Road Traffic Act 1988

92 Requirements as to physical fitness of drivers. E+W+S

(1) An application for the grant of a licence must include a declaration by the applicant, in such form as the Secretary of State may require, stating whether he is suffering or has at any time (or, if a period is prescribed for the purposes of this subsection, has during that period) suffered from any relevant disability or any prospective disability.

(2) In this Part of this Act—

• “disability” includes disease [F1 and the persistent misuse of drugs or alcohol, whether or not such misuse amounts to dependency],

• “relevant disability” in relation to any person means—

(a) any prescribed disability, and

(b) any other disability likely to cause the driving of a vehicle by him in pursuance of a licence to be a source of danger to the public, and

• “prospective disability” in relation to any person means any other disability which—

(a) at the time of the application for the grant of a licence or, as the case may be, the material time for the purposes of the provision in which the expression is used, is not of such a kind that it is a relevant disability, but

(b) by virtue of the intermittent or progressive nature of the disability or otherwise, may become a relevant disability in course of time.

(3) If it appears from the applicant’s declaration, or if on inquiry the Secretary of State is satisfied from other information, that the applicant is suffering from a relevant disability, the Secretary of State must, subject to the following provisions of this section, refuse to grant the licence.

(4) The Secretary of State must not by virtue of subsection (3) above refuse to grant a licence—

(a) on account of any relevant disability which is prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph, if the applicant has at any time passed a relevant test and it does not appear to the Secretary of State that the disability has arisen or become more acute since that time or was, for whatever reason, not disclosed to the Secretary of State at that time,

(b) on account of any relevant disability which is prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph, if the applicant satisfies such conditions as may be prescribed with a view to authorising the grant of a licence to a person in whose case the disability is appropriately controlled,

(c) on account of any relevant disability which is prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph, if the application is for a provisional licence.

(5) Where as a result of a test of competence to drive [F2 or of information obtained under the relevant powers] the Secretary of State is satisfied that the person who took the test [F2 or in relation to whom the information was obtained] is suffering from a disability such that there is likely to be a danger to the public—

(a) if he drives any vehicle, F3 . . .

(b) if he drives a vehicle other than a vehicle of a particular [F4 class],

[F5 or

F5 (c) if he drives a vehicle except in accordance with particular conditions,]

the Secretary of State must serve notice in writing to that effect on that person and must include in the notice a description of the disability.

(6) Where a notice is served in pursuance of subsection (5)(a) above, then—

(a) if the disability is not prescribed under subsection (2) above, it shall be deemed to be so prescribed in relation to the person [F6 on whom the notice is served], and

(b) if the disability is prescribed for the purposes of subsection (4)(c) above it shall be deemed not to be so prescribed in relation to him.

[F7 (7) Where a notice is served in pursuance of subsection (5)(b) above, the Secretary of State may—

(a) if the person on whom the notice is served is an applicant for a licence, grant him a licence limited to vehicles of the particular class specified in the notice, or

(b) if he held a licence which is revoked by the Secretary of State and he complies with subsection (7ZB) below, grant him a licence limited to vehicles of that class,

and, if the Secretary of State so directs in the notice, his entitlement to drive other classes of vehicle by virtue of section 98(2) of this Act shall be limited as specified in the notice.

F7 (7ZA) Where a notice is served in pursuance of subsection (5)(c) above, the Secretary of State may—

(a) if the person on whom the notice is served is an applicant for a licence, grant him a licence authorising him to drive vehicles subject to the particular conditions specified in the notice, or

(b) if he held a licence which is revoked by the Secretary of State and he complies with subsection (7ZB) below, grant him a licence authorising him to drive vehicles subject to those conditions,

and, if the Secretary of State so directs in the notice, any entitlement which the person has to drive vehicles by virtue of section 98(2) of this Act shall be subject to conditions as specified in the notice.

F7 (7ZB) A person complies with this subsection if—

(a) he surrenders the existing licence and its counterpart, and

(b) where the Secretary of State so requires, he provides evidence of his name, address, sex and date and place of birth and a photograph which is a current likeness of him.

