Road Traffic Offenders (Appropriate Driving Test) Order (Northern Ireland) 1997

Made14th August 1997

To be laid before Parliament under paragraph 3(3) of Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Act 1974

Coming into operation1st October 1997

The Department of the Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Article 41(3) and (5) of the Road Traffic Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 19961 and of every other power enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Order:

Citation, commencement and interpretation1.

(1)

This Order may be cited as the Road Traffic Offenders (Appropriate Driving Test) Order (Northern Ireland) 1997 and shall come into operation on 1st October 1997.

(2)

In this Order “the Order of 1996” means the Road Traffic Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.

Circumstances in which a person is disqualified until appropriate driving test passed2.

The circumstances prescribed for the purposes of Article 41(3)(a) of the Order of 1996, in relation to a person who is disqualified under Article 35 of that Order, are where a person is convicted of an offence under any of the following provisions of the Order of 1995, that is—

(a)

Article 14 (causing death, or grievous bodily injury, by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs),

(b)

Article 15(1) (driving or attempting to drive while unfit),

(c)

Article 16(1)(a) (driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol), and

(d)

Article 18(7) (failing to provide a specimen), where that is an offence involving obligatory disqualification.

Offences prescribed for extended driving test3.

The offences prescribed for the purposes of sub-paragraph (a)(i) of the definition of “appropriate driving test” in Article 41(5) of the Order of 1996 are—

(a)

manslaughter by the driver of a motor vehicle,

(b)

an offence under Article 9 of the Order of 1995 (causing death, or grievous bodily injury, by dangerous driving),

(c)

an offence under Article 10 of that Order (dangerous driving),

(d)

an offence under Article 14 of that Order (causing death, or grievous bodily injury, by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs).

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of the Environment on

J. Ritchie

Assistant Secretary

14th August 1997.

(This note is not part of the Order.)

This Order prescribes circumstances in which a court must disqualify a person until he passes an appropriate driving test. The circumstances prescribed are where a person is disqualified under Article 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (disqualification for certain offences) following conviction of an offence under any of the following provisions of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the Order of 1995”)—

(a)

Article 14 (causing death, or grievous bodily injury, by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs);

(b)

Article 15(1) (driving or attempting to drive when unfit to drive through drink or drugs);

(c)

Article 16(1)(a) (driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol in breath, blood or urine);

(d)

Article 18(7) (failing to provide a specimen for analysis or laboratory test), where that is an offence involving obligatory disqualification.

The Order also prescribes offences for the purposes of the definition of “appropriate driving test” in Article 41(5) of the Road Traffic Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. Those offences are—

(a)

manslaughter by the driver of a motor vehicle;

(b)

an offence under any of the following provisions of the Order of 1995—

(i)

Article 9 (causing death, or grievous bodily injury, by dangerous driving);

(ii)

Article 10 (dangerous driving);

(iii)

Article 14 (causing death, or grievous bodily injury, by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs).