Part 1: Amendments of Part 5 Road Traffic Act 1988 (as amended by Road Safety Act 2006)
523.Part 1 of the Schedule amends Part 5 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 in the form it will be in once the amendments made by the Road Safety Act 2006 come into force. The Road Safety Act 2006 amendments to Part 5 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 mean that: the restrictions on the giving of paid driving instruction extend to all motor vehicles and not only cars; registration is in respect of a prescribed description of driving instruction; and provision for the licensing of trainee instructors to deliver paid instruction prior to becoming registered is omitted.
524.The Part 1 amendments omit the provisions of Part 5 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 which relate to disabled driving instructors and amend the Part so that there will be one system of registration which will apply to all instructors.
525.Sections 125 and 125ZA of the Road Traffic Act 1988 are amended to provide for the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors (“the Registrar”) to have power to require a person, whether disabled or not, to undergo an assessment as to their ability to control a motor vehicle of a prescribed class in an emergency (“an assessment”). The Registrar will be able to exercise the power when a person applies to become an approved driving instructor (“ADI”), or at any time when a person is registered. The power is only exercisable if the Registrar has reasonable grounds for believing that the person in question would be unable to take control of the motor vehicle if an emergency arose whilst they were giving driving instruction.
526.Section 125 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 is also amended so that all persons applying to become an ADI must disclose any disabilities which currently, or may in the future, affect their driving and so that it is an offence not to do so.
527.Section 125ZA of the Road Traffic Act 1988 is also amended to provide that an ADI who is required to undergo an assessment must hold a certificate to the effect that such an assessment has been successfully undertaken in a prescribed class of vehicle (“a certificate”).
528.Section 125ZA of the Road Traffic Act 1988 is further amended to impose a condition on an ADI that, if driving instruction is to be given where there is a reasonable expectation of an emergency arising which necessitates the ADI taking control of the prescribed vehicle, instruction will only be given if the ADI has the ability to take control in an emergency.
529.Section 133D of the Road Traffic Act 1988 is amended so that for those registered in respect of a description of driving instruction, and who are required to undergo an assessment, it is an offence to give paid instruction –
unless they hold a current certificate; or
in a vehicle other than one of a class specified in their certificate unless the driver holds a full licence for that class of vehicle and has not been notified by the Secretary of State that due to a disability their driving is likely to be a danger to the public.
530.Section 128B is inserted into the Road Traffic Act 1988 to allow the Registrar to withdraw a requirement to submit to an assessment or to direct that such a requirement is to be disregarded and provide for an application to be made for a further assessment where an earlier one was undertaken unsuccessfully.
