The Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

These Regulations further amend the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 (“the 1999 Regulations”) in respect of the requirements to fit mirrors to certain goods vehicles first used on or after 1^st January 2000.

These Regulations, in respect of the provisions imposing requirements as to the fitting of mirrors, implement Directive 2007/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 on the retrofitting of mirrors to heavy goods vehicles registered in the Community (OJ No. L.184, 14.7.07, p.25).

Regulation 2 amends regulation 38 of the 1999 Regulations to provide that a relevant vehicle is required to comply with the provisions of item 4 or 6 (depending on the maximum gross weight of the vehicle) of the Table in regulation 38 (subject to the omission of certain words). These requirements, however, only apply in relation to the fitting of wide-angled (class IV) and close proximity (class V) mirrors on the passenger’s side of the vehicle. A relevant vehicle is a goods vehicle that, but for the amendment made by these Regulations, would not be required to comply with item 4 or 6, was first used on or after 1^st January 2000 and is not excluded from the scope of Directive 2007/38/EC by article 2(2)(b) or (c) of that Directive. Regulation 2 also provides that instead of complying with item 4 or 6, the provisions of article 3(2) or 3(3) of Directive 2007/38/EC may be complied with provided the conditions for doing so that are set out in those paragraphs of that article are met.

Regulation 3 amends Schedule 1 to add Directive 2007/38/EC to the list of Community Directives specified.

A transposition note setting out how these Regulations transpose the provisions of Directive 2007/38/EC is available from the Department of the Environment, Clarence Court, 10-18 Adelaide Street, Belfast, BT2 8GB and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside this instrument on the OPSI website (www.opsi.gov.uk).

A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared for these Regulations and is available from the Department of the Environment website at www.roadsafetyni.gov.uk

A copy of Directive 2007/38/EC may be obtained from the Stationery Office (www.tso.co.uk) or the EUROPA website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm).