Technical roadside inspection of the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles circulating in the Community

The committee adopted the recommendation for second reading (codecision procedure) by Willy PIECYK (PES, D) approving with amendments the Council's common position on the directive. The committee felt that the proposals would make an important contribution to road safety, provided they were correctly applied and were enforced by penalties. One amendment to the common position asked Member States specifically to lay down penalties and ensure that they were imposed. On-the-spot technical checks already existed in some Member States such as the UK, while other Member States would have to set up authorities to implement the controls. It was stressed that the application of the directive might remain a dead letter if the necessary infrastructure, in terms of both staff and equipment, was not rapidly provided. The committee therefore took the view that the directive should enter into force as soon as possible.