The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2003

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force—

(a)as to all regulations except regulation 5(1) on 1st April 2003, and

(b)as to regulation 5(1), on 1st July 2003.

Amendment of the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999

2.  The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999(1) (“the Principal Regulations”) are amended as provided in regulations 3 to 5.

Amendment of regulation 12

3.—(1) Regulation 12 of the Principal Regulations (restrictions on the grant of large goods and passenger-carrying vehicle licences) is amended as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2) In both paragraph (3)(b)(i) and paragraph (4)(a), for “at least one penalty point falls” there is substituted “at least four penalty points fall”.

(3) For paragraph (3)(c) there is substituted—

“(c)must satisfy the Secretary of State that he has satisfactorily completed the off-road elements of the training programme prescribed for drivers of goods vehicles by Council Directive 76/914/EEC(2) (that is those set out in paragraphs 1 and 2.1 to 2.8 of the Annex to the directive)”.

Substitution of regulation 54

4.  For regulation 54 of the Principal Regulations there is substituted—

“Large goods vehicle drivers' licences granted to persons under the age of 21

54.—(1) A large goods vehicle driver’s licence granted to a person under the age of 21 is subject to the conditions prescribed in relation thereto, for the purposes of section 114(1) of the Traffic Act(3), in the following paragraphs.

(2) An LGV trainee driver’s licence is subject to the condition that its holder shall not drive a large goods vehicle of any class which the licence authorises him to drive unless—

(a)he is a registered employee of a registered employer, and

(b)the vehicle is a large goods vehicle of a class to which his training agreement applies and is owned or operated by that registered employer or by a registered LGV driver training establishment.

(3) A large goods vehicle driver’s licence held by a member of the armed forces of the Crown is subject to the condition that he shall not drive a large goods vehicle of any class unless it is owned or operated by the Secretary of State for Defence and is being used for naval, military or air force purposes.

(4) A large goods vehicle driver’s licence which—

(a)authorises the driving of a class of vehicles included in category C, and

(b)is a full licence,

is subject to the condition that its holder shall not drive large goods vehicles of a class included in category C+E, other than vehicles included in sub-category C1+E the maximum authorised mass of which does not exceed 7.5 tonnes, as if he were authorised to do so by a provisional licence before the expiration of a period of six months commencing on the date on which he passed the test for that licence.

(5) In this regulation—

“LGV trainee driver’s licence” means a large goods vehicle driver’s licence which—

“registered”, in relation to an employee, employer or training establishment, means registered for the time being by the Road Haulage and Distribution Training Council in accordance with the Training Scheme;

“training agreement”, in relation to an individual who is undergoing, or is to undergo, driver training under the Training Scheme, means the agreement between that individual and a registered employer;

“the Training Committee” means the Young LGV Driver Committee which is referred to in the Training Scheme;

“the Training Scheme” means the Young Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) Driver Training Scheme which has been established by the Road Haulage and Distribution Training Council and approved by the Secretary of State for the purpose of regulations under section 101(2) of the Traffic Act on 27th February 2003 for training young drivers of large goods vehicles.”

Amendment of Schedule 7

5.—(1) For Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 7 to the Principal Regulations (specified matters for the theory test) there are substituted respectively Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

(2) For Parts 3 and 4 of Schedule 7 to the Principal Regulations there are substituted respectively Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

Transitional provisions

6.—(1) Notwithstanding regulation 5 above, for the purposes of regulations 38 and 40 of the Principal Regulations—

(a)a person shall be treated as having passed the theory test if, before the date when the relevant provision of these Regulations comes into force, he has satisfied the person conducting a theory test that he has a sound knowledge and understanding of the specified matters prescribed at the date when he took that theory test, and

(b)a theory test pass certificate furnished to that person in respect of that test shall continue to be valid in accordance with regulation 47 of the Principal Regulations.

(2) In this regulation, “specified matters”, “theory test” and “theory test pass certificate” have the same meanings respectively as in the Principal Regulations.