Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Disabilities prescribed in respect of Group 1 and 2 licences

49.—(1) The following disabilities are prescribed for the purposes of Article 9(2) of the Order as relevant disabilities in relation to an applicant for, or a person who holds, a Group 1 or Group 2 licence—

(a) epilepsy;

(b) severe mental disorder;

(c) liability to sudden attacks of disabling giddiness or fainting, other than attacks falling within sub-paragraph (d);

(d) liability to sudden attacks of disabling giddiness or fainting which are caused by any disorder or defect of the heart as a result of which the applicant for the licence or, as the case may be, the holder of the licence has a device implanted in his body, being a device which, by operating on the heart so as to regulate its action, is designed to correct the disorder or defect; and

(e) persistent misuse of drugs or alcohol, whether or not such misuse amounts to dependency.

(2) The disability prescribed in paragraph (1)(d) is prescribed for the purpose of Article 9(4)(b) of the Order in relation to an applicant for a Group 1 or Group 2 licence if the applicant suffering from that disability satisfies the Department that—

(a) the driving of a vehicle by him in pursuance of the licence is not likely to be a source of danger to the public; and

(b) he has made adequate arrangements to receive regular medical supervision by a cardiologist (being a supervision to be continued throughout the period of the licence) and is conforming to those arrangements.

(3) The following disabilities are prescribed for the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (c) of Article 9(4) of the Order namely, any disability consisting solely of any one or more of the following—

(a) the absence of one or more limbs;

(b) the deformity of one or more limbs; or

(c) the loss of use of one or more limbs which is not progressive in nature.

(4) In this regulation—

(a) in paragraph (1)(b), the expression “severe mental disorder” includes mental illness, arrested or incomplete development of the mind, psychopathic disorder and severe impairment of intelligence or social functioning;

(b) in paragraph (2)(b), the expression “cardiologist” means a registered medical practitioner who specialises in disorders or defects of the heart and who, in that connection, holds a hospital appointment;

(c) in paragraph (3), references to a limb include references to a part of a limb, and the reference to loss of use, in relation to a limb, includes a reference to a deficiency of limb movement or power.