The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2021

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999 (“the 1999 Regulations”) to remove some of the existing requirements for “staging” in the process of achieving an articulated heavy goods vehicle licence (category C + E) or a heavy trailer drawing passenger carrying vehicle licence (category D + E). Previously, a person would be required to first pass a test for a licence authorising the driving of vehicles in category C or category D (being the trailer-less equivalent licences) before they were able to take a test for a licence authorising the driving of vehicles in category C + E or D + E respectively.

Regulation 3 amends regulation 11 of the 1999 Regulations to provide that a person need only first hold a full licence authorising the driving of motor vehicles of a class included in category B before they can apply for a provisional entitlement for category or sub-category C1 + E, C + E, D1 + E or D + E. This aligns with the existing requirements for category or sub-category C1, C, D1 and D.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 17 of the 1999 Regulations to increase the number of people who can act as a “qualified driver” for the purposes of supervising a learner driver under a provisional licence by:

(a) narrowing the existing exception that a person supervising the holder of a provisional licence when learning to drive a medium size lorry or a minibus must themselves have passed a driving test in the same or an equivalent type of vehicle, so that a person with entitlement to drive vehicles of a class included in sub-category C1 or D1 acquired after 15th November 2021 can now act as a qualified driver;

(b) omitting paragraph (3)(ea), as it is no longer relevant that all drivers previously impacted by this provision will have acquired the requisite three years’ experience to act as a qualified driver; and

(c) adding to the list of “relevant licences” that can allow a person to act as a “qualified driver”.

Regulation 5 amends regulation 19 of the 1999 Regulations to update the relevant provisional entitlements that will now be included with the corresponding full licences in the table, and clarify that the additional provisional entitlements will not be added to a person’s licence if that person is already the holder of a full licence which authorises the driving of motor vehicles of a class included in that category or sub-category.

Regulation 6 amends regulation 40 of the 1999 Regulations to provide further exceptions to the general rule at regulation 40(4)(b) that a test for a licence authorising the driving of a motor vehicle of a class included in category B + E, C + E and D + E shall consist of a practical test only. The rationale for that rule being that previously a person would have already undertaken the other relevant elements of a driving test (e.g. the theory test or hazard perception elements etc) when they obtained their category B, C or D licences, so it would not be appropriate for them to take them again. However, the removal of “staging” for category C + E and D + E licences means that without the further exceptions added here, these test elements could have been skipped.

Regulation 7 amends Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the 1999 Regulations to ensure that holders of licences that permit a person to drive a vehicle combination of a class included in a category that includes a heavy trailer (i.e. the “+ E” categories), are also permitted to drive a vehicle of a class included in the equivalent category that does not include a heavy trailer. This amendment is required to ensure a driver is able to drive the tractor vehicle with the heavy trailer unhitched.

Regulation 8 amends Parts 3 and 4 of Schedule 8 to the 1999 Regulations to provide that in the case of a test for a licence authorising the driving of vehicles in category C + E only or D + E only, where the test candidate has not passed a test for a licence authorising the driving of vehicles in category C or category D respectively, the test candidate will be required to:

(a) on three occasions demonstrate or describe how to perform a check on the condition and safety of prescribed components or features of the vehicle chosen at the discretion of the person conducting the test, and

(b) demonstrate on one occasion, and describe on a second occasion how to perform, a check on the condition and safety of a component or feature of the vehicle and the coupling mechanism or connection between the vehicle and trailer chosen at the discretion of the person conducting the test.

Regulation 9 removes the need for a person who has made an application for a relevant provisional licence before the coming into force date of these Regulations to make an additional application for the provisional entitlements they would be entitled to should they have made the application after the coming into force date of these Regulations.

Regulation 10 provides for the Secretary of State to undertake a review of the regulatory provisions contained in these Regulations firstly after three years, and then on a five yearly basis after that.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

An Explanatory Memorandum is published alongside these Regulations on www.legislation.gov.uk.