# The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2007, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/2864) (“the principal Regulations”).
Regulations 3 and 4 amend the principal Regulations so as to allow the holders of goods vehicle operator licences, within the meaning of the Goods Vehicle (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995, to employ examiners to conduct theory, practical and unitary driving tests for large goods vehicles for their employees.
Regulation 5 amends the principal Regulations so as to increase the amount charged by the Secretary of State
for those taking the theory test in respect of a car or a motorcycle from 3 September 2007 from £21.50 to £28.50. This fee represents a percentage increase of 32.6% and the fees were last increased on 1 April 2006;
for those applying to take the theory test in respect of a lorry or a bus from £21.50 to £32.00 for tests booked from 2 April 2007 and taken before 1 April 2008. This fee represents a percentage increase of 48.8%; and for those applying to take the theory test in respect of a lorry or a bus from 1 April 2008 from £32.00 to £45.00. This fee represents a percentage increase of 40.6%. The fees were last increased on 1 April 2006.
Regulation 6 amends the principal Regulations so as to reduce, from 10 to 3 working days, the minimum period that category B+E drivers (broadly a car plus large trailer) must wait following an unsuccessful test before they become eligible to re-take the test.
Regulations 7 and 12 and Schedule 2 amend the principal Regulations so as to amend the fees payable upon application for a practical or unitary driving test where the test is booked on or after 2 April 2007. The following tables show the fee, including the new fees for motorcycle and moped tests, with the percentage increase in brackets (where relevant). The last increase was in respect of tests conducted from 1 April 2006.
ORDINARY TEST
Type of Vehicle
Test commenced during normal hours
Test commenced at any other time
Motor bicycles and mopeds
£60.00 (3.4%)
£70.00 (2.9%)
Motor cars, tractors and other minor categories
£48.50 (-)
£58.00 (-)
Lorries, buses and vehicle-plus-trailer combinations
£89.00 (-)
£107.00 (-)
EXTENDED TESTS
Type of vehicle
Test commenced during normal hours
Test commenced at any other time
Motor bicycles and mopeds
£120.00 (3.4%)
£140.00 (2.9%)
Motor cars, tractors and other minor categories
£97.00 (-)
£116.00 (-)
Regulation 8 amends the principal Regulations so as to provide that candidates for a driving test who fail to satisfy the examiner that the licence they have produced is an appropriate licence, within the meaning of paragraph 10 of regulation 38 of the principal Regulations (broadly a licence which is valid at the date of the test and which bears the signature of the person submitting himself for the test), have to surrender the licence to the examiner.
Regulation 9(a) amends the principal Regulations so as to provide that from 1 September 2008 the on-road driving time during a practical test in a bus or lorry is increased by 10 minutes to 60 minutes. Regulation 9(b), concerning the multiple choice questions taken as part of the theory test and the duration of the test, amends the principal Regulations so as to provide that for a bus or lorry test taken before 1 April 2008, the multiple choice questions are increased from 35 to 60 over 70 minutes duration. Candidates with reading difficulties have 140 minutes duration. For a lorry or bus test taken on or after 1 April 2008 the multiple choice questions are increased from 60 to 100 over 115 minutes duration, or 230 minutes duration for candidates with reading difficulties. For motorcycle and car tests, from 3 September 2007, the multiple choice questions are increased from 35 to 50 over 57 minutes duration or 114 minutes duration for candidates with reading difficulties. For motorcycle and car tests conducted before 3 September 2007 the number of questions and the duration are unchanged.
Regulation 10 amends the principal Regulations so as to increase the amount the Secretary of State may charge examiners, other than a Driving Standards Agency examiner, for the supply of theory test pass certificates. For a bus or lorry test, where an order is received on or after the coming into force of these Regulations but before 1 April 2008, the fee is increased from £14 to £21 per form, and for orders received on or after 1 April 2008, the fee is increased to £29. The fee represents a percentage increase of 50% and 38.1% respectively. The fees were last increased on 1 April 2006. For a motorcycle or car test where the order is received on or after 3 September 2007, the fee is increased from £14.00 to £18.50 per form. This fee represents a percentage increase of 32.1% and the fees were last increased on 1 April 2006.
