The Road Traffic (Driving Disqualifications) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003

Disability and prospective disability N.I.

6.—(1) The Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (NI 1) shall be amended as follows.

(2) After 19F (as inserted by Article 4 of this Order) there shall be inserted—

“Revocation of authorisation conferred by Great Britain licence because of disability or prospective disability

19G.— (1) If the Department is at any time satisfied on inquiry—

(a) that a Great Britain licence holder is suffering from a relevant disability, and

(b) that the Department would be required by virtue of Article 9(3) to refuse an application made by the holder at that time for a licence authorising him to drive a vehicle of the class in respect of which his Great Britain licence was issued or a class corresponding to that class,

the Department may serve notice in writing requiring the licence holder to deliver immediately to the Department his Great Britain licence together with its Great Britain counterpart and its counterpart (if any) issued to him under this Part ( “the relevant counterparts”).

(2) If the Department is satisfied on inquiry that a Great Britain licence holder is suffering from a prospective disability, the Department may—

(a) serve notice in writing on the Great Britain licence holder requiring him to deliver immediately to the Department his Great Britain licence together with the relevant counterparts, and

(b) on receipt of the Great Britain licence and those counterparts and of an application made for the purposes of this paragraph, grant to the Great Britain licence holder, free of charge, a licence for a period determined by the Department under Article 15(1)(c).

(3) The Department may require a person to provide—

(a) evidence of his name, address, sex and date and place of birth, and

(b) a photograph which is a current likeness of him,

before granting a licence to him on an application for the purposes of paragraph (2).

(4) A person who—

(a) is required under, or by virtue of, this Article to deliver to the Department his Great Britain licence and the relevant counterparts, but

(b) without reasonable excuse, fails to do so,

shall be guilty of an offence under this Order.

(5) Where a Great Britain licence holder to whom a counterpart is issued under Article 19F—

(a) is required under, or by virtue of, this Article to deliver his Great Britain licence and that counterpart to the Department, and

(b) is not in possession of them in consequence of the fact that he has surrendered them to a constable or authorised person (within the meaning of Part IV of the Offenders Order) on receiving a fixed penalty notice given to him under Article 60 of that Order,

he does not fail to comply with any such requirement if he delivers them to the Department immediately on their return.

(6) Where a Great Britain licence holder is served with a notice in pursuance of this Article, he shall cease to be authorised by virtue of Article 19E(1) to drive in Northern Ireland a motor vehicle of any class from such date as may be specified in the notice, not being earlier than the date of service of the notice.

(7) Where a Great Britain licence is delivered to the Department in pursuance of this Article, the Department must—

(a) send the licence and its Great Britain counterpart to the licensing authority in Great Britain, and

(b) explain to them its reasons for so doing.

Information relating to disabilities, etc.

19H.   Article 11 shall apply to a Great Britain licence holder who is normally resident in Northern Ireland as if—

(a) in paragraph (1), for the words from the beginning to “aware” there were substituted “ If a Great Britain licence holder who is authorised by virtue of Article 19E(1) to drive in Northern Ireland a motor vehicle of any class, is aware immediately before the relevant date, or becomes aware on or after that date ”,

(b) after that paragraph there were inserted—

“(1A) For the purposes of paragraph (1) “relevant date” means—

(a) in the case where the licence holder first became normally resident in Northern Ireland on or before the date on which Article 6 of the Road Traffic (Driving Disqualifications) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 comes into operation, that date; and

(b) in any other case, the date on which he first became so resident.” ,

(c) after paragraph (3A) there shall be inserted—

“(3B) A person who—

(a) is authorised by virtue of Article 19E(1) to drive in Northern Ireland a motor vehicle of any class, and

(b) drives on a road a motor vehicle of that class,

is guilty of an offence if at any earlier time while he was so authorised he was required by paragraph (1) to notify the Department but has failed without reasonable excuse to do so.” ,

(d) in paragraph (4), the words “an applicant for, or” (in both places) were omitted,

(e) in paragraph (5), the words “applicant or” and the words from the beginning of sub-paragraph (c) to “provisional licence” were omitted,

(f) in paragraph (6)(b), the words “applicant or” (in both places) were omitted,

(g) in paragraph (7), the words “applicant or” were omitted, and

(h) in subsection (8)—

(i) for “10” there were substituted “ 19G ”, and

(ii) the words “applicant or” (in both places) were omitted.” .

(3) In Article 10 (revocation of licence because of disability or prospective disability)—

(a) in paragraph (2A), at the end there shall be inserted “ or paragraph (6) ”,

(b) at the end there shall be inserted—

“(5) Where the Department—

(a) is at any time sent by the licensing authority in Great Britain a licence under section 109B of the Road Traffic Act 1988, and

(b) by virtue of the reasons given by that authority for sending the licence is at that time satisfied as mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) and (b) or that the licence holder is suffering from a prospective disability,

the Department may serve notice in writing on the licence holder revoking the licence with effect from such date as may be specified in the notice, not being earlier than the date of service of the notice.

(6) Where the reasons given by the licensing authority in Great Britain for sending the licence relate to a prospective disability of the holder, the Department may, on an application made for the purposes of this paragraph, grant to the holder, free of charge, a new licence for a period determined by the Department under Article 15(1)(c).” .