L 255/146 Official Journal of the European Union 30.9.2005 DIRECTIVE 2005/40/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 7 September 2005 amending Council Directive 77/541/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to safety belts and restraint systems of motor vehicles (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com- munity, and in particular Article 95 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee ('), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (%), Whereas: (1) Research has shown that the use of safety belts and restraint systems can contribute to a substantial reduc- tion in the number of fatalities and the severity of injury in the event of an accident, even due to rollover. Their fitting in all categories of vehicles will certainly consti- tute an important step forward in bringing about an increase in road safety and a consequent saving of lives. (2) A substantial benefit to society can be attained if all vehicles are provided with safety belts. (3) In its Resolution of 18 February 1986 on common measures to reduce road accidents, as part of the Community’s programme for road safety (), the Euro- pean Parliament stressed the need for making the wearing of safety belts compulsory for all passengers, including children, except in public service vehicles. Therefore, a distinction has to be made between public service buses and other vehicles as regards the compul- sory installation of safety belts and/or restraint systems. (4)  Pursuant to Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers (), the Community type-approval system has only been implemented for all new vehicles () O] C 80, 30.3.2004, p. 10. (*) Opinion of the European Parliament of 17 December 2003 (O] C 91 E, 15.4.2004, p. 491), Council Common Position of 24 January 2005 (O] C 111 E, 11.5.2005, p. 28), Position of the European Parliament of 26 May 2005 (not yet published in the Offi- cial Journal). () O] C 68, 24.3.1986, p. 35. (*) OJ L 42, 23.2.1970, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2004/78/EC (O] L 153, 30.4.2004, p. 103). of category M, since 1 January 1998. Consequently, only these vehicles have to be fitted with safety belts and|or restraint systems fulfilling the provisions of Direc- tive 77/541EEC (). (5)  Until the Community type-approval system is extended to all categories of vehicles, the installation of safety belts and/or restraint systems should be required, in the interests of road safety, in vehicles belonging to cate- gories other than M,. (6)  Directive 77/541[EEC already provides for all technical and administrative provisions allowing the type-approval of vehicles of categories other than M,. Therefore, the Member States do not need to introduce further provi- sions. (7)  Since the entry into force of Commission Directive 96/36/EC of 17 June 1996 adapting to technical progress Council Directive 77/541/EEC relating to safety belts and restraint systems of motor vehicles (), several Member States have already made compulsory the provi- sions contained therein in respect of certain categories of vehicles other than M,. Manufacturers and their suppliers have thus developed the appropriate tech- nology. (8)  Directive 2001/85/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2001 relating to special provisions for vehicles used for the carriage of passen- gers comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat (), makes provision for allowing persons of reduced mobility such as disabled people to access more easily vehicles used for the carriage of passengers comprising more than eight seats. It is necessary to allow Member States to permit the installation of safety belts and/or restraint systems which do not comply with the technical specifications of Directive 77/541/EEC but are specifically designed for the purposes of securing those people in such vehicles. () OJ L 220, 29.8.1977, p. 95. Directive as last amended by the 2003 Act of Accession. () OJ L 178, 17.7.1996, p. 15. () OJ L 42, 13.2.2002, p. 1.