Provisional Translation
| OTO No. | 600 | Classification | MOT-55 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Acceptance | October 5, 1999 | Ministry/Agency Receiving Complaint | Economic Planning Agency |
| Responsible Ministries | Ministry of Transport | Related Laws | Road Vehicles Law |
| Complainant | Domestic firm | Exporting Countries | USA |
| Subject | Clarification of laws for classifying three-wheeled vehicles with the basic structure of a two-wheeled vehicle | ||
| Description of Complaint | (1) In other countries, two-wheeled vehicles modified into three-wheeled vehicles are classified as two-wheeled vehicles; in Japan, however, they have been classified as four-wheeled vehicles. When new regulations for protecting vehicle occupants in the case of front impact collisions were applied to imported automobiles, from April 1, 1999, the Ministry of Transport's inspection registration office advised the complainant that the ministry required new front impact crash tests for two-wheeled vehicles modified into three-wheeled vehicles as well. However, since front impact crash tests of four-wheeled vehicles involve running the vehicle into a vertical wall in order to test the force of impact on the occupants (dummies) to begin with, in the case of a three-wheeled vehicle with the basic structure of a two-wheeled vehicle, the dummies merely hit the wall with their heads, in mid-air, and this test is pointless as far as testing protection for vehicle occupants goes. (2) Subsequently, a ministerial directive concerning requirements for two-wheeled vehicles with sidecars was amended, on July 16, 1999. As a result, three-wheeled vehicles meeting the requirements set out in the directive are classified as two-wheeled vehicles (registered as motorcycles with sidecars on vehicle inspection certificates, and issued license plates for motorcycles) and exempted from front impact crash testing, whereas those that do not remain classified as four-wheeled vehicles and must undergo front impact crash testing, a requirement that is unreasonable. (3) Accordingly, the ministry should cease its current discretionary administrative regulation, frequently changing its definition and classification of three-wheeled vehicles each time by means of directives and so on. To clarify interpretation by both the administrative authorities and businesses and to simplify and make procedures more efficient, it should pass a law to classify three-wheeled vehicles having the basic structure of two-wheeled vehicles as two-wheeled vehicles, as is done in other countries. It should also exempt all vehicles having the basic structure of a two-wheeled vehicle from front impact crash tests. |
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| Details of Measures | The ministry replied as follows. (1) Vehicles with three wheels are classified as either two-wheeled vehicles with sidecars, or as three-wheeled vehicles. Since their characteristics are similar to those for two- and four-wheeled vehicles, respectively, it is practical to apply safety and environmental requirements appropriate to their respective characteristics. Since two-wheeled vehicles with sidecars have ordinarily been, as the name implies, two-wheeled vehicles with sidecars attached, they are defined as vehicles which, when in a standing position, have two wheels aligned along the same axis and a third to the side. This makes the scope of application of the regulations clear, and vehicles which do not fit this description are, in principle, evaluated as to conformity with regulations in accordance with the definition for four-wheeled vehicles. (2) However, where application of regulations for occupant protection in the case of a front impact collision is concerned, for two-wheeled vehicles with sidecars in which the rear wheel of the motorcycle portion of the vehicle has been moved to the outside, it is not realistic to apply the regulations in question and accordingly, an additional definition of a two-wheeled vehicle with sidecar, namely, "a vehicle with a seat on which the driver sits astride and which is steered by means of handlebars, has three wheels, and is open on both sides of the driver's seat" was added on July 16, 1999. This makes it easy for anyone to clearly understand the scope of application of the regulations. The decision as to whether a vehicle conforms to the regulations of the directive is made for each vehicle actually produced, and registration inspection bureaus, etc. make logical decisions in each case when vehicles are presented for inspection, taking into consideration the actual structure of each individual vehicle. |
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| Classification of Processing | Cc | Directions | I-a I-b II-a |
| Remarks | |||