The Motor Vehicles (Tests) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Motor Vehicles (Tests) Regulations 1981 (“the 1981 Regulations”). Those Regulations make provision for certain motor vehicles to be examined by persons authorised by the Secretary of State and for test certificates to be issued for vehicles that are found to meet certain requirements.

Regulation 15 of the 1981 Regulations is amended by regulation 3 in relation to examinations carried out by an examiner appointed under section 66A of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Any test certificate or notice of the refusal of a test certificate, issued in accordance with regulation 15 or 16 of the 1981 Regulations, which formerly had to be signed by that examiner, can as an alternative be signed by a person authorised to do so by the Secretary of State. Any such certificate or notice is deemed to be duly signed if it bears a facsimile of the signature of the examiner or other duly authorised person.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 16 of the 1981 Regulations so as to remove an obsolete cross-reference.

Regulation 20 of the 1981 Regulations prescribes the fees payable for examinations of vehicles pursuant to applications made under regulation 12 of those Regulations.

By regulation 5, the fees payable for test examinations (the fees were last fixed on 1st August 1996) are increased as follows—

(a) motor bicycles not having a side car attached, from £11.90 to £12.33;

(b) motor bicycles with a side car attached, from £20.00 to £20.64;

(c) vehicles in Class III (“light motor vehicles” other than motor bicycles), from £23.40 to £24.12;

(d) vehicles in Class IV (“motor cars” and “heavy motor cars” not being vehicles within Class III, V, VI or VII), from £28.66 to £29.42;

(e) vehicles in Class V (“large passenger-carrying vehicles”, particular public service vehicles and “play buses”), from £35.12 to £36.15; and

(f) vehicles in Class VII (goods vehicles with a design gross weight of more than 3,000 but not more than 3,500 kgs), from £30.68 to £31.60.

Regulation 5 also increases the fee payable for the supply of 100 forms of test certificate from £36.00 to £49.00.

In the case of the vehicles mentioned above, the fee payable on an appeal against a notice of the refusal of a test certificate, is the same amount as the fee payable under regulation 20(1) of the 1981 Regulations, while the fee for a duplicate test certificate is half this amount. These fees will be increased accordingly.

A compliance cost assessment has been prepared and copies can be obtained from the Department of Transport, Zone 2/05, Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR (Telephone [phone]). A copy has been placed in the library of each House of Parliament.