The Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995

Temporary exemption from application of regulations under Article 55

59.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) to (4), where any regulations under Article 55 contain provisions varying the requirements as regards the construction or weight of any class of vehicles, provision shall be made by the regulations for exempting from those provisions for such period, not being less than 5 years, as may be specified in the regulations any vehicle of that class registered under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994(1) before the expiration of one year from the making of the regulations.

(2) No such provision contained in regulations under Article 55 as imposes or varies requirements with respect to the braking systems with which motor vehicles must be equipped shall be taken, for the purposes of paragraph (1) or of any other provision of the regulations, to be one relating to the construction of vehicles.

(3) Where regulations under Article 55 contain provisions varying the requirements as regards the construction or weight of any class of vehicle, and the Department is satisfied—

(a) that it is requisite that those provisions shall apply at a date specified in the regulations to vehicles registered before the expiration of one year from the making of the regulations, or to such of them as are specified in the regulations; and

(b) that no undue hardship or inconvenience will be caused by their application then to those vehicles,

then, if the regulations state that the Department is so satisfied, paragraph (1) shall not apply in relation to those provisions.

(4) Paragraph (1) shall not apply in relation to—

(a) regulations made with respect to any description of weight of goods vehicles, other than their maximum unladen weight; or

(b) regulations made by virtue of Article 55(3).

(1)

1994 c. 22