F7 (7A) If he considers it appropriate to do so, the Secretary of State may, after serving a notice under any of the paragraphs of subsection (5) above, serve a further notice under that paragraph or a notice under another of those paragraphs; and on his serving the later notice the notice previously served shall cease to have effect and any licence previously granted in accordance with it shall be revoked by the later notice.]

[F8 (7B) In subsection (5) above the references to a test of competence to drive and to information obtained under the relevant power are references respectively to a test of competence prescribed for the purposes of section 89 or so much of such a test as is required to be taken in pursuance of section 94(5)(c) of this Act and to information obtained in pursuance of section 94(5)(a) or (b) of this Act.

(7C) A person whose licence is revoked by virtue of subsection (7A) above must deliver the licence [F9 and its counterpart]] to the Secretary of State forthwith after the revocation and a person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to do so is guilty of an offence.

[F10 (7D) In subsection (7B) above the references to section 94 of this Act include references to that section as applied by section 99D of this Act.]

(8) In this section “relevant test”, in relation to an application for a licence, means any such test of competence as is mentioned in section 89 of this Act or a test as to fitness or ability in pursuance of section 100 of the M1 Road Traffic Act 1960 as originally enacted, being a test authorising the grant of a licence in respect of vehicles of the classes to which the application relates.

(9) Without prejudice to subsection (8) above, for the purposes of subsection (4)(a) above—

[F11 (a) an applicant shall be treated as having passed a relevant test if, and on the day on which, he passed a test of competence to drive which—

(i) under a provision of the law of Northern Ireland or a relevant external law corresponding to subsections (3) and (4) or (6) of section 89 of this Act, either is prescribed in relation to vehicles of classes corresponding to the classes to which the application relates or is sufficient under that law for the granting of a licence authorising the driving of vehicles of those classes, or

(ii) is sufficient for the granting of a British Forces licence authorising the driving of vehicles of those classes, and]

(b) in the case of an applicant who is treated as having passed a relevant test by virtue of paragraph (a) above, disclosure of a disability to [F12 his licensing authority] shall be treated as disclosure to the Secretary of State.

F13 . . .

[F14 (10) A person who holds a licence authorising him to drive a motor vehicle of any class and who drives a motor vehicle of that class on a road is guilty of an offence if the declaration included in accordance with subsection (1) above in the application on which the licence was granted was one which he knew to be false.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in the definition of “disability" in s. 92(2) inserted (23.7.1996) by S.I. 1996/1974, reg. 2, Sch. 1 para. 3(2)

F2 Words inserted by Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (c. 22, SIF 107:1), s. 5(2)

F3 Word in s. 92(5)(a) repealed (1.7.1998) by S.I. 1998/1420, reg. 17, Sch.

F4 Word substituted by Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (c. 22, SIF 107:1), s. 5(2)

F5 S. 92(5)(c) and the word “or" immediately preceding it inserted (1.7.1998) by S.I. 1998/1420, reg. 4(2)

F6 Words in s. 92(6)(a) substituted (23.7.1996 for specified purposes and otherwise 1.1.1997) by S.I. 1996/1974, reg. 2, Sch. 1 para. 3(3)

F7 S. 92(7)-(7A) substituted (1.7.1998) for s. 92(7)(7A) by S.I. 1998/1420, reg. 4(3)

F8 S. 92(7A)–(7C) inserted by Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (c. 22, SIF 107:1), s. 5(4)

F9 Words inserted by S.I. 1990/144, regs. 2(3), 3, Sch. 3 para. 1(a)

F10 S. 92(7D) inserted (23.7.1996 for specified purposes and otherwise 1.1.1997) by S.I. 1996/1974, reg. 2, Sch. 1 para. 3(5)

F11 S. 92(9)(a) substituted (1.4.1991) by Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (c. 22, SIF 107:1), s. 5(5)(a)

F12 Words substituted (1.4.1991) by Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (c. 22, SIF 107:1), s. 5(5)(b)

F13 Words repealed (1.4.1991) by Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (c. 22, SIF 107:1), s. 16, Sch. 6

F14 S. 92(10) added (1.7.1992) by Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40, SIF 107:1), s. 18(1); S.I. 1992/1286, art. 2, Sch.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 92(4)(a) modified by Road Traffic (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988 (c. 54, SIF 107:1), s. 5, Sch. 4 para. 7(1)

Marginal Citations

M1 1960 c. 16.