The roadworthiness test establishes the technical suitability of vehicles. Any vehicle on the road should be in a suitable condition and meet accepted safety and environmental standards for safe driving and transport of people or cargo. A properly maintained and fully functioning vehicle meeting all safety requirements is less likely to be involved in a road accident. Roadworthiness checks are also important for environmental reasons and for ensuring fair competition in the transport sector. According to EU legislation, road inspectors may carry unannounced checks on any commercial vehicle travelling within the EU.
CORTE, pursuant to its partnership with International Motor Vehicle Inspection Committee (CITA), has launched a working group on Roadworthiness that helps members of CORTE and CITA to share best practices and latest methods on checking/controlling roadworthiness of vehicles. In addition, CORTE has also contributed to a recent study undertaken by the European Parliament to assess the implementation of the roadworthiness package, by checking whether the transposition of safety measures included in the package has led to common standards in practice, as well as to assess the current functioning of the exchange of information and the mutual recognition of technical controls between Member States.
