TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES
ROAD TRAFFIC (JERSEY) LAW 1956 - ARTICLE 78 EXEMPTION LICENCE
TO THE PROVISIONS OF VARIOUS ARTICLES OF THE MOTOR VEHICLES
(CONSTRUCTION AND USE) (JERSEY) ORDER 1998 AND THE ROAD
TRAFFIC (LIGHTING) (JERSEY) ORDER 1998 - RENAULT TWIZY
- Purpose of the Report
1.1. To consider the requirements of certain Articles of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Jersey) Order 1998 and the Road Traffic (Lighting) (Jersey) Order 1998, in the context of:
- Assessing vehicle compliance for the purposes of registration, and
- Promoting the Sustainable Transport Policy (adopted by the States, as amended, in December 2010).
- Background
2.1. In May 2012, a French built vehicle, a Renault Twizy, was presented at Driver and Vehicle Standards, (DVS), for a Certificate of Approval registration inspection. The inspection followed a request from Renault UK and Bagot Road Garage to consider the Renault Twizy for registration in Jersey.
2.2. The Renault Twizy is a four wheeled motor vehicle powered by an electric motor. It has been manufactured to comply with future EU quadricycle type approval requirements but does not have type approval as a motor car. Currently, Jersey legislation does not cover quadricycles and under the Motor Vehicle Registration (Jersey) Law 1993, a motor vehicle can only be registered as an agricultural tractor, moped, light motor cycle, heavy motor cycle, motor car or heavy motor car.
2.3. When a person wishes to register a motor vehicle that does not have whole vehicle type approval or a certificate of conformity from the country of manufacture in the EU, the vehicle is required to undergo and pass an Inspector’s Certificate of Approval inspection before it can be registered. The inspection examines, trials and tests the vehicle, its systems and components to confirm they are of a standard and condition that will allow the safe operation of the vehicle on the road.
2.4. The Inspector is empowered under Article 78 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956, “where it is desirable in the public interest” to grant a licence to exempt a motor vehicle from provisions of the Construction and Use and Lighting Orders (Orders made under Article 77 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956), subject to any conditions or restrictions that the Inspector specifies. Anyone aggrieved by the Inspector refusing to grant a licence or any condition or restriction attached to the licence can appeal to the Minister on the grounds that the Inspector’s decision was unreasonable. The Minister’s decision is final.
2.5. Following inspection of the vehicle, the Inspector has decided to grant a licence exempting the Renault Twizy from certain requirements of the Orders and will allow the Renault Twizy to be registered in Jersey. A similar licence will be granted to any other Renault Twizy presented for registration provided satisfactory evidence is submitted that the vehicle presented has been manufactured to the same or better specification to the original vehicle inspected.
2.6. This report outlines the reasons for the Inspector’s decision and the criteria applied, in the expectation that persons will wish to apply for an exemption licence to register other vehicles that do not meet the provisions of the Orders made under Article 77 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 and do not have whole vehicle type approval as a motor car or motor cycle in the EU. In such situations, the Inspector may refuse to grant a licence or impose restrictions and the applicant may appeal to the Minister against the Inspector’s decision.
- Discussion
3.1. Renault UK and Bagot Road Garage presented a Renault Twizy for a Certificate of Approval inspection at DVS on 28 May 2012. Additional information on the design and testing of the vehicle was provided. (This information will be made available to the Minister).
3.2. The vehicle is a battery powered, electric vehicle that carries two people, the passenger sitting behind the driver. It is registered in EU jurisdictions as a quadricycle and manufactured in Europe to comply with the relevant EU Regulations and Directives for quadricycles. It is worth noting, however, that Renault have designed and manufactured the Twizy to meet a new EU Directive scheduled for introduction in 2014 which will introduce more stringent requirements, including front and rear protective structures, structural integrity and passenger protection systems, bringing the design of such vehicles closer to that of a car.
3.3. It is 1396 mm wide, 2337 mm long, 1304 mm high and weighs 450kg, so it is a small vehicle (for comparison, a Smart car is 1752 mm wide, 2695 mm long, 1542 mm high and weighs 800kg). The Twizy presented had “doors” which offer some additional protection from the elements but presently, there are no side windows and the “doors” are an optional extra, the vehicle being supplied without doors as standard.
3.4. The Twizy would appear to be the sort of vehicle which the Minister and the States, following adoption of the Sustainable Transport Policy (7.8.1) would wish to encourage motorists to buy in Jersey as it has zero emissions. It could be considered “in the public interest” to register a lower emission vehicle.
3.5. As well as a Traffic Officer inspecting and testing the vehicle, officers from TTS, Environment and Economic Development viewed and drove the vehicle.
3.6. Issues that arose during inspection and testing were:-
(a) Insufficient separation of brake lights;
(b) No rear fog light fitted;
(c) No side repeater indicators fitted;
(d) Speedometer only indicates speed in miles per hour;
(e) Due to manner of operation of handbrake and the forward automatic gear, there is a high risk of roll back on a hill start;
(f) Doors are not structurally significant and offer little protection;
(g) Should the foot-well become wet in adverse weather, there appears to be a possibility that the driver’s foot could slip when braking.
3.7. The fact the vehicle is so narrow and the brake lights are high and large, the amount of separation is acceptable so (a) does not compromise safety.
3.8. A rear fog light is a requirement for a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is less than 1300 mm wide. Without mirrors, the Twizy is under 1300 mm wide. Although a rear fog light is a reasonable safety feature, motorcycles, motorcycle combinations and agricultural tractors are not required to have rear fog lights. The lack of a rear fog light (b) is not considered such a safety issue to refuse registration in this case. Similarly, due to the short length of the vehicle the absence of side repeaters (c) is not considered a safety issue.
