The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1987

Minimum ages for holding or obtaining licences

4.—(1) Subsection (1) of section 96 of the 1972 Act (which specifies the minimum age for holding or obtaining a licence to drive certain classes of motor vehicles) shall have effect as if in the Table in that subsection—

(a) in item 2, the age of 17 were substituted for the age of 16 in relation to all motor cycles other than—

(i) mopeds;

(ii) motor cycles which are mowing machines; or

(iii) motor cycles which are vehicles controlled by a pedestrian;

(b) in item 3, the age of 16 were substituted for the age of 17 in the case of a person to whom an award of a mobility allowance has been made in pursuance of section 37A of the Social Security Act 1975(1) provided that where the award was made before he attained the age of 16 it is in force when he attains that age;

(c) in item 4, in relation to an agricultural tractor which—

(i) is so constructed that the whole of its weight is transmitted to the road surface by means of wheels;

(ii) has an overall width not exceeding 2.45 metres;

(iii) is chargeable with duty under section 1 of the Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971 by reference to paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 to that Act as being an agricultural machine or, by virtue of the provisions of section 7(1) of that Act, is not chargeable with duty thereunder; and

(iv) is driven without a trailer attached to it, other than a trailer which has an overall width not exceeding 2.45 metres and which is either a two-wheeled or close-coupled four-wheeled trailer,

the age of 16 were substituted for the age of 17, but in the case of a person who has not passed the test of competence prescribed under section 85(2) of the 1972 Act to drive such a tractor, only while taking, proceeding to or returning from, such a test;

(d) in item 6, the age of 17 were substituted for the age of 21 in relation to a road roller falling within that item if the roller—

(i) is propelled otherwise than by steam;

(ii) has an unladen weight not exceeding 11,690 kilograms; and

(iii) is not constructed or adapted for the conveyance of a load other than the following articles, that is to say, water, fuel, accumulators and other equipment used for the purpose of propulsion, loose tools, loose equipment and objects such as are mentioned in paragraph (3) below,

and if no wheel of the roller is fitted with a pneumatic, soft or elastic tyre;

(e) in item 6, the age of 18 were substituted for the age of 21 in the case of a person employed by a Health Authority or, in Scotland, the Common Services Agency(2) when driving a vehicle for the purposes of an ambulance service of such an Authority or of that Agency;

(f) in item 6, the age of 18 were substituted for the age of 21 in the case of a person who fulfils the conditions—

(i) that he is employed by a registered employer; and

(ii) that he is a registered employee of such an employer,

in relation to any vehicle (other than a road roller) which is a heavy goods vehicle (hgv) of a class to which his training agreement applies and is owned by his employer or by a registered hgv driver training establishment;

(g) in item 6, the age of 18 were substituted for the age of 21 in relation to a large passenger vehicle where—

(i) the driver of the vehicle is not engaged in the carriage of passengers and either holds a licence to drive a public service vehicle granted under section 22 of the 1981 Act, is undergoing a test of his ability to drive a public service vehicle in pursuance of regulations for the time being in force under that section, or is acting under the supervision of a person who holds such a licence; or

(ii) the driver is engaged in the carriage of passengers—

(a) on a regular service over a route which does not exceed 50 kilometres; or

(b) on a national transport operation when the vehicle used is constructed and equipped to carry not more than 17 persons including the driver,

and the vehicle is operated under a PSV operator’s licence granted under section 12 of the 1981 Act, a permit granted under section 19 of the 1985 Act or a community bus permit granted under section 22 of that Act, and in each case the driver holds a licence to drive the vehicle granted under section 22 of the 1981 Act;

(h) in items 5 and 6, the age of 17 were substituted for the ages of 18 and 21 respectively in the case of members of the armed forces of the Crown in relation to any vehicle when being used in the course of urgent work of national importance in accordance with an order of the Defence Council in pursuance of the Defence (Armed Forces) Regulations 1939 which were continued permanently in force in the form set out in Part C of Schedule 2 to the Emergency Laws (Repeal) Act 1959(3) by section 2 of the Emergency Powers Act 1964(4);

(i) in items 5 and 6, the age of 17 were substituted for the ages of 18 and 21 respectively in the case of a member of the armed forces of the Crown when receiving instruction in the driving of heavy goods vehicles of any class in preparation for a test of competence prescribed under section 119 of the 1972 Act to drive vehicles of that class, or when taking, proceeding to, or returning from any such test.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c) any implement fitted to a tractor shall be deemed to form part of the tractor notwithstanding that it is not a permanent or essentially permanent fixture, and in that paragraph—

(i) “overall width”, in relation to a vehicle, means the width of the vehicle measured between vertical planes parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and passing through the extreme projecting points thereof exclusive of any driving mirror and so much of the distortion of any tyre as is caused by the weight of the vehicle; and

(ii) “close-coupled”, in relation to wheels on the same side of a trailer, means fitted so that at all times while the trailer is in motion they remain parallel to the longitudinal axis of the trailer and that the distance between the centres of their respective areas of contact with the road surface does not exceed 840 millimetres.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph 1(d) the unladen weight of a vehicle shall be treated as including the weight of any object for the time being attached to the vehicle, being an object specially designed to be so attached for the purpose of temporarily increasing the vehicle’s gross weight.

(4) In paragraph 1(f) and in this paragraph—

“heavy goods vehicle” has the same meaning as in section 124 of the 1972 Act;

“registered” means registered for the time being by the Training Committee in accordance with the relevant provisions of the training scheme;

“the Training Committee” means the committee which has been established by the employers' associations and the trade unions in the road goods transport industry with a constitution approved by the Secretary of State and which is known as the National Joint Training Committee for Young HGV Drivers in the Road Goods Transport Industry;

“the training scheme” means the scheme which has been established by the Training Committee with the approval of the Secretary of State for training young drivers of hgvs and which provides for—

(a)

the registration by the Training Committee of employers who are willing and able to provide hgv driver training for persons employed by them;

(b)

the registration by the Training Committee of persons operating establishments for providing hgv driver training;

(c)

a syllabus for hgv driver training; and

(d)

the registration by the Training Committee of individual employees who are undergoing, or are to undergo, hgv driver training in the service of a registered employer in accordance with a form of agreement approved by the Training Committee;

and “training agreement”, in relation to an individual who is undergoing, or is to undergo, such training as aforesaid, means his agreement therefor with his registered employer in pursuance of the training scheme.

(5) In paragraph (1)(g), “large passenger vehicle” means a motor vehicle which is constructed solely to carry passengers and their effects and is adapted to carry more than nine persons inclusive of the driver and expressions used which are also used in the Community Drivers' Ages and Hours of Work Regulation have the same meaning as in that instrument.

(6) In paragraph (5), “the Community Drivers' Ages and Hours of Work Regulation” means Council Regulation (EEC) 3820/85(5) as read with regulation 4 of the Community Drivers Hours and Recording Equipment (Exemptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 1986(6).

(1)

1975 c. 14; section 37A was inserted by section 22(1) of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 (c. 60).

(2)

the Common Services Agency is constituted under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (c. 29), section 10.

(3)

1959 c. 19.

(4)

1964 c. 38.

(5)

O.J. No. L370/1 of 31.12.85.

(6)

S.I. 1986/1456.