The Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2017

Statutory Instruments

2017 No. 554

Road Traffic

The Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2017

Made

6th April 2017

Laid before Parliament

11th April 2017

Coming into force

6th May 2017

The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 (“the 1972 Act”)(1).

The Secretary of State is a Minister designated for the purposes of section 2(2) of the 1972 Act in relation to measures relating to data protection(2).

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 and come into force on 6th May 2017.

Amendment of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002

2.  The Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002(3) are amended as set out in regulation 3.

3.  After regulation 27A (exchange of information)(4) insert—

“Cross border exchange of information on road safety related traffic offences

27B.— (1) Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary of State must make the information listed in paragraph (4) available to the national contact point of another Member State where requested for the purposes of facilitating the investigation by that Member State of any traffic offence listed in paragraph (5) which is alleged to have been committed in that Member State, after these Regulations come into force, using a vehicle which is registered in the United Kingdom pursuant to these Regulations.

(2) In this regulation the expression “national contact point” means a competent authority designated by a Member State, pursuant to Article 4(2) of Directive 2015/413 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), for the purposes of the exchange of vehicle registration data in relation to the traffic offences listed in paragraph (5).

(3) Paragraph (1) applies where a national contact point of another Member State furnishes the Secretary of State with the following information within the period of twelve months beginning with the date of the alleged traffic offence—

(a) the traffic offence listed in paragraph (5) which is alleged to have been committed using the vehicle,

(b) the registration number of the vehicle,

(c) the category of the vehicle and, if known, its make and model, and

(d) the date, time and place of the alleged traffic offence.

(4) The information referred to in paragraph (1) is the following in so far as it may be held in the register—

(a) the name and address of the person who was the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time of the alleged traffic offence;

(b) the name and address of the person who was the owner of the vehicle at the time of the alleged traffic offence;

(c) where that person is an individual, that person’s date of birth;

(d) where that person is not an individual, the legal status of that person;

(e) the make and model of the vehicle;

(f) the chassis number of the vehicle.

(5) This regulation applies to the following traffic offences—

(a) drink driving;

(b) driving while under the influence of drugs;

(c) failing to stop at a red traffic light;

(d) failing to use a seat belt;

(e) failing to wear a safety helmet;

(f) using a mobile telephone or any other communication device while driving;

(g) speeding;

(h) use of a forbidden lane.

(6) In this regulation—

“drink driving” means driving while impaired by alcohol,

“driving while under the influence of drugs” means driving while impaired by drugs or other substances having a similar effect,

“failing to stop at a red traffic light” means driving through a red traffic light or any other relevant stop signal,

“failing to use a seat belt” means not complying with a requirement to wear a seat belt or to use a child restraint,

“failing to wear a safety helmet” means not complying with a requirement to wear a safety helmet,

“using a mobile telephone or any other communication device while driving” means illegally using a mobile telephone or any other communication device while driving,

“speeding” means exceeding speed limits for the road or type of vehicle concerned, and

“use of a forbidden lane” means illegally using part of a road (such as an emergency lane, a public transport lane or a lane temporarily closed for reasons of congestion or road works),

in breach of the law of the Member State where the traffic offence is alleged to have been committed.

(7) The Secretary of State is the national contact point for the United Kingdom.”.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport

Ahmad of Wimbledon

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Transport

6th April 2017

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 (“the 2002 Regulations”) in relation to the disclosure of information from the register of vehicles and their keepers maintained by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency on behalf of the Secretary of State under section 21 of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994.

These Regulations implement Directive (EU) 2015/413 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ No L 68, 13.3.15, p.9) facilitating cross-border exchange of information on road safety related traffic offences.

Regulation 3 implements the Directive by inserting new regulation 27B into the 2002 Regulations. New regulation 27B provides that, in order to facilitate the investigation by another Member State of a road safety related traffic offence to which the Directive applies committed in that Member State using a vehicle registered in the UK, the Secretary of State must make available to the Member State the identity of the registered keeper of the vehicle (and certain other information) from the statutory register of vehicles and their keepers maintained by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

It designates the Secretary of State as the national contact point for the UK, pursuant to Article 4(2) of the Directive, to receive and process requests for such information from other Member States and to request and receive corresponding information in relation to such offences committed in the UK using vehicles registered in other Member States.

An Impact Assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen. An Explanatory Memorandum and a Transposition Note are published alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.

The Directive referred to above is published at http://eur-lex.europa.eu.

(1)

1972 c.68; section 2(2) was amended by the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 (c. 51), section 27(1)(a) and the European Union (Amendment) Act 2008 (c.7), section 3(3) and the Schedule, Part 1.

(2)

S.I. 1998/2793.

(3)

S.I. 2002/2742, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

(4)

Regulation 27A was inserted by S.I. 2003/3073.

(5)

OJ No L 68, 13.3.2015, p.9.