- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (19/01/2013)
- Original (As enacted)
Version Superseded: 02/03/2016
Point in time view as at 19/01/2013. This version of this provision has been superseded.
You are viewing this legislation item as it stood at a particular point in time. A later version of this or provision, including subsequent changes and effects, supersedes this version.
Note the term provision is used to describe a definable element in a piece of legislation that has legislative effect – such as a Part, Chapter or section.
Road Traffic Act 1988, Section 85 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 12 November 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes and effects yet to be applied by the editorial team are only applicable when viewing the latest version or prospective version of legislation. They are therefore not accessible when viewing legislation as at a specific point in time. To view the ‘Changes to Legislation’ information for this provision return to the latest version view using the options provided in the ‘What Version’ box above.
In this Part of this Act—
[F1“the Community Recording Equipment Regulation” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3821/85 on recording equipment in road transport as read with the Community Drivers' Hours and Recording Equipment Regulations 2007]
[F2“EC certificate of conformity” means—
in the case of a light passenger vehicle, a certificate of conformity issued by a manufacturer under—
regulation 4 of the Motor Vehicles (EC Type Approval) Regulations 1992,
regulation 5 of the Motor Vehicles (EC Type Approval) Regulations 1998,
regulation 15(1) or 20(4) of the Road Vehicles (Approval) Regulations 2009, or
any provision of the law of a member State other than the United Kingdom giving effect to Article 6 of the light passenger vehicle type approval Directive or Article 18 of the road vehicles type approval Directive;
in the case of a vehicle to which the motorcycle type approval Directive applies, a certificate of conformity—
issued by a manufacturer under regulation 8(1) of the Motor Cycles Etc (EC Type Approval) Regulations 1999(whether before, on or after 9th November 2003), or
issued by a manufacturer under any provision of the law of an EEA State other than the United Kingdom giving effect to Article 7(1) of the motorcycle type approval Directive or to Article 7(1) of Council Directive 92/61/EEC of 30th June 1992 relating to the type approval of two- or three-wheeled motor vehicles;
in the case of a vehicle to which the tractor type approval Directive applies, a certificate of conformity issued by a manufacturer under—
regulation 6 of the Tractor etc (EC Type-Approval) Regulations 2005, or
any provision of the law of an EEA State other than the United Kingdom giving effect to Article 6(1) of the tractor type approval Directive;
in the case of any other vehicle, a certificate of conformity issued by a manufacturer under—
regulation 15(1) of the Road Vehicles (Approval) Regulations 2009, or
any provision of the law of a member State other than the United Kingdom giving effect to Article 18 of the road vehicles type approval Directive;]
[F3“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993;
“EEA State” means a state which is a contracting Party to the EEA Agreement;]
F4. . .
[F5“light passenger vehicle” means any motor vehicle which—
has at least four wheels,
F6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
is constructed or adapted for use for the carriage of passengers and is not a goods vehicle,
has no more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat, and
has a maximum design speed exceeding 25 kilometres per hour,
but does not include a quadricycle within the meaning of Article 1(3) of the motorcycle type approval Directive F7. . . ,
“the light passenger vehicle type approval Directive” means Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6th February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers as amended by Council Directive 87/403/EEC of 25th June 1987 and Council Directive 92/53/EEC of 18th June 1992,
[F8“the motorcycle type approval Directive” means Directive 2002/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18th March 2002 relating to the type approval of two or three-wheel motor vehicles and repealing Council Directive 92/61/EEC, as corrected by a Corrigendum of 22nd February 2003,]]
“official testing station” means a testing station maintained by the Secretary of State under section [F972A] of this Act,
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State,
F10[“public service vehicle” has the same meaning as in the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981,]
[F11“the road vehicles type approval Directive” means Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5th September 2007 establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles,]
“sold or supplied by retail” means sold or supplied otherwise than to a person acquiring solely for the purpose of resale or of re-supply for a valuable consideration,
“tail lamp” means, in relation to a vehicle, any lamp carried attached to the vehicle for the purpose of showing a red light to the rear in accordance with regulations under section 41 of this Act,
[F12“the tractor type approval Directive” means Directive 2003/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26th May 2003 on type-approval of agricultural or forestry tractors, their trailers and interchangeable towed machinery, together with their systems, components and separate technical units,]
“traffic area” has the same meaning as in the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 M1, and
“vehicle part” means any article which is a motor vehicle part, within the meaning of section 80 of this Act, and any other article which is made or adapted for use as part of, or as part of the equipment of, a vehicle which is intended or adapted to be used on roads but which is not a motor vehicle within the meaning of that section.
Textual Amendments
F1S. 85(1): definition of "Community Recording Equipment Regulation" substituted (23.4.2010) by The Passenger and Goods Vehicles (Community Recording Equipment Regulation) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/892), reg. 3(2)(d)
F2S. 85: definition of "EC certificate of conformity" substituted (29.4.2009) by virtue of The Road Vehicles (Approval) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/818), reg. 3(6)(a)
F3In s. 85 definition of "EEA Agreement" inserted (30.11.1999) by S.I. 1999/2920, reg. 19, Sch. 2 para. 4(3)
F4in s. 85 definition of "licensing authority" repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 23, s. 60(1)(2), Sch. 7 para. 13, Sch. 8 Pt. I; S.I. 1995/2181, art. 2
F5In s. 85 definitions of "light passenger vehicle", "the light passenger vehicle type approval Directive" and "the motorcycle type approval Directive" inserted (1.1.1993) by S.I. 1992/3107, regs. 1(2), 16, Sch. 2 para. 5(2)(b)
F6S. 85: para. (b) in definition of "light passenger vehicle" omitted (29.4.2009) by virtue of The Road Vehicles (Approval) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/818), reg. 3(6)(b)(i)
F7S. 85: words in definition omitted (29.4.2009) by virtue of The Road Vehicles (Approval) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/818), reg. 3(6)(b)(ii)
F8In s. 85 definition of "the motorcycle type approval Directive" substituted (9.11.2003) by The Motor Cycles Etc. (EC Type Approval) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/1099), reg. 3(b)
F9Word in s. 85 substituted (1.7.1992) by Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40, SIF 107:1), s. 48, Sch. 4 para. 61(a); S.I. 1992/1286, art. 2, Sch.
F10Definition in s. 85 inserted (1.7.1992) (after the definition of "prescribed") by Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40, SIF 107:1), s. 48, Sch. 4 para. 61(b); S.I. 1992/1286, art. 2, Sch.
F11S. 85: definition of "the road vehicles type approval Directive" inserted (29.4.2009) by The Road Vehicles (Approval) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/818), reg. 3(6)(c)
F12S. 86: definition of "the tractor type approval Directive" inserted (29.4.2009) by The Road Vehicles (Approval) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/818), reg. 3(6)(d)
Marginal Citations
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: