Royal Decree 563/2017 on Technical Inspection of commercial vehicles, in force on May 20th 2018

In accordance with the publication in our Blog on June 13th 2017, article: “Royal Decree nº 563/2017 of June 2nd 2017 – Technical Inspection of Commercial Vehicles, the mentioned Royal Decree will come into force on 20th of May 2018.
The Royal Decree (R.D.) nº 563/2017 incorporates into Spanish law the Directive 2014/47/EU of April 3rd 2014 on technical roadside inspection of commercial vehicles circulating in the EU, whose entry into force suspends the R.D. 957/2002, of September 13th, which regulates the technical roadside inspections of commercial vehicles that circulate on the Spanish territory, and the Order INT/316/2003 of February 13th on technical inspections of commercial vehicles.

We strongly advise to read our earlier article, where we mention, in general terms, some of the characteristics and changes that the entry into force of this new regulation entails for road carriers.
On the one hand, it is worth noting the subject selected for inspections, listed in Annex 2 as follows:
1. Identification of the vehicle.
2. Braking equipment.
3. Steering.
4. Visibility.
5. Lighting equipment and parts of the electrical system.
6. Axels, wheels, tyres, suspension.
7. Chasses and chasses attachments.
8. Other equipments.
9. Nuisance.
10. Supplementary tests for passenger-carrying vehicles of categories M2 and M3.

To this list, on the other hand, is to be added the content of the article 11 of the R.D., detailed in the Annex III. This article incorporates the faculty to subject the vehicle to a test of cargo lashing/securing during the roadside inspection in order to assess whether the cargo is secured in a way that would not interfere with safe driving and that would pose no risk to life, health, property or environment.

In accordance with the result of the inspections, pertinent sanctions regime will be applied (article 16), furthermore road transport operating companies will be classified in order to evaluate their compliance with the requirements of the regulation, in both, the periodic technical inspections and the complementary roadside inspections (Annex 1). In any of the described circumstances, the holder of the administrative authorization to transport operation, or when applicable the long-term lessee, will be responsible for keeping the vehicle in conditions appropriate for traffic. This is without prejudice to responsibilities of the driver.

Apart from ensuring that the vehicles are in appropriate conditions safety and environment-wise during their use, this R.D. nº 563/2017 of June 2nd 2017 seeks to avoid unnecessary administrative burden and costs reinforcing the effectiveness of the inspections. To this end, priority inspections of vehicles used by the companies that are considered no to be complying with the required safety and environmental standards (bad record) are fostered, and thus the carriers who are responsible and concerned with safety and the correct maintenance of their vehicles are rewarded.