(1)For sections 101 and 102 of the Act of 1960 (which among other things relate to the grant and duration of driving licences) there shall be substituted the following sections:—
(1)Subject to the last foregoing section, the licensing authority shall, on payment of the prescribed fee, grant a licence to a person who—
(a)makes an application for it in such manner and containing such particulars as the Minister may specify ; and
(b)furnishes the authority with such evidence or further evidence in support of the application as the authority may require; and
(c)surrenders to the authority any previous licence granted to him after this subsection comes into force or furnishes the authority with an explanation for not surrendering it which the authority consider adequate ; and
(d)is not disqualified by reason of age or otherwise for obtaining the licence for which he makes the application and is not prevented from obtaining it by the provisions of section 99 of this Act.
(2)If the application aforesaid states that it is made for the purpose of enabling the applicant to drive a motor vehicle with a view to passing a test of competence to drive, any licence granted in pursuance of the application shall be a provisional licence for that purpose, and nothing in section 99 of this Act shall apply to such a licence; but a provisional licence shall—
(a)be granted subject to prescribed conditions ; and
(b)in any cases prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph, be restricted so as to authorise only the driving of vehicles of the classes or descriptions so prescribed.
(3)A licence shall be in such form as the Minister may determine and shall—
(a)state whether, apart from subsection (4) of this section, it authorises its holder to drive motor vehicles of all classes and descriptions or of certain classes or descriptions only and, in the latter case, specify those classes or descriptions;
(b)specify any restrictions to which, under the provisions of this Part of this Act, its holder is subject as respects the driving of vehicles of any class or description in pursuance of the licence;
(c)in the case of a provisional licence, specify the conditions subject to which it is granted; and
(d)where by virtue of subsection (4) of this section the licence authorises its holder to drive vehicles of classes or descriptions other than those specified in the licence in pursuance of paragraph (a) of this subsection, contain such statements as the Minister considers appropriate for indicating the effect of that subsection.
(4)A licence which, apart from this subsection, authorises its holder to drive motor vehicles of certain classes or descriptions only shall also authorise him to drive motor vehicles of all other classes and descriptions subject to the same conditions as if he were authorised by a provisional licence to drive the last-mentioned vehicles; but a licence shall not by virtue of this subsection authorise a person to drive—
(a)a vehicle which he is prohibited from driving by section 97 of this Act; or
(b)such a motor cycle as is mentioned in section 2 of the [1960 c. 69.] Road Traffic (Driving of Motor Cycles) Act 1960 (under which a provisional licence does not authorise the driving of heavy motor cycles) unless he has passed the test there mentioned.
(5)In subsection (4) of this section the first reference to a licence does not include a reference to a licence granted before that subsection came into force or a provisional licence granted thereafter or any other licence of a description prescribed for the purposes of this subsection.
(6)A person who fails to comply with any condition applicable to him by virtue of subsection (2) or subsection (4) of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.
(1)A licence shall, unless previously revoked or surrendered, remain in force—
(a)except in a case falling within paragraph (b) or (c) of this subsection, for a period of three years or, if the licensing authority so determine in the case of a licence to be granted to a person appearing to the authority to be suffering from a relevant disability within the meaning of section 100 of this Act, for such shorter period, not less than one year, as the authority may determine;
(b)in the case of a licence granted in exchange for a subsisting licence and in pursuance of an application requesting a licence for the period authorised by this paragraph, for a period equal to the remainder of that for which the subsisting licence was granted;
(c)in the case of a provisional licence, for a period of one year ;
and any such period shall begin with the date on which the licence in question is expressed to come into force.
(2)Where it appears to the licensing authority that a licence granted by them to any person is required to be endorsed in pursuance of any enactment or was granted in error or with an error or omission in the particulars specified in the licence or required to be so endorsed on it, the authority may serve notice in writing on that person revoking the licence and requiring him to deliver up the licence forthwith to the authority.
(3)Where the name or address of the licence holder as specified in a licence ceases to be correct, its holder shall forthwith surrender the licence to the licensing authority and furnish to the authority particulars of the alterations falling to be made in the name or address and, in the case of a provisional licence as respects which the prescribed conditions are satisfied, with a statement of his sex and date of birth.
(4)On the surrender of a licence by any person in pursuance of subsection (2) or subsection (3) of this section, the licensing authority—
(a)shall, except where the licence was granted in error or is surrendered in pursuance of the said subsection (2) in consequence of an error or omission appearing to the authority to be attributable to that person's fault or in consequence of a current disqualification ; and
(b)may in such an excepted case which does not involve a current disqualification,
grant to that person free of charge a new licence for the period for which the surrendered licence was granted.
(5)A person who fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (3) of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.
(2)A licence in force by virtue of section 101 or section 102 of the Act of 1960 immediately before subsection (1) of this section comes into force shall have effect thereafter as if duly granted in pursuance of section 101 of that Act (as replaced by that subsection) on the day on which it was actually granted ; but nothing in this section shall extend the duration of a provisional licence granted before that subsection comes into force or the duration of a licence so granted to a person as resident outside the United Kingdom.