Road Traffic Act 1988

43 Temporary exemption from application of regulations under section 41

(1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4) below, where any regulations under section 41 of this Act contain provisions varying the requirements as regards the construction or weight of any class of vehicles, provision shall be made by the regulations for exempting from those provisions for such period, not being less than five years, as may be specified in the regulations any vehicle of that class registered under the [1971 c. 10.] Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971 before the expiration of one year from the making of the regulations.

(2) No such provision contained in regulations under section 41 as imposes or varies requirements with respect to the braking systems with which motor vehicles must be equipped shall be taken, for the purposes of subsection (1) above or of any other provision of the regulations, to be one relating to the construction of vehicles.

(3) Where regulations under section 41 contain provisions varying the requirements as regards the construction or weight of any class of vehicle, and the Secretary of State is satisfied—

(a) that it is requisite that those provisions shall apply at a date specified in the regulations to vehicles registered before the expiration of one year from the making of the regulations, or to such of them as are specified in the regulations, and

(b) that no undue hardship or inconvenience will be caused by their application then to those vehicles,

then, if the regulations state that the Secretary of State is so satisfied, subsection (1) above shall not apply in relation to those provisions.

(4) Subsection (1) above shall not apply in relation to—

(a) regulations made with respect to any description of weight of goods vehicles, other than their maximum unladen weight, or

(b) regulations made by virtue of section 41(3) of this Act.