Statutory Instrument 1994 No. 3117

The Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations 1994

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© Crown Copyright 1994

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1994 No. 3117

CONSUMER PROTECTION

The Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations 1994

Whereas the Secretary of State for Transport has, in accordance with section 11(5) of the Consumer Protection Act 1987^[1], consulted such organisations as appear to him to be representative of interests substantially affected by the following Regulations, the Health and Safety Commission in relation to the application of the following Regulations to Great Britain, and such other persons as he considers appropriate:

Now, the Secretary of State for Transport,—
(a) in exercise of the powers conferred by section 11 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987; and

(b) being a Minister designated^[2] for the purposes of subsection (2) of section 2 of the European Communities Act 1972^[3] in relation to the regulation of the construction and equipment of vehicles and of components of vehicles, in exercise of the powers conferred by that subsection,

and in exercise of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:—

Preliminaries
    1.—(1)  These Regulations may be cited as the Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations 1994.

    (2)  These Regulations, other than regulations 5, 7 and 10, shall come into force on 1st January 1995.

    (3)  Regulation 5 of these Regulations shall come into force on 1st June 1997.

    (4)  Regulations 7 and 10 of these Regulations shall come into force on 1st June 1995.

    (5)  The Regulations specified in Schedule 3 to these Regulations are hereby revoked.

    (6)  So far as any requirement is imposed by virtue of these Regulations, that requirement is imposed in exercise of the powers conferred by section 11 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 to the exclusion of powers conferred by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972.

Interpretation
    2.—(1)  In these Regulations—

"the Construction and Use Regulations" means the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986^[4] as from time to time amended;


"approval mark" means a mark of a description specified in ECE Regulation 30, 30.01, 30.02, 54 or 75 or in EC Directive 92/23 which, when applied to a tyre, indicates that the tyre conforms with a type in respect of which approval has been granted pursuant to that instrument;


"BS AU 144b: 1977" means the British Standard Automobile Series: Specification for retreaded car and commercial vehicle tyres published by the British Standards Institution under reference BS AU 144b: 1977 on 29th July 1977;


"BS AU 144c: 1988" means the British Standard Automobile Series: Specification for retreaded car and commercial vehicle tyres published by the British Standards Institution under reference BS AU 144c: 1988 on 30th September 1988;


"BS AU 144d: 1988" means BS AU 144c: 1988 as amended by Amendment No. 1 (reference AMD 6592) published on 31st August 1990;


"BS AU 144e: 1988" means BS AU 144c: 1988 as amended by Amendment No. 1 (reference AMD 6592) published on 31st August 1990 and by Amendment No. 2 (reference AMD 7506) published on 15th December 1992;


"BS AU 159e: 1990" means the British Standard Automobile Series: Specification for repairs to tyres for motor vehicles used on the public highway published by the British Standards Institution under reference BS AU 159d: 1990 as amended by Amendment No. 1 (reference AMD 8216) published on 15th June 1994;


"commercial vehicle" means a motor vehicle which is—
 (a) a goods vehicle with 4 or more wheels, or
 (b) a passenger vehicle with more than 8 seats in addition to the driver's seat;


"EC Directive 92/23" means Council Directive 92/23/EEC^[5];


"passenger car" means a motor vehicle which—
 (a) is a passenger vehicle or dual-purpose vehicle;
 (b) has no more than 8 seats in addition to the driver's seat; and
 (c) has 4 or more wheels;


"tyre" means a pneumatic tyre as defined in regulation 3(2) of the Construction and Use Regulations.

    (2)  For the purposes of these Regulations the following expressions have the same meanings as in the Road Traffic Act 1988^[6]—

"goods vehicle";


"motor cycle";


"motor vehicle";


"trailer" (except where it appears in the expression "light trailer");


"road".

    (3)  A reference in these Regulations to a British Standard Specification is a reference to BS AU 144b: 1977, BS AU 144c: 1988, BS AU 144d: 1988, BS AU 144e: 1988 or BS AU 159e: 1990.

    (4)  In these Regulations, in relation to a retreaded tyre,—
 (a) a reference to a part-worn tyre is a reference to a tyre that has been used after the tyre was retreaded; and
 (b) a reference to a tyre that has been repaired is a reference to a tyre that has been repaired after it has been so used.

    (5)  For the purposes of these Regulations the expressions listed in the left-hand column of the Table below shall have the meanings given by the provisions of the Construction and Use Regulations listed in the right-hand column in relation to those expressions.

Expression	Provision
"agricultural motor vehicle"	regulation 3
"agricultural trailer"	regulation 3
"agricultural trailed appliance"	regulation 3
"bias-belted tyre"	regulation 26
"breadth of tread"	regulation 27
"diagonal-ply tyre"	regulation 26
"dual-purpose vehicle"	regulation 3
"light trailer"	regulation 3
"original tread pattern"	regulation 27
"passenger vehicle"	regulation 3



    (6)  A reference in these Regulations to the supply of a tyre includes offering to supply, agreeing to supply, exposing for supply or possessing for supply; and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly.

    (7)  A reference to a tyre-size designation is a reference to a designation described in paragraph 2.18 of ECE Regulation 30 or 30.01, paragraph 2.17 of ECE Regulation 30.02, paragraph 2.17 of ECE Regulation 54 or paragraph 2.17 of Annex II to EC Directive 92/23.

    (8)  A reference to an ECE Regulation shall be construed in accordance with Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

    (9)  Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in the following provisions of these Regulations to—
 (a) a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation bearing that number in these Regulations; and
 (b) a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph bearing that number in the regulation in which the reference appears.

Application to Northern Ireland
    3.    Schedule 2 to these Regulations (modifications in relation to Northern Ireland) shall have effect.

[1] 1987 c. 43. back

[2] S.I. 1972/1811. back

[3] 1972 c. 68. A relevant amendment was made to section 1 by section 1 of the European Economic Area Act 1993 (c. 51). back

[4] S.I. 1986/1078; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1990/1981, 1991/2710 and 1992/3088. back

[5] OJ No. L129, 14.5.92, p.95. back

[6] 1988 c. 52. back

Explanatory Note