Northern Ireland 0-licensing reform The Department of the Environment intends
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to amend the Northern Ireland 0-licensing system to mirror that of Great Britain. Changes include a system for restricted 0-licensing to apply to own-account carriage for the first time, but without the introduction of Traffic Commissioners. Primary legislation is expected sometime in 2009.
European Driver Training Directive Introduces initial and periodic training for professional I-IGV and PCV drivers. The operational level two training is referred to as a Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC). For new goods vehicle drivers, the initial qualification is required from
9 September 2009, and existing drivers must complete 35 hours of training by 2014.
Continuous enforcement of motor insurarbce The Department for Transport has published a consultation on plans to use the DVLA vehicles' register and the Motor Insurance Database (MID) held by the Motor Insurers' Bureau to warn and then penalise (fixed penalty of 2100, immobilisation and disposal) vehicle keepers who fail to hold valid insurance. Enabling legislation is already in place in the Road Safety Act 2006, and implementation is expected from autumn 2010 at the earliest.
Temporary Agency Workers Directive A European Directive requires domestic legislation in place no later than 5 December 2011 to provide for the equal treatment of temporary agency workers in relation to basic working and employment conditions, access to permanent employment and amenities to improve access to training. Road safety compliance A Department for Transport consultation includes proposals to introduce six penalty points for exceeding the speed limit by 20mph, make careless driving a fixed penalty offence (260 with three penalty points), specify retraining courses for drivers who have had their vocational licences revoked by a TC and lower the blood alcohol limit. Changes are expected from early 2010, Cl and D1 supervisor changes The Driving Standards Agency intends to change the rules for supervisors of learner drivers in categories Cl, Cl +E, D1 and Dl +E, where the supervisors hold vocational entitlements gained on a pre-1997 car licence (known as implied rights). Those who currently rely on implied rights entitlements, and want to continue to supervise drivers in Cl, D1 and vehicle-plus-trailer combinations, will need to pass the relevant driving test(s) and meet the higher medical standards required by drivers of larger vehicles before 6 April 2010. They will also have to wait until they have held their new entitlement for three years before acting as a supervising driver.
Graduated fixed penalties in NI The Department of the Environment has issued a consultation proposing to introduce a scheme to allow examiners of the Driver and Vehicle Agency to issue fixed penalty notices. The consultation runs until 30 September and, if confirmed, implementation is expected around the spring of 2010.