Regulation 6 Competence to drive classes of vehicle: general

England, Wales and Scotland

(1)

Where a person holds, or has held, a relevant full licence authorising him to drive vehicles included in any category or, as the case may be, sub-category he is deemed competent to drive—

(a)

vehicles of all classes included in that category or sub-category unless by that licence he is or was authorised to drive—

(i)

only motor vehicles of a specified class within that category or sub-category, in which case he shall be deemed competent to drive only vehicles of that class, or

(ii)

only motor vehicles adapted on account of a disability, in which case he shall be deemed competent to drive only such classes of vehicle included in that category or sub-category as are so adapted (and for the purposes of this paragraph, F1a three-wheeled moped, a light quadricycle, a motor tricycle or a motor bicycle with a side-car may be treated in an appropriate case as a motor vehicle adapted on account of a disability),

and

(b)

all classes of vehicle included in any other category or sub-category which is specified in column (3) of Schedule 2 as an additional category or sub-category in relation to that category or sub-category unless by that licence he is or was authorised to drive—

(i)

only motor vehicles having automatic transmission, in which case he shall, subject to paragraph (2), be deemed competent to drive only such classes of motor vehicle included in the additional category or sub-category as have automatic transmission, or

(ii)

only motor vehicles adapted on account of a disability, in which case he shall be deemed competent to drive only such classes of vehicle included in the additional category or sub-category as are so adapted.

(2)

Where the additional category is F, K or F2AM, paragraph (1)(b)(i) shall not apply.

F3(2A)

Where a relevant full licence authorises the driving of vehicles included in category B and the additional category is category Q or AM, the holder is not deemed competent to drive category Q vehicles or vehicles in category AM unless the licence authorises the driving of such vehicles in accordance with regulation 43(3) and (5).

F4(2B)

Where a person holds a relevant provisional licence, the holder is authorised to drive an electric scooter being used in a trial.

(3)

In this regulation and regulations 7 and 8, “relevant full licence” means a full licence granted under Part III of the Traffic Act, a full Northern Ireland licence or a Community licence.

F5(4)

In this regulation, “relevant provisional licence” means a provisional licence granted under Part III of the Traffic Act, a full Northern Ireland licence or a Community licence.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: Words in reg. 6(1)(a)(ii) inserted (19.1.2013) by The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/977), reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 5(a)
F2: Word in reg. 6(2) substituted (19.1.2013) by The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/977), reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 5(b)
F3: Reg. 6(2A) inserted (19.1.2013) by The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/977), reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 5(c)
F4: Reg. 6(2B) inserted (4.7.2020) by The Electric Scooter Trials and Traffic Signs (Coronavirus) Regulations and General Directions 2020 (S.I. 2020/663), Pt. 1 regs. 1(2), 4(4)(a)
F5: Reg. 6(4) inserted (4.7.2020) by The Electric Scooter Trials and Traffic Signs (Coronavirus) Regulations and General Directions 2020 (S.I. 2020/663), Pt. 1 regs. 1(2), 4(4)(b)

Notes on the whole SI

Textual amendments

F1: 1988 c. 52. Relevant amendments are referred to where appropriate below. Amending statutes and instruments are referred to in the footnotes to these Regulations in the following manner: “the 1989 Act" means the Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (c. 22); “the 1990 Regulations" means the Driving Licences (Community Driving Licence) Regulations 1990 (S.I. 1990/144), “the 1991 Act" means the Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40), “the 1996 Regulations" means the Driving Licences (Community Driving Licence) Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/1974) and “the 1998 Regulations" means the Driving Licences (Community Driving Licence) Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/1420).
F2: Subsection (6) was amended by the 1990 Regulations.
F3: Subsection (1A) was inserted by the 1996 Regulations, subsections (2A) and (5A) were inserted by the 1989 Act, section 6; subsection (3) was amended by the 1991 Act, Schedule 4, paragraph 63; subsection (4) was amended by the 1989 Act, Schedule 3, paragraph 8 and by the 1996 Regulations; subsection (7) was amended and subsections (9) and (10) were substituted by the 1989 Act, Schedule 3, paragraph 8 and subsections (7), (9) and (10) were amended by the 1996 Regulations. Subsection (4)(b) is to be read with the Department of Transport (Fees) Order 1988 (S.I. 1988/643), as amended by S.I. 1991/811, 1993/1601, 1995/1684 and 1996/1929, the relevant entries being items 5, 5A and 6 in Schedule 1, Table III.
F4: Section 89A was inserted by the 1989 Act, section 4(4).
F5: Subsection (2) was amended by the 1996 Regulations.
F6: Subsections (4) and (5) were amended by the 1989 Act, section 5(7) and (8).
F7: Subsections (1) and (3) were amended by the 1989 Act, section 6(2) and Schedule 6 and by the 1996 and 1998 Regulations, subsection (1A) was inserted by the 1998 Regulations; subsections (3A) and (3B) were inserted by the 1989 Act, section 6(2) and subsection (3A) was amended by the 1996 and 1998 Regulations; subsection (4) was amended by the 1996 and 1998 Regulations; subsection (4) was amended by the 1998 Regulations.
F8: Subsections (2) and (4) were amended by the 1989 Act, Schedule 3, paragraph 11. Subsection (2) was amended by the 1990 Regulations.
F9: Subsection (1) was amended by Schedule 3, paragraph 12, of the 1989 Act; subsection (1A) was inserted by section 2(2) of that Act.
F10: Section 99A was inserted by the 1996 Regulations; subsection (4) was amended by the 1998 Regulations.
F11: Subsection (2) was amended by the 1989 Act, Schedule 3, paragraph 14 and by the 1990, 1996 and 1998 Regulations; subsection (4) was amended by the 1996 Regulations.
F12: See the definitions of “prescribed" and “regulations".
F13: Sections 114, 115, 116 and 117 to 122 (Part IV of the Act) were substituted by the 1989 Act, section 2(1) and Schedule 2, Section 114(1) was amended by the 1996 Regulations.
F14: Subsection (3) was amended by the 1991 Act, Schedule 4, paragraph 64 and the 1996 Regulations.
F15: Section 115A was inserted by the 1996 Regulations.
F16: Subsection (2A) was inserted by the 1991 Act, Schedule 4, paragraph 65.
F17: See the definition of “prescribed".
F18: Amended by the 1990 Regulations.
F19: Amended by the 1991 Act, Schedule 4, paragraph 68.
F20: Inserted by the 1989 Act, Schedule 3, paragraph 23.
F21: See the definition of “prescribed".
F22: See section 105(4) of the Road Traffic Act 1988.