# The Goods Vehicles (Plating and Testing) Regulations 1988, Regulation 3: Interpretation

Extent: E+W+S

(1) In these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them:—
“the 1971 Act” means the Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971;
“the Construction and Use Regulations” means the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986;
“the National Type Approval for Goods Vehicles Regulations” means the Motor Vehicles (Type Approval for Goods Vehicles) (Great Britain) Regulations 1982;
“agricultural motor vehicle”, “agricultural trailer”, “agricultural trailed appliance”, “agricultural trailed appliance conveyor”, “articulated vehicle”, “converter dolly”, “dual-purpose vehicle”, “engineering plant”, “exhaust system”, “Ministry plate”, “registered”, “semi-trailer”, “straddle carrier”, “track-laying”, “works trailer”, and “works truck” have the same meanings respectively as in the Construction and Use Regulations;
“the 1988 Act” means the Road Traffic Act 1988
“appeal officer” means the person appointed by the Secretary of State for the purposes of appeals to the Secretary of State;
“appropriate day”, means—
(aa) in relation to a category T tractor, the last day of the calendar month in which falls the fourth anniversary of the date on which it was registered;
(a)in relation to a vehicle which is a motor vehicle (other than a category T tractor), the last day of the calendar month in which falls the first anniversary of the date on which it was registered; and
(b)in relation to a vehicle which is a trailer, the last day of the calendar month in which falls the first anniversary of the date on which it was first sold or supplied by retail;
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“auxiliary station” means a vehicle testing station which is regularly not open for the carrying out of re-tests on certain normal working days;
“break-down vehicle” means a motor vehicle—
(a)on which is permanently mounted apparatus designed for raising one disabled vehicle partly from the ground and for drawing that vehicle when so raised; and
(b)which is not equipped to carry any load other than articles required for the operation of, or in connection with, that apparatus or for repairing disabled vehicles;
“design gross weight” means—
(a)in the case of a vehicle equipped with a Ministry plate, the weight shown thereon as the design weight or, if no weight is so shown thereon, the weight shown thereon as the weight not to be exceeded in Great Britain;
(b)in the case of a vehicle which is not equipped aith a Ministry plate, but which is equipped with a plate in accordance with regulation 66 of the Construction and Use Regulations, the maximum gross weight shown on the plate in respect of item 7 of Part I of Schedule 8 to those Regulations; and
(c)in any other case, the weight which the vehicle is designed or adapted not to exceed when in normal use and travelling on a road laden;
“examination” means any operation being—
(a)a first examination;
(b)a re-test;
(c)a periodical test;
(d)a re-examination under regulation 33; or
(e) an examination or re-examination for the purposes of an appeal against a determination made under these Regulations;
“first examination” means an examination or, as the case may be, examinations for which a vehicle is submitted under regulation 9;
“Goods Vehicle Centre” means the Goods Vehicle Centre at such office of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency as the Secretary of State may direct.
“living van” means a vehicle whether mechanically propelled or not which is used as living accommodation by one or more persons, and which is also used for the carriage of goods or burden which are not needed by such one or more persons for the purpose of their residence in the vehicle;
“Ministry test date disc” means a plate issued by the Secretary of State for a goods vehicle being a trailer, following the issue of a goods vehicle test certificate for that trailer under these Regulations and containing—
(a)the identification mark allotted to that trailer and shown in that certificate;
(b)the date until which that certificate is valid; and
(c)the number of the vehicle testing station shown in the said certificate;
“notifiable alteration”, in relation to a vehicle, means—
(a)an alteration made in the structure or fixed equipment of the vehicle which varies the carrying capacity or towing capacity of the vehicle;
(b)an alteration, affecting any part of a braking system or the steering system with which the vehicle is equipped or of the means of operation of either of those systems; or
(c)any other alteration made in the structure or fixed equipment of the vehicle which renders or is likely to render the vehicle unsafe to travel on roads at any weight equal to any plated weight shown in the plating certificate for that vehicle.
“out of hours” means at any time either–
(a)on any day which is a Saturday, Sunday, Good Friday, Christmas Day or a Bank holiday (as defined in the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971); or
(b) on any other day, other than between 6.00 am and 8.00 pm;
“periodical test”, in relation to a vehicle, means a goods vehicle test carried out under Part IV of these Regulations on a vehicle in respect of which a goods vehicle test certificate has been issued on a first examination of it or as a result of a re-test following that examination or as a result of an appeal under any provision in these Regulations;
“plated particulars” means those particulars which are required to be shown in a Ministry plate under Schedule 10B to the Construction and Use Regulations;
“plated weights” means such of the plated particulars related to gross weight, axle weight for each axle and train weight as are required to be shown in column (2) on the Ministry plate;
“play bus” means a motor vehicle which was originally constructed to carry more than 12 passengers but which has been adapted primarily for the carriage of play things for children (including articles required in connection with the use of those things);
“the prescribed construction and use requirements”, in relation to a vehicle, means those of the requirements specified in Part I of Schedule 3 which apply to the vehicle and the requirements of Part II of that Schedule;
“re-test”, in relation to a vehicle, means an examination which is
(a)an examination for plating and a goods vehicle test carried out on a vehicle under Part III of these Regulations subsequent to a first examination of that vehicle as a result of which a notice of refusal was issued; or
(b)a goods vehicle test carried out on a vehicle under Part IV of these Regulations subsequent to a periodical test of that vehicle as a result of which a notice of refusal was issued;
“Secretary of State” means the Secretary of State for Transport;
“sender” means a person who informs the Secretary of State of a notifiable alteration under regulation 30;
“sold or supplied by retail”, in relation to a trailer, means sold or supplied otherwise than to a person acquiring solely for the purpose of resale or of resupply for a valuable consideration;
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“vehicle testing station” means a station provided by the Secretary of State under section 52(2)(a) of the 1988 Act, or a premises designated for testing under section 52(2)(b) of that Act.
“zero-emission vehicle” means a goods vehicle without an internal combustion engine, or with an internal combustion engine that has emissions of CO₂ of zero grams per kilometre.
(2) Any reference in these Regulations to—
(a) an examination for plating includes, in relation to a vehicle to which regulation 18 applies, an examination provided for in that regulation; and
(b) a vehicle of a make, model and type shall in relation to a trailer, include a reference to a vehicle of a make and bearing a serial number.
(3) For the purpose of these Regulations, in counting the number of axles of a vehicle, where the centres of the areas of contact between all the wheels and the road surface can be included between any two vertical planes at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle less than 0.5 metres apart, those wheels shall be treated as constituting one axle.
(4) For the purpose of these Regulations, in determining when a trailer is first sold or supplied by retail the date of such first sale or supply by retail shall in the case of a trailer which is constructed with a chassis be taken to be the date on which the chassis (with or without a body mounted on it) is first sold or supplied by retail and in the case of any other trailer be taken to be the date the trailer is first sold or supplied by retail.
(4A) Without prejudice to section 17 of the Interpretation Act 1978 and subject to the context, a reference in these Regulations to any enactment comprised in subordinate legislation (within the meaning of that Act) is a reference to that enactment as from time to time amended or as from time to time re-enacted with or without modification.
(5) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations to—
(a) a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation or Schedule bearing that number in these Regulations;
(b) a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph bearing that number in the regulation or Schedule in which the reference appears;
(c) a vehicle is a reference to a vehicle to which these Regulations apply.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1988/1478/regulation/3 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/goods-vehicles-plating-and-testing-regulations-1988/regulation-3
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.