Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999

Indication of overall travelling height

9.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation, no person shall drive or cause or permit to be driven on a road a motor vehicle with an overall travelling height exceeding 3m unless a notice is displayed in the cab, in such a manner that it can easily be read by the driver, and the notice meets the requirements of paragraph (3).

(2) Subject to the provisions of this regulation, no person shall use or cause or permit to be used on a road a motor vehicle with an overall travelling height exceeding 3m if any letters or numbers are displayed in the cab, otherwise than in a notice which meets the requirements of paragraph (3)—

(a)where they could be read by the driver; and

(b)which could be understood as indicating a height associated with the vehicle or any trailer drawn by it.

(3) The requirements of this paragraph in respect of a notice are that—

(a)the notice gives an indication of vehicle height expressed in feet and inches, or in both feet and inches and in metres;

(b)the numbers giving the indication in feet and inches are at least 40mm tall;

(c)the height expressed in feet and inches and (where applicable) the height expressed in metres are—

(i)if the vehicle is a vehicle to which regulation 10 applies, not less than the predetermined height mentioned in regulation 10(2)(a) or the overall travelling height (whichever is the greater), or

(ii)if the vehicle is not a vehicle to which regulation 10 applies, not less than the overall travelling height;

(d)if the vehicle is not a relevant vehicle, the height expressed in feet and inches does not exceed the overall travelling height by more than 150mm;

(e)if the vehicle is a relevant vehicle, the height expressed in feet and inches does not exceed the overall travelling height by more than 1m;

(f)if the height is expressed in both feet and inches and in metres, the height expressed in feet and inches and the height expressed in metres do not differ by more than 50mm; and

(g)no other letters or numbers which could be understood as being an indication of any height associated with the vehicle or any trailer drawn by it are displayed in the notice.

(4) Paragraph (1) shall not apply if, having regard to the lengths of road which the driver might drive along in the course of fulfilling the purpose of the journey taking into account any possibility of unforeseen diversions and the driver having difficulty in finding his way, it is highly unlikely that the driver would during the course of the journey encounter any bridge or other overhead structure which does not exceed by at least 1m—

(a)in the case of a vehicle to which regulation 10 applies, the maximum travelling height; or

(b)in any other case, the overall travelling height.

(5) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a vehicle on a particular journey and at a particular time if—

(a)one or more documents are being carried in the vehicle which are within the easy reach of the driver and that or those documents describe a route or a choice of routes which the driver must take in order to fulfil the purpose of the journey without risk of the vehicle, its load or equipment or any trailer drawn by the vehicle, its load or equipment, colliding with any bridge or other overhead structure; and

(b)the vehicle is on such a route which is so described or is off that route by reason of a diversion that could not reasonably have been foreseen at the beginning of the journey.

(6) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a vehicle on a particular journey if—

(a)one or more documents are being carried in the vehicle which are within the easy reach of the driver and that or those documents contain information as to—

(i)the height of bridges and other overhead structures under which the vehicle and any trailer drawn by it could pass, and

(ii)the height of bridges and other overhead structures under which the vehicle and any trailer drawn by it could not pass,

without the vehicle, its load or equipment or any such trailer, its load or equipment, colliding with any bridge or other overhead structure; and

(b)the information is such that, having regard in particular to the matters referred to in paragraph (7), it would enable any driver to fulfil the purpose of the journey without there being any risk of the vehicle, its load or equipment or any trailer, its load or equipment, colliding with any bridge or other overhead structure while on the journey.

(7) The matters referred to in paragraph (6) are—

(a)the roads which the driver might drive along in the course of fulfilling the purpose of the journey taking into account any possibility of unforeseen diversions and of the driver having difficulty in finding his way;

(b)the height of bridges and other overhead structures that would be encountered were the vehicle to proceed along any of those roads; and

(c)the setting of any device of a description specified in regulation 10(2).

(8) Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to a motor vehicle if it has an overall travelling height of not more than 4m and—

(a)it is a vehicle registered or put into circulation in an EEA State and is being used in international traffic; or

(b)it is a motor vehicle drawing a trailer registered or put into circulation in an EEA State and that trailer is being used in international traffic.

(9) For the purposes of this regulation—

(a)“high level equipment” and “maximum travelling height” have the meanings given in regulation 12;

(b)“overall travelling height” in relation to a motor vehicle means—

(i)if it is not drawing a trailer, the overall height for the time being of the vehicle, its equipment and load, or

(ii)if it is drawing one or more trailers, the overall height for the time being of the combination of vehicles, their equipment and loads;

(c)a motor vehicle is a “relevant vehicle” if at any particular time—

(i)the vehicle or any trailer drawn by it is fitted with high level equipment with a maximum height of more than 3m; and

(ii)the overall travelling height is less than the maximum travelling height.

(10) In paragraph (8), “international traffic” and “registered or put into circulation” have the same meanings as in Article 3 of Community Directive 85/3(1).