Hi Folks,
what is the legislation on new mirrors, got 3 conflicting messages yesterday 
in one small local caravan shop:
1, E11 mirrors required when towing on any car registered 07 or later NOW!
2, E11 mirrors required when towing on any car registered 07 or later in 
2010
3, E11 mirrors required when towing on any car registered 07 or later in 
2010, but not compulsory!
How are we supposed to know if we are legal??
Or is this just one more example of the E.U. justifying their existence

"Hirem Firem"  wrote in
news:NO47k.50269$8H5.28654@newsfe10.ams2: 

> what is the legislation on new mirrors, got 3 conflicting messages
> yesterday in one small local caravan shop:
> 1, E11 mirrors required when towing on any car registered 07 or later
> NOW! 2, E11 mirrors required when towing on any car registered 07 or
> later in 2010
> 3, E11 mirrors required when towing on any car registered 07 or later
> in 2010, but not compulsory!
> How are we supposed to know if we are legal??
> Or is this just one more example of the E.U. justifying their
> existence 

All mirrors fitted to any car first used on or after a certain date in 
1978 must conform to specified EU Directives or to ECE Regulation 46. 
However, the earlier Directives provided routes to conformity that did 
not require marking. Provided you bought your mirrors from a reputable 
dealer, you should be able to use them on any current outfit no matter 
when the car was registered.

For cars first registered on or after 26th January 2010, the mirrors 
must comply with a later Directive or ECE Regulation 46, and both 
require marking.

The type of mark signifies whether the mirror conforms with a Directive 
or the ECE regulation. Mirrors that conform with a Directive are marked 
with a rectangle in which is a lower-case "e" followed by a number; 
those that conform to the ECE regulation have a circle in which is an 
upper-case "E" followed by a number. In both cases, the number signifies 
only the country in which conformity is claimed (and thus usually the 
country of origin) and where 1 = France, 2 = Germany, 3 = Italy, 11 = 
UK, etc. So (using square brackets to signify a rectangle and round 
brackets for a circle), "[e3]" signifies tested in Italy and conformity 
with a Directive, "(E11)" signifies tested in UK and conformity with ECE 
Regulation 46, etc. Note that the claim they must be marked "E11" is a 
red herring that I suspect came from a certain UK manufacturer. Any 
valid mark described above is fine.

In a nutshell, any mirrors you buy now from a reputable source will be 
completely legal for use on your current towcar not matter whether those 
mirrors are marked. However, if they're not marked you will not be able 
to use them lawfully on any car that's first used on or after the 2010 
cut-off date.

HTH,

Geoff

On Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:53:00 -0500, Geoff Lane <geoff@nospam.invalid>
wrote:
>All mirrors fitted to any car first used on or after a certain date in 
>1978 must conform to specified EU Directives or to ECE Regulation 46. 
>However, the earlier Directives provided routes to conformity that did 
>not require marking. Provided you bought your mirrors from a reputable 
>dealer, you should be able to use them on any current outfit no matter 
>when the car was registered.
>
>For cars first registered on or after 26th January 2010, the mirrors 
>must comply with a later Directive or ECE Regulation 46, and both 
>require marking.
>
>The type of mark signifies whether the mirror conforms with a Directive 
>or the ECE regulation. Mirrors that conform with a Directive are marked 
>with a rectangle in which is a lower-case "e" followed by a number; 
>those that conform to the ECE regulation have a circle in which is an 
>upper-case "E" followed by a number. In both cases, the number signifies 
>only the country in which conformity is claimed (and thus usually the 
>country of origin) and where 1 = France, 2 = Germany, 3 = Italy, 11 = 
>UK, etc. So (using square brackets to signify a rectangle and round 
>brackets for a circle), "[e3]" signifies tested in Italy and conformity 
>with a Directive, "(E11)" signifies tested in UK and conformity with ECE 
>Regulation 46, etc. Note that the claim they must be marked "E11" is a 
>red herring that I suspect came from a certain UK manufacturer. Any 
>valid mark described above is fine.
>
>In a nutshell, any mirrors you buy now from a reputable source will be 
>completely legal for use on your current towcar not matter whether those 
>mirrors are marked. However, if they're not marked you will not be able 
>to use them lawfully on any car that's first used on or after the 2010 
>cut-off date.
Geoff

Can I use the text above as a new Frequently Asked Question on
http://www.caravanningnow.co.uk/caravanning/faq.htm ? I would of course
credit your work and quote you as the author and copyright holder.

This question has cropped up a few times now and it is time I included it.
I would send this by email, but your reply to address is not valid.

You can respond to this by email if you wish as the reply to address is
valid.

Thanks

Richard
See http://www.caravanningnow.co.uk where my caravan's for sale.
-- 
...and so, ladies and gentlemen, I notice it's the end of the show,
and sooner than any of could imagine, it's the end of another series,
and how poignant it is to reflect back on the six weeks of wild
applause and gales of laughter...the teams had hoped to get... -
Humphrey Lyttelton closing comment in I'm sorry I haven't a clue.

On Sat, 21 Jun 2008 22:00:46 +0100, Richard Cole
<ispcrco@hotmail.com.invalid> wrote:
>You can respond to this by email if you wish as the reply to address is
>valid.
Forgot to say that you need to knock off the .invalid

Dooh

Richard
See http://www.caravanningnow.co.uk where my caravan's for sale.
-- 
...and so, ladies and gentlemen, I notice it's the end of the show,
and sooner than any of could imagine, it's the end of another series,
and how poignant it is to reflect back on the six weeks of wild
applause and gales of laughter...the teams had hoped to get... -
Humphrey Lyttelton closing comment in I'm sorry I haven't a clue.