Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2011.
Statutory Instruments
Source: Statutory Instruments

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paragraphs: (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2011.
(2) These Regulations come into operation on 19 January 2013.
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paragraphs: The Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations 2006 ( S.I. No. 537 of 2006 ) are amended—
(a) In Regulation 3(1)—
(i) by substituting for the definition of “automatic transmission” the following:
“ ‘automatic transmission’ means a vehicle in which no clutch pedal (or lever operated manually for categories A or A1) is present;”,
(ii) by substituting for the definition of “commencement day” the following:
“ ‘commencement day’ in relation to a driving licence or a learner permit, means the day on which the licence or permit is granted;”,
(iii) by inserting after the definition of “land tractor” the following:
“ ‘light quadricycle’ has the meaning assigned to it in Article 1(3)(a) of Directive 2002/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 March 20026 ;”,
(iv) by substituting for the definition of “moped” the following:
“ ‘moped’ means—
(a) a two-wheel vehicle or three-wheel vehicle with a maximum design speed of more than 25 km/h but not more than 45 km/h, or
(b) a light quadricycle,
as defined in Article 1(2)(a) and Article 1(3)(a) respectively of Directive 2002/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 March 20026;”,
(v) by substituting for the definition of “motorcycle” the following:
“ ‘motorcycle’ means a two-wheel vehicle, with or without a sidecar, as defined in Article 1(2)(b) of Directive 2002/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 March 20026;”,
(vi) by inserting after the definition of “passenger accommodation” the following:
“ ‘quadricycle’ means vehicles as defined in Article 1(3)(b) of Directive 2002/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 March 2002;”,
(vii) by inserting after the definition of “trailer” the following:
“ ‘tricycle’ means vehicles with 3 symmetrically arranged wheels, as defined in Article 1(2)(c) of Directive 2002/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 March 20026;”,
(viii) by deleting the definition of “tricycle and quadricycle”,
(b) in Regulation 6, by substituting for the Table the following:
“TABLE
”,
(c) by substituting for Regulation 7 the following:
“7.(1) A combination of vehicles which consists of a drawing vehicle and a trailer shall, for the purpose of these Regulations, be regarded as a vehicle—
(a) in category B, where the drawing vehicle is in category B and—
(i) the design gross vehicle weight of the trailer does not exceed 750 kg, or
(ii) the design gross vehicle weight of the trailer exceeds 750 kg but where the design gross vehicle weight of the combination does not exceed 4,250 kg,
(b) in category B, C1, C, D1 or D, where the drawing vehicle is in category B, C1, C, D1 or D, respectively, and the design gross vehicle weight of the trailer does not exceed 750 kg, or
(c) in category W, where the drawing vehicle is in category W.
(2)(a) Vehicle categories C1E and D1E cover only combinations where the design gross vehicle weight of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the drawing vehicle.
(b) The trailer in combinations of vehicles in category D1E shall not be used for the transport of persons.”,
(d) by substituting for Regulation 9 the following:
“9.(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the age set out in column (2) of the Table below opposite the mention of a vehicle category in column (1) of the Table is the age below which a person is disqualified from holding a driving licence or a learner permit in respect of vehicles of that category.
TABLE
(2) Where a person holds a certificate of professional competence (“CPC”) as referred to in Article 6 of Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 20037 , the age set out in column (3) of the Table below opposite the mention of a vehicle category in column (1) of the Table, subject to the requirement set out in column (2), is the age below which a person is disqualified from holding a driving licence or a learner permit in respect of vehicles of that category.
TABLE
”,
(e) in Regulation 10, by deleting paragraph (4) and substituting for paragraph (2) the following:
“(2) A driving licence shall, subject to paragraph (3), be granted for a period of—
(a) in the case of an applicant less than 60 years of age on the commencement day, for a licence to drive vehicles of category A, A1, A2, AM, B, BE or W, 10 years plus the unexpired period of a licence previously granted to the applicant,
(b) in the case of an applicant less than 60 years of age on the commencement day, for a licence to drive vehicles of category C, CE, C1, C1E, D, DE, D1 or D1E, 5 years plus the unexpired period of a licence previously granted to the applicant,
(c) subject to subparagraphs (d) and (e), in the case of an applicant 60 or more years of age on the commencement day, 3 years plus the unexpired period of a licence previously granted to the applicant,
(d) in the case where the applicant is on the commencement day 60 years of age or more but less than 67 years of age, where the application is for a licence to drive vehicles of category A, A1, A2, AM, B, BE or W, a driving licence may be granted for the period beginning on the commencement day and ending on the day before the applicant attains the age of 70 years, and
(e) in the case where the applicant is on the commencement day 65 years of age or more but less than 67 years of age, where the application is for a licence to drive vehicles of category C, CE, C1, C1E, D, DE, D1 or D1E a driving licence may be granted for the period beginning on the commencement day and ending on the day before the applicant attains the age of 70 years.”,
(f) in Regulation 12, by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
“(6) A recognised licence issued outside the State which is furnished with an application for a driving licence and which is accepted in exchange for an Irish driving licence shall be returned to the authorities of the state which issued the licence.”,
(g) by substituting for Regulation 14 the following:
“14.(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a person granted a driving licence for the first time on or after 19 January 2013 to drive vehicles in category A is, until a period of having held a driving licence in the category for 2 years, restricted to driving only those vehicles in that category which have a power output not exceeding 35 kW, a power/weight ratio not exceeding 0.2kW/kg or not derived from a vehicle of more than double its power.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a person issued with a certificate of competency to drive vehicles in category A on or prior to 18 January 2015.”,
(h) in Regulation 19(2), by substituting for subparagraphs (b) and (c) the following:
“(b) category BE, CE, C1E, DE or D1E, unless the person holds a driving licence in respect of the drawing vehicle appropriate to the category which is the subject of the application,
(c) any category in respect of which the person holds a recognised driving licence, or
(d) any of the categories set out in column (1) of the Table below unless the person holds for a minimum period of 2 years a driving licence in respect of category set out in column (2) of the Table opposite the mention in column (1) of that category.
TABLE
”,
(i) in Regulation 23, by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: