The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No. 6) Regulations 1988

Amendments relating to unleaded petrol

5.  After regulation 39, there shall be inserted the following regulations —

“39A— (1) Every vehicle to which this regulation applies shall be designed and constructed for running on unleaded petrol.

(2) No person shall use or cause or permit to be used a vehicle to which this regulation applies on a road if it —

(a) has been deliberately altered or adjusted for running on leaded petrol, and

(b) as a direct result of such alteration or adjustment it is incapable of running on unleaded petrol.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4) this regulation applies to every motor vehicle which is —

(a) propelled by a spark ignition engine which is capable of running on petrol, and

(b) is first used on or after the 1st April 1991.

(4) Part I of Schedule 3A shall have effect for the purpose of excluding certain vehicles first used before specified dates from the application of this regulation.

(5) In this regulation “petrol”, “leaded petrol” and “unleaded petrol” have the same meaning as in Community Directive 85/210(1).

(6) A vehicle shall be regarded for the purposes of this regulation as incapable of running on unleaded petrol at any particular time if and only if in its state of adjustment at that time prolonged continuous running on such petrol would damage the engine.

39B— (1) Subject to paragraph (2), every fuel tank fitted to a vehicle to which regulation 39A applies shall be so constructed and fitted that it cannot readily be filled from a petrol pump delivery nozzle which has an external diameter of 23.6mm or greater without the aid of a device (such as a funnel) not fitted to the vehicle.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a vehicle in respect of which both of the following conditions are satisfied, that is to say —

(a) that at the time of its first use the vehicle is so designed and constructed that prolonged continuous running on leaded petrol would not cause any device designed to control the emission of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons or nitrogen oxides to malfunction, and

(b) that it is conspicuously and legibly marked in a position immediately visible to a person filling the fuel tank with —

(i) the word “UNLEADED”, or

(ii) the symbol shown in Part II of Schedule 3A.

(3) In this regulation “fuel tank”, in relation to a vehicle, means a fuel tank used in connection with the propulsion of the vehicle.”.

(1)

“Community Directive” is defined in regulation 3 and Schedule 2 to the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. A relevant amendment to Schedule 2 is made by regulation 8 of these Regulations.