. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/N/BEL/24
16 November 2001
(01-5843)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  French
NOTIFICATION
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6.
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   BELGIUM
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):
2. Agency responsible:
Ministry of Communications and Infrastructure
Department of Road Traffic and InfrastructureTraffic Service - Motor Vehicle Division
Rue de la Loi 155
B-1040 Brussels
Tel.:  +32 2 287 31 11
Fax:  +32 2 287 44 80
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, E-mail and Web site
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [    ], 5.6.2 [    ], 5.7.1 [    ], other:
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   Blind spot rear-view
mirror.
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Draft Law Amending
the Royal Decree of 15 March 1968 on General Regulations concerning Technical Standards
for Vehicles, Vehicle Trailers, Parts Thereof a nd Safety Fittings, with a View to Improving
Truck and Bus Drivers' Visibility of Vulnerable Road Users.
6. Description of content:   The Belgian Government wishes to include in its regulations a
specific statutory provision obliging all category M2, M3 and N3 motor vehicles (trucks andbuses) to be equipped with a rear-view mirror desi gned to eliminate the blind spot and thereby
ensure greater protection of vulnerable road us ers (pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, etc.) on
the right-hand side of such vehicles.
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:   
To reduce the number of accidents attributable to the poor visibility of truck and bus
drivers. Statistics have shown that the blind spot has been the cause of many deaths in
Belgium in 2000 and that this number will only increase if a solution is not found in the verynear future.
8. Relevant documents:G/TBT/N/BEL/24
Page 2
9. Proposed date of adoption:
Proposed date of entry into force: }60 days
10. Final date for comments:
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax
numbers and E-mail and Web site addresses, if available, of the other body:
CIBELNOR