3.9. The speedometer can be altered to show kph or mph but only by a service agent. In the circumstances, (d) is not seen as a safety issue.
3.10. To release the handbrake, the brake pedal has to be depressed. While this can be the situation on normal automatic vehicles and with electronic handbrakes, there is not usually a risk of rolling back on a hill start (or forward when reversing uphill) when transferring from the brake pedal to the accelerator. The situation also arose when stopping momentarily; roll-back could be experienced when moving from the brake to accelerator. While disconcerting, (e) can be mastered. While there are other reasons why the Twizy cannot be used to learn to drive or take a driving test, hill starts would be a problem for an inexperienced driver using this vehicle.
3.11. If doors are fitted, presently there are no side windows, leaving the driver and passenger a little exposed to the elements (Renault are developing side windows for the vehicle). There appears to be a risk (higher if no doors are fitted), of rain water entering the cabin and making the foot-well slippery, potentially causing a problem should the driver brake. Renault confirmed the foot-well has drain holes and while acknowledging the issue when no doors are fitted, have advised that it has not been raised as an issue despite hundreds of the vehicles circulating in Europe.
3.12. The doors offer little protection to passengers if the vehicle is hit from the side but Renault have carried out crash testing (detailed in the supporting information) which appears to show that the floor pan offers a reasonable level of protection in side impact collisions.
3.13. The Twizy incorporates seat belts, a driver’s airbag, collapsible steering column and has been tested for front, rear, side and pole impacts, safety features not apparent in other quadricycles marketed as a “small car”.
3.14. In terms of performance, the Twizy has good acceleration, has a top speed of 50 mph and maintains speed going uphill so will not cause any issue for following vehicles. It has disc brakes all round and a range of up to 50 miles on full charge, more than adequate for travelling around Jersey.
3.15. There is a model of the Twizy being marketed in Europe that complies with the EU’s requirements for a moped and can be driven, in some countries, without the need for a driving licence or can be driven by a 16 year old with a provisional category AM licence. That model would not meet Jersey’s legislation and it is not expected that the vehicle will be marketed as such in Jersey.
3.16. The model tested requires the driver to hold a category B driving licence. As the passenger sits behind the driver, the vehicle is not suitable for anyone learning to drive as the experienced driver sitting in the passenger seat would not have a clear, all round view, could not correct steering or pull on the handbrake if required to take action.
- Summary
4.1. A vehicle, a Renault Twizy, has been presented in Jersey for a Certificate of Approval and possible registration. The vehicle does not meet certain provisions set out in the legislation, (Article 35 of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Jersey) Order 1998 and Article 19 of the Road Traffic (Lighting) (Jersey) Order 1998).
4.2. The vehicle:-
- Has insufficient separation of brake lights, no rear fog light fitted and no side repeater indicators fitted, none of which is considered compromises the safe use of the vehicle;
- Has a speedometer which only indicates speed in either miles per hour or kilometres per hour but can be set by the service agent;
- meets all other requirements of the Construction and Use and Lighting Orders;
- has passenger safety systems fitted and has been crash tested;
- performs well in traffic;
- has no CO2 emissions;
- is the type of small, low emission vehicle the Minister and the States wish to promote use of in the Island;
- cannot be used by inexperienced drivers.
- Decision
5.1. The Minister is recommended to endorse that:-
(a) The Inspector of Motor Traffic, in accordance with Article 78 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956, is minded to exempt the Renault Twizy from the requirements of Article 35 of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Jersey) Order 1998 to display speeds in both miles per hour and kilometres per hour and Article 19 of the Road Traffic (Lighting) (Jersey) Order 1998, in respect of obligatory lamps, as, taking everything into consideration, it is “desirable in the public interest so to do”. By issuing such an exemption licence, this vehicle can be registered in Jersey.
(b) To be registered in Jersey, any other vehicle presented for registration must comply with the requirements of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Jersey) Order 1998 and the Road Traffic (Lighting) (Jersey) Order 1998, unless that vehicle meets the same criteria set out for the Renault Twizy tested, namely:-
- is the same or better specification as the Renault Twizy presented for inspection and testing on 28 May 2012;
- has a digital speedometer displaying in miles per hour but can display in kilometres per hour;
- meets all other requirements of the Construction and Use and Lighting Orders;
- has passenger safety systems fitted and has been crash tested;
- performs well in traffic;
- has zero CO2 emissions;
- is the type of small, low emission vehicle the Minister and the States wish to promote use of in the Island.
- Reason(s) for Decision
6.1. To provide reasonable and pragmatic criteria for granting an exemption licence under Article 78 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 to the provisions of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Jersey) Order 1998 and Road Traffic (Lighting) (Jersey) Order 1998, without compromising safety, where a vehicle constructed under the EU quadricycle Directive is presented for registration as a motor car in Jersey.
6.2. Should a person apply to register a vehicle that does not meet the provisions of the Construction and Use and Lighting Orders, the Inspector refuses to grant an exemption licence under Article 78 of the law and the person appeals to the Minister and / or Assistant Minister on the grounds that the Inspector’s decision was unreasonable, the Minister and Assistant Minister will be aware of the criteria set and why.
- Action Required
7.1. Inspector of Motor Traffic to take appropriate action when necessary.
Written by: | Inspector of Motor Traffic |
Approved by: | Director of Transport |
gov.je