive. This applies to items used in play by children under the age of 14. Certain non-powered scooters are certainly within the scope of this, but petrol powered scooters are specifically excluded from the Toy Safety Directive (as are bicycles intended for use on the public highway). Electrically powered scooters designed for use by children would have to be CE marked as toys but would be excluded from the scope of the Machinery Directive as described above. The All Terrain Motor Vehicles (Safety) Regulations 1989 These Regulations prohibit the sale of three wheeled vehicles designed for off-road leisure use and also require the fitting of speed limiters to four wheeled vehicles ("quad bikes"), where these are sold for use by persons under the age of 16. Two-wheeled vehicles are within the scope of these regulations but there are no requirements given for them. There is an apparent conflict between these regulations and the free-market requirements of the Machinery Directive. To date, the BERR has been unable to provide any meaningful information to help us resolve this conflict. Adults' bicycles are excluded from the Machinery Directive because they are powered solely by "directly applied manual effort". There is no other CE marking directive which applies to them and, therefore, they are not required to carry the CE mark. In the UK, bicycles are required to comply with The Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2003. These require the cycle to comply with BS 6102 or an international safety standard (e.g. EN 14764, EN 14766, EN 14781). They also require that the bicycle be supplied with a bell and with functional brakes, among other requirements. Bicycles intended for use by children under the age of 14 may be within the scope of the Toy Safety Directive in which case they will need to be CE marked. Two and three-wheeled vehicles European Whole Vehicle Type Approval is required for powered two and three-wheel vehicles (including some quadricycles) cabable of more than 6km/h. The following vechicles are exempt; Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (within certian specifications), pedestrian controlled vehicles, vehicles intended for use by the physically handicapped, vehicles intended for competition use, agricultural tractors and machines and three wheeled vehicles with symmetrically arranged wheels (single front wheel) designed primaily for off-road leisure. Definitions of mopeds, motorcycles, quadricycles etc can be found on the Department for Transport web page on Regulations for powered two and three-wheeled vehicles. Pretty well all road vehicles are subject to legislation which limits the engine exhaust emissions. Confirmation of compliance with these requirements is dealt with as part of the Type Approval or SVA procedure. For engine driven, off-road machinery, the Non Road Mobile Machinery Engine Exhaust Emissions Directive must be applied. This contains requirements for all spark ignition engine and most compression ignition engine powered machines. However engines of recreational vehicles are excluded.
The UK vehicle type approval authority - Vehicle Certification Agency. VCA fact sheet on the "U.K. Regulations for Motorcycles and Mopeds" (includes information on electrically assisted pedal cycles). Fact sheets from the Department for Transport, on "powered two and three wheeled motorcycles" and "the Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2003". Business Guidance leaflet for retailers produced by the Trading Standards Institute, regarding Mini-Motos, Quad Bikes and Off-road Vehicles. For further advice please contact us at Conformance where we will be pleased to discuss your needs.
Back to the main Machinery Directive page.
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