Regulation 11 and Schedule 1 amend the principal Regulations so as to substitute a new Part 1 of Schedule 3 to the principal Regulations in order to specify revised fees payable upon an application for a driving licence made on or after 1 May 2007. The following table shows the new fees with the percentage increase in brackets. The fees were last increased on 1 March 2004.
Paragraph in Schedule 3 specifying a type of licence and the circumstances of the application
Fee payable on application after 1 May 2007
(Fee payable formerly (£))
% increase
(decrease)
1
A first licence (as defined in Part 2 of Schedule 3).
45 (38)
18.4%
2
A provisional licence (as detailed).
45 (38)
18.4%
3
A photocard licence granted in exchange for a licence not in the form of a photocard licence which is still in force excluding a licence falling within any other paragraph in the Table
10 (19)
(47.3)%
4
A licence granted on exchange (as detailed)
22 (19)
15.8%
5
A replacement licence (as detailed)
22 (19)
15.8%
6
A licence following disqualification (as detailed)-
(i) when granted to a “high risk offender”, or
(ii) in other cases
85 (75)
60 (50)
13.3%
20.0%
7
A provisional licence following disqualification (as detailed)-
(i) when granted to a “high risk offender”, or
(ii) in other cases
85 (75)
60 (50)
13.3%
20.0%
8
A provisional Group 2 licence (as detailed)
60 (50)
20.0%
9
A licence following disqualification (as detailed)
60 (50)
20.0%
10
A licence following disqualification (as detailed)
60 (50)
20.0%
11
A licence following disqualification (as detailed)
60 (50)
20.0%
Regulation 13 concerns the minimum standard of visual acuity to be met by bus and lorry drivers. The principal Regulations introduced a requirement that they should have a Snellen chart reading of at least 6/9 in the better eye and 6/12 in the worse eye, and if corrective lenses are necessary, to have an uncorrected acuity of at least 3/60 in both eyes. The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/166) amended this requirement and inadvertently removed the reference to this eyesight standard for first time applicants for bus and lorry driving licence entitlements. Regulation 13 amends regulation 73 of the principal Regulations so as to restore the requirement for all licence applicants and holders to meet the higher vision acuity standard.
The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2003) introduced a requirement into the principal Regulations which exempted test vehicles first used before 1 October 2003, from the requirement to meet the specifications and descriptions contained in the table at the end of Regulation 37 of the principal Regulations. Regulation 14 amends the principal Regulations so as to remove this exemption from 1 July 2007.
All the regulations come into force on 2 April 2007 except for regulation 11 (licence fees) which comes into force on 1 May 2007 and regulation 14 (exemption of vehicles from test requirements) which comes into force on 1 July 2007.
The fees in these Regulations have been set further to the Department of Transport (Fees) Order 1988 (S.I. 1988/643, relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1995/1684, 1996/1961), which established a common pool for costs incurred in respect of the functions of the Secretary of State in relation to tests of competence to drive motor vehicles, and to the Department for Transport (Driver Licensing and Vehicle Registration Fees) Order 2003 (S.I 2003/2994), which established a common pool for costs incurred in respect of various vehicle registration functions, and various driver licensing functions of the Secretary of State. In accordance with the terms of the two Orders, in setting the levels of fees further to this Order, the Secretary of State has taken into account the costs within those common pools.
These Regulations are made in conjunction with the Motor Cars (Driving Instruction) (Amendment) Regulations 2007. Full regulatory impact assessments of the effect the amendments at regulations 2 to 10, 12 and 14 and Schedule 2 will have on the costs of business are available from the Driving Standards Agency, Stanley House, 56 Talbot Street, Nottingham NG1 5GU and on the Driving Standards Agency’s website at www.dsa.gov.uk. Regulatory impact assessments of the effect the amendments at regulation 11 and Schedule 1 will have on the costs of business are available from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing agency, Drivers Policy Group, Longview Road, Swansea, SA7 OEP or from the DVLA’s website at www.dvla.gov.uk. A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for the amendments at regulation 13 as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen. The regulatory impact assessments may also be accessed on the Office of Public Information websitewww.opsi.gov.uk

---
Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/698/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/motor-vehicles-driving-licences-amendment-regulations-2007/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.