FUTURE LEGISLATION
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Forthcoming changes in the law brought to you by the Freight Transport Association
Third EU driver licence directive Following an EU directive published in 2006, changes to the law include: fiveyearly renewals for vocational licences – to include self-certification for medical fitness until the age of 45 – and a limit of 3,500kg on the Maximum Authorised Mass of a trailer towed by a driver with a newly acquired B+E licence entitlement after 19 January 2013. The changes to entitlement are not retrospective.
Acquired rights for transport managers A deadline of 4 December 2013 has been set for any holders of grandfather rights for the transport manager CPC to apply for an acquired rights certificate (GV203). Only holders of grandfather rights certificates may apply for the acquired rights and applications must be made to the Department for Transport (DfT).
Scottish government consults on reducing drink drive limits The Scottish government has initiated a consultation on a proposal to reduce the drink-driving limits. The proposal is to reduce the limit from 80mg to 50mg of alcohol in every 100ml of blood, with an equivalent reduction in the ratio of alcohol to breath and alcohol to urine. The closing date for any respondents to the consultation is 29 November.
Daytime running lamps (DRL) DRLs switch on automatically when the vehicle ignition switch enables the starting/ running of the engine. Already required for new van and car types, it has been compulsory for new vehicle truck types to have them fitted from 7 August 2012. There are no plans to retrofit or for older vehicles to have to use other lights in the daytime.
Tyre labelling An EU regulation requires all new tyres for sale to be classified and labelled for fuel efficiency, wet grip and noise performance from 1 November. Similar to the labelling of household appliances, the labels will allow potential purchasers to compare these characteristics more easily.
Driver licensing fee changes The DVLA is consulting on proposals to increase driver licence transaction fees to pay for the impending new requirement for vocational licence holders to administratively renew their licences every five years. Options look at how the cost of an additional £19.6m will be borne by which customers. The changes are expected to be implemented in April 2013.
Driving offences penalty changes The DfT proposes to make careless driving a fixed penalty offence and open to the offer of remedial training. Also proposed is an increase in penalties for offences dealt with by way of fixed penalty from £60 to £90 (usually for endorsable offences) and to similarly increase fines for non-endorsable offences. Changes are expected by April 2013.
EC Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA) All new vehicles made or imported for sale in the UK or across the EU cannot be sold or registered for use on the road without an approval – and no approval means no sale. Introduced in phases from 2010, ECWVTA will also apply to: existing type medium and heavy CVs and trailers built in a single stage, as well as new type medium and heavy CVs built in multistages from October; existing type LCVs built in multi-stages from October 2013; and existing type medium and heavy CVs built in multi-stages from October 2014.
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The Smoke-free (Signs) Regulations 2012 This revokes and replaces the detailed requirement for no smoking signs as prescribed in the 2007 regulations with a requirement that at least one legible no-smoking sign must be displayed in both smoke-free vehicles and premises. The Community Drivers’ Hours and Recording Equipment Regulations 2012, 16 July 2012 Regulations that formalise concessions for military reservists and cadets that were implemented administratively in 2009 following approval from the European Commission.
The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) Regulations, 25 June 2012 Changes to references in regulations to reflect the most recent edition of the DfT publication In Service Exhaust Emission Standards for Road Vehicles – Seventeenth Edition, which contains in-use limits for petrol-engined cars and light vans.