Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

2004 No. 48

ROAD TRAFFIC AND VEHICLES

Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Made

13th February 2004

Coming into operation

27th March 2004

The Department of the Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Articles 55(1), (2) and (6) and 110(2) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(1) and of every other power enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004 and shall come into operation on 27th March 2004.

(2) In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999(2).

Amendment to regulation 2 (interpretation)

2.  In regulation 2(1) of the principal Regulations, sub-paragraph (j) of paragraph (i) of the definition of “overall length” shall be omitted.

Amendment to regulation 6 (length)

3.  In regulation 6 of the principal Regulations, in the Table –

(a) in item 3, column (3), for “18” there shall be substituted “18.75”;

(b) in item 7, column (2), the words “other than a bus” shall be added after the word “vehicle”; and

(c) items 3A, 7A and 7B shall be inserted at the appropriate place together with the description of the class of vehicle and maximum length specified in the table below.

TABLE

(1)	(2)	(3)
Item	Class of vehicle	Maximum Length
		(metres)
	Vehicle Combinations
3A	A bus drawing a trailer	18.75
	Motor vehicles
7A	A bus with two axles	13.5
7B	A bus with more than two axles	15

Amendment to regulation 15 (turning circle-buses)

4.  In paragraph (4) of regulation 15 of the principal Regulations, for the words from “if it is a rigid vehicle” to the end, there shall be substituted –

• “if it is a rigid vehicle of 12m or less in overall length or 1.2m if it is a rigid bus of over 12m in overall length or an articulated bus.”.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of the Environment on 13th February 2004.

L.S.

Wesley Shannon

A senior officer of the

Department of the Environment

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations further amend the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 (“the 1999 Regulations”) in order to implement the provisions of European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/7/EC amending Council Directive 96/53/EC and laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic. The maximum length of a bus with two axles, an articulated bus, and a bus with more than two axles have each been increased in accordance with Article 1.7 of Directive 2002/7/EC and turning circle requirements of buses have been amended to take account of these changes.

Copies of the relevant EC Directives can be obtained from the TSO Bookshop, 16 Arthur Street, Belfast BT1 4GD.

(1)

S.I. 1995/2994 (N.I. 18); see Article 2(2) for the definition of “the Department”

(2)

S.I. 1999 No. 454; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 2002 No. 375