Road Traffic Offenders (Appropriate Driving Test) Order (Northern Ireland) 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order.)

This Order prescribes circumstances in which a court must disqualify a person until he passes an appropriate driving test. The circumstances prescribed are where a person is disqualified under Article 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (disqualification for certain offences) following conviction of an offence under any of the following provisions of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the Order of 1995”)—

(a) Article 14 (causing death, or grievous bodily injury, by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs);

(b) Article 15(1) (driving or attempting to drive when unfit to drive through drink or drugs);

(c) Article 16(1)(a) (driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol in breath, blood or urine);

(d) Article 18(7) (failing to provide a specimen for analysis or laboratory test), where that is an offence involving obligatory disqualification.

The Order also prescribes offences for the purposes of the definition of “appropriate driving test” in Article 41(5) of the Road Traffic Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. Those offences are—

(a) manslaughter by the driver of a motor vehicle;

(b) an offence under any of the following provisions of the Order of 1995—

(i) Article 9 (causing death, or grievous bodily injury, by dangerous driving);

(ii) Article 10 (dangerous driving);

(iii) Article 14 (causing death, or grievous bodily injury, by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs).