The Motorways Traffic (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026

These regulations may be cited as The Motorways Traffic (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 and shall come into operation on 1^st October 2026.

The Motorways Traffic Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008^f1 are amended in accordance with regulations 3 and 4.

For regulation 1(2) substitute the following—

“(2)

In these regulations—

• “approved driving instructor” and “approved motorcycle instructor” means a person whose name is entered in the register established by Article 48(8) of The Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 2007^f1;

• “bus” means a motor vehicle constructed or adapted to carry more than 28 seated passengers (exclusive of the driver);

• “bus lane” means the area of hard shoulder of a length of motorway specified in Schedules 1 and 2;

• “central reservation” means that part of a motorway other than the hard shoulder which separates the carriageway used by vehicles travelling in one direction from the carriageway used by vehicles travelling in the opposite direction;

• “certificate” means a document issued to an approved driving instructor or approved motorcycle instructor as evidence of registration as shown in Part 1 and Schedule 5 of The Motor Vehicles (Driving Instruction) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010^f2;

• “excluded traffic” means traffic which is not traffic of Classes I or II in Schedule 1 to the Order;

• “hard shoulder” means a part of the motorway adjacent to the carriageway designed to take the weight of a vehicle;

• “motorway” means a road designated as a special road under Article 15 of the Order or under any statutory provision repealed by the Order and includes trunk roads to which Part III of the Order applies by virtue of paragraph 4 of Schedule 9 to the Order;

• “the Order” means the Roads (Northern Ireland) Order 1993;

• “traffic sign” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 28 of the Road Traffic Regulation (Northern Ireland) Order 1997^f3;

• “verge” means any part of a motorway which is not a carriageway, a hard shoulder, or a central reservation; and

• “weekday” means a day which is neither a Saturday nor a Sunday.”.

For regulation 11 (vehicles not to be driven by learner drivers) substitute the following—

“Vehicles driven by learner drivers

11.

(1)

Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), a person shall not drive on a motorway a motor vehicle—

(a)

in category AM, A1, A2, A, B, P or Q; or

(b)

in sub-category C1 or D1 (not for hire or reward) if the provisional licence held by the person driving the vehicle was in force at a time before 1st January 1997,

if that person is authorised to drive that vehicle only by virtue of being the holder of a provisional licence.

(2)

Paragraph (1) shall not apply in relation to a vehicle if the holder of the provisional licence—

(a)

has passed a test of competence prescribed under Article 5(3) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981^f1 for the grant of a licence to drive that vehicle; or

(b)

is in a vehicle in category B and is accompanied by an Approved Driving Instructor as defined in The Motor Vehicles (Driving Instruction) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010^f2; or

(c)

is on a vehicle in category A, A2 or A1 and is accompanied by an Approved Motorcycle Instructor, as defined in The Motor Vehicles (Driving Instruction) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010, who, notwithstanding regulation 12(5A)(c) of the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996^f3, is supervising only the holder of the provisional licence and no other person.

(3)

Paragraphs (2)(b) and (2)(c) shall not apply to the driver of a vehicle in category A1 or B until 1st April 2027 where—

(a)

that person is authorised to drive that vehicle only by virtue of being the holder of a provisional licence; and

(b)

the provisional licence was in force before 1^st October 2026.

(4)

In this regulation—

(a)

the expression “in force” and expressions relating to vehicle categories shall be construed in accordance with regulations 2(2) and 3(2) respectively of the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996; and

(b)

“provisional licence”, in relation to any vehicle, means a licence—

(i)

granted under Article 13(3) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981; or

(ii)

which authorises its holder by virtue of Article 14(2) of that Order to drive all other classes of motor vehicle.”

(This note is not part of the Order)