The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999

Meaning of “qualified driver" E+W+S

17.—(1) Subject to [F1 paragraphs (2) and (2A)], a person is a qualified driver for the purposes of regulation 16 if he—

(a) is 21 years of age or over,

(b) holds a relevant licence,

(c) has the relevant driving experience, and

(d) in the case of a disabled driver, he is supervising a provisional licence holder who is driving a vehicle of a class included in [F2 categories B, C, D, C+E, or D+E] and would in an emergency be able to take control of the steering and braking functions of the vehicle in which he is a passenger.

(2) In the case of a person who is a member of the armed forces of the Crown acting in the course of his duties for naval, military or air force purposes sub-paragraphs (a) and (c) of paragraph (1) shall not apply.

[F3 (2A) For the purposes of supervising the holder of a provisional licence driving a vehicle of a class included in sub-category C1, C1+E, D1 or D1+E (“the learner vehicle”) which the holder is authorised to drive by that licence, a person is not a qualified driver unless that person has, in addition to meeting the requirements specified in paragraph (1), passed a test in which the vehicle used in the practical test fell within the same sub-category as that of the learner vehicle.]

(3) For the purposes of this regulation—

(a) “disabled driver" means a person who holds a relevant licence which is limited by virtue of a declaration made with his application for the licence or a notice served under section 92(5)(b) of the Traffic Act to vehicles of a particular class;

(b) “full licence" includes a full Northern Ireland licence and a Community licence;

[F4 (c) “relevant licence” means, subject to sub-paragraph (d), a full licence authorising—

(i) the driving of vehicles of the same class as the vehicle being driven by the provisional licence holder, and

(ii) where sub-paragraph (f) applies—

(aa) where that class of vehicle is included within any sub-category specified in column 1 of the table at the end of this regulation, the driving of vehicles in the sub-category specified in column 2 which is opposite that sub-category, or

(bb) where sub-paragraph (aa) does not apply, the driving of vehicles in the category specified in column 2 of that table which is opposite the category specified in column 1 that includes the class of vehicle being driven by the provisional licence holder;

(d) in the case of a disabled driver who holds a licence authorising the driving of vehicles in category B, a relevant licence must authorise the driving of [F5 a quadricycle or vehicles in sub-category B1 (invalid carriages)];

(e) [F6 subject to sub-paragraph (ea),] a person has relevant driving experience if—

(i) where sub-paragraph (c)(i) only applies, he has held the relevant licence for a period of 3 years, or

(ii) where sub-paragraph (c)(ii) applies, he has held the relevant licence authorising the driving of vehicles—

(aa) of the same class as the vehicle being driven by the provisional licence holder for a minimum period of 1 year, and

(bb) in the category or sub-category specified in column 2 described in sub-paragraph (c)(ii) for a minimum period of 3 years;

[F7 (ea) a period before 1st May 2010 during which a person (“the supervising driver”) has held a licence authorising the driving of vehicles included in sub-category C1, C1+E, D1, or D1+E may only be taken into account in assessing whether the supervising driver has the relevant driving experience to supervise the holder of a provisional licence driving such a vehicle, if the supervising driver has passed a test before 1st May 2010 in which the vehicle used for the practical test fell within one of those sub-categories;]

(f) this sub-paragraph applies where—

(i) a person holds a full licence authorising the driving of vehicles of the same class as the vehicle being driven by the provisional licence holder;

(ii) that class is included in a category or sub-category specified in column 1 of the table at the end of this regulation, and

(iii) that person has held that licence for less than a minimum period of 3 years;

(g) for the purposes of sub-paragraphs (e) and (f), the minimum period of time for holding a full licence may be met either by holding that licence continuously for that period or for periods amounting in aggregate to not less than that period.

TABLE

Column 1	Column 2
Categories and sub-categories which include the vehicle being driven by the provisional licence holder	Categories and sub-categories authorised by the relevant licence
C	D
C1	D1
C+E	D+E
C1+E	D1+E
D	C
D1	C1
D+E	C+E
D1+E	C1+E]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 17(1) substituted (1.5.2010) by The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/1203), regs. 1(2), 5(a)

F2 Words in reg. 17(1)(d) substituted (1.11.2005) by The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No 2) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2717), regs. 1, 3(2)

F3 Reg. 17(2A) inserted (1.5.2010) by The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/1203), regs. 1(2), 5(b)

F4 Reg. 17(3)(c)-(g) and Table substituted for reg. 17(3)(c)-(f) and Table (1.4.2006) by The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/524), regs. 1(2), 3(2)

F5 Words in reg. 17(3)(d) substituted (19.1.2013) by The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/977), reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 11

F6 Words in reg. 17(3)(e) inserted (1.5.2010) by The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/1203), regs. 1(2), 5(c)(i)

F7 Reg. 17(3)(ea) inserted (1.5.2010) by The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/1203), regs. 1(2), 5(c)(ii)