When a bus is first manufactured it must pass all the necessary safety and quality standards before it can be sold or registered throughout Europe and this is known as European Type Approval. Type approval is essentially a series of stringent tests that a vehicle, or part of a vehicle (e.g., its brakes), must pass before it is allowed to be used on a public road and ensures the vehicles are manufactured to the necessary safety and environmental standards. As a member of the EU Ireland is obliged to introduce all emission regulations on vehicles thus ensuring all new vehicles on Irish roads are compliant with European prescribed emission standards.