The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations 2003

Statutory Instruments

2003 No. 3313

ROAD TRAFFIC

The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations 2003

Made

18th December 2003

Laid before Parliament

19th December 2003

Coming into force

12th January 2004

The Secretary of State for Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 89(3) and 105(1) and (3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988(1), and after consultation with representative organisations in accordance with section 195(2) of that Act, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 12th January 2004.

(2) In these Regulations, “the principal Regulations” means the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999(2).

Amendments of Schedule 8 to the principal Regulations (specified requirements for practical or unitary test)

2.  In Schedule 8 to the principal Regulations, for each occurrence of the words “the test conductor’s discretion” there shall be substituted “the discretion of the person conducting the test”.

3.  For Part 5 of Schedule 8 to the principal Regulations 1999 there shall be substituted Part 5 as set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.

Signed by Authority of the Secretary of State for Transport

David Jamieson

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,

Department for Transport

18th December 2003

Regulation 3

SCHEDULE SUBSTITUTION OF PART 5 OF SCHEDULE 8 TO THE PRINCIPAL REGULATIONS

“PART 5 Unitary Test: Categories F, G, H, and K

Eyesight

A.   Either—

(a) read in good daylight (with the aid of corrective lenses if worn) a registration mark fixed to a motor vehicle and containing letters and figures 79 millimetres high and 57 millimetres wide at a distance of—

(i) 12.3 metres, in the case of a test conducted in respect of a vehicle included in category K;

(ii) 20.5 metres, in any other case or

(b) read in good daylight (with the aid of corrective lenses if worn) a registration mark fixed to a motor vehicle and containing letters and figures 79 millimetres high and 50 millimetres wide at a distance of—

(i) 12 metres, in the case of a test conducted in respect of a vehicle included in category K;

(ii) 20 metres, in any other case.

Technical control of the vehicle

B.— 1. Start the engine of the vehicle.

2. Move away straight ahead or at an angle.

3. Turn right-hand and left-hand corners correctly.

4. Stop the vehicle in an emergency and normally and, in the latter case, bring it to a rest in the appropriate part of the road.

Behaviour in traffic

C.   Overtake, meet or cross the path of other vehicles and take an appropriate course.

Vehicle safety checks

D.   Describe how to perform a check on the condition and safety of one component of the vehicle in which the test is being conducted and demonstrate an actual check on the condition and safety of a second such component, each component to be chosen at the discretion of the person conducting the test.”

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/2864; “the principal Regulations”) by the inclusion of a requirement for a candidate undertaking a unitary test for a licence to drive vehicles in vehicle category F, G, H or K to be able to demonstrate on one occasion, and describe on another, a safety check on a component of the vehicle being of a class in respect of which he is seeking a licence.

Regulation 2 makes a minor drafting improvement to Schedule 8 to the principal Regulations for the sake of the internal linguistic consistency of those Regulations.

A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business is available from the Driving Standards Agency, Stanley House, Talbot Street, Nottingham NG1 5GU.

(1)

1988 (c. 52). Section 89(3) was amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40), section 48 and Schedule 4, paragraph 63.

(2)

S.I. 1999/2864, to which there are no relevant amendments save that Part 5 of Schedule 8 to the principal Regulations was substituted by the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2003).