European Union (Vehicle Drivers Certificate of Professional Competence) (Amendment) Regulations 2020

Jurisdiction: Republic of Ireland

Commencement: 26 May 2020

Amends: European Communities (Vehicle Drivers Certificate of Professional Competence) (No. 2) Regulations 2008

Mini Summary

The European Communities (Vehicle Drivers Certificate of Professional Competence) (No. 2) Regulations 2008 implement Directive 2003/59/EC concerning the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers.

 

Amendment

These amending Regulations implement Directive (EU) 2018/645, which amends Directive 2003/59/EC on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers, which these Regulations implement. This primarily changes the scope of the Regulations and the vehicles which they cover.

 

Vehicles and drivers covered by the Regulations

The Regulations are now non-applicable to driving a vehicle which is used by, or under the control of, an emergency ambulance service. It is also made clear that for the use of a vehicle under the control of a listed service to be exempt, the vehicle must be being used for tasks associated with the service.

 

The Regulations are now non-applicable to driving a vehicle used in the non-commercial transport of humanitarian aid.

 

The Regulations will only be non-applicable to vehicles being used for driving instruction and examination for drivers licences and CPC*, if:

• they are not being used for the commercial transport of goods or passengers;
• they are accompanied by a CPC-certified person or driving instructor for the vehicle type they are driving; and
• for a CPC, the person is undergoing additional driver training through work-based learning.

 

*CPC means a certificate of professional competence, used to maintain high standards of road safety, health and safety and driving among professional drivers of buses and trucks.

 

Maintenance staff driving a category D or D1* vehicle to or from a maintenance centre of the nearest maintenance base of the transport operator are not covered by these Regulations, unless driving the vehicle is their main activity.

 

*Category D and D1 vehicles are vehicles with the capacity to transport more than 8 or more than 16 passengers respectively.

 

The Regulations are also now not applicable to a driver operating a vehicle in a rural area to supply their business, as long as they do not offer transport services and the journey is only carried out once in a 30 day period and does not have an impact on road safety.

 

The Regulations do not apply to the driver of a vehicle used, or hired without a driver, by agricultural, horticultural, forestry, farming or fishery undertakings for carrying goods as part of their business activity, except if:

• driving the vehicle is their main activity; or
• the driving distance exceeds 25km from the business base.

Category definