Safety issues of mechanical parking systems in the light of directive 98/37/EC

In the paper the authors report some interesting implications of the EU’s directive 98/37/EC, concerning safety of machinery, that derive from identifying the reasonably expected uses of machinery. Such aspects emerged during a forensic study that was carried out after a fatal accident occurred by means of a device named “mechanical parking system”. Although the machine is subjected to the cited directive, it is not regulated by a specific standard. After a brief description of the accident course, the circumstances that made it possible are carefully analysed in order to verify a possible unpremeditated omission of the necessary safety measures. Particular attention is given to the characterization of the normal use and of the reasonably expected uses of the machinery: such issues are widely analysed and discussed. The authors conclude that the institution of a prohibition for a specific type of usage is not sufficient to exclude that type as a reasonably expected use.