Exemptions
Article 2
1
This Directive shall not apply to the drivers of vehicles:
a
with a maximum authorised speed not exceeding 45 km/h;
b
used by, or under the control of, the armed forces, civil defence, the fire service, forces responsible for maintaining public order, and emergency ambulance services, when the carriage is undertaken as a consequence of the tasks assigned to those services;
c
undergoing road tests for technical development, repair or maintenance purposes, or the drivers of new or rebuilt vehicles which have not yet been put into service;
d
for which a driving licence of category D or D1 is required and which are driven without passengers by maintenance personnel to or from a maintenance centre situated in the vicinity of the nearest maintenance base which is used by the transport operator, provided that driving the vehicle does not constitute the driver's principal activity;
e
used in states of emergency or assigned to rescue missions, including vehicles used in the non-commercial transport of humanitarian aid;
f
used for driving instruction for, and examination of, any person wishing to obtain a driving licence or a Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC), in accordance with Article 6 and Article 8(1), provided that they are not being used for the commercial carriage of goods and passengers;
g
used for non-commercial carriage of passengers or goods;
h
carrying material, equipment or machinery to be used by the drivers in the course of their work, provided that driving the vehicles is not the drivers' principal activity.
With regard to point (f) of this paragraph, this Directive shall not apply to any person wishing to obtain a driving licence or a CPC, in accordance with Article 6 and Article 8(1), when that person is undergoing additional driving training during work-based learning, where that person is accompanied by another person certified by a CPC, or a driving instructor, for the category of vehicle used for the purpose set out in that point.
2
This Directive shall not apply where all the following conditions are met:
a
drivers of vehicles operate in rural areas to supply the driver's own business,
b
drivers do not offer transport services, and
c
Member States consider that the transport is occasional and does not have an impact on road safety.
3
This Directive shall not apply to drivers of vehicles used, or hired without a driver, by agricultural, horticultural, forestry, farming or fishery undertakings for carrying goods as part of their own entrepreneurial activity, except if driving is part of the driver's principal activity or the driving exceeds a distance set in national law from the base of the undertaking which owns, hires or leases the vehicle.
Substituted by Directive (EU) 2018/645 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 April 2018 amending Directive 2003/59/EC on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers and Directive 2006/126/EC on driving licences (Text with EEA relevance).