Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the Motor Vehicles (Tests) Regulations 1981 (“the 1981 Regulations”), the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (“the 1986 Regulations”) and the Goods Vehicles (Plating and Testing) Regulations 1988 (“the 1988 Regulations”) in order to implement Directive 2010/48/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2010 on roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers (“the 2010 Directive”). The 2010 Directive imposes some additional requirements to be included in annual roadworthiness tests in Great Britain.

Part I of the Regulations amends the 1986 Regulations. Regulation 3 amends the braking efficiencies for M1 vehicles bringing them into line with the efficiencies specified in the 2010 Directive. A M1 vehicle is a passenger vehicle with no more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat. Regulation 4 inserts into the 1986 Regulations a requirement for the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of those provisions in regulation 18 relating to the efficiency of brakes, and to publish a report. A report must be published five years after these Regulations come into force, and further reports must be published every five years thereafter. Following each review, the Secretary of State will decide whether the provisions relating to the efficiency of brakes should remain as they are, or be revoked or amended. A further instrument would be needed to revoke or amend those provisions.

Part II of the Regulations amends the 1988 Regulations. Regulations 6 and 7 make compliance with the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001 part of the annual roadworthiness test, and provide for a free re-test of any vehicle that fails its annual roadworthiness test as a result of a failure to comply with those Regulations. Regulation 8 adds requirements for batteries, electrical connections, supplementary restraint systems and electronic stability control to the prescribed construction and use requirements set out in Part II of Schedule 3 in order to ensure that these new requirements form part of the annual roadworthiness test. Regulation 9 inserts into the 1988 Regulations a requirement for the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of the prescribed construction and use requirements in Schedule 3, and to publish a report. A report must be published five years after these Regulations come into force, and further reports must be published every five years thereafter. Following each review, the Secretary of State will decide whether the provisions relating to the prescribed construction and use requirements should remain as they are, or be revoked or amended. A further instrument would be needed to revoke or amend those provisions.

Part III of the Regulations amends the 1981 Regulations. Regulation 11 adds the battery and electrical wiring as matters for which a free retest of a vehicle will be allowed. Regulation 12 amends the Table in paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to add requirements for batteries, electrical connections and wiring, supplementary restraint systems and electronic stability control to the prescribed statutory requirements for Class IV vehicles and makes further amendments to ensure that such requirements apply to Classes IVa, V, VI and VIa vehicles.

Regulation 13 inserts into the 1981 Regulations a requirement for the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of the prescribed statutory requirements in Schedule 3, and to publish a report. A report must be published five years after these Regulations come into force, and further reports must be published every five years thereafter. Following each review, the Secretary of State will decide whether the provisions relating to the prescribed statutory requirements should remain as they are, or be revoked or amended. A further instrument would be needed to revoke or amend those provisions.

An impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector and a transposition note setting out how these Regulations transpose the provisions of Directive 2010/48/EU are available from the Department for Transport, Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 4DR and are annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside this instrument on the website, www.legislation.gov.uk.

A copy of Directive 2010/48/EU may be downloaded without charge from EURLEX, the European Law website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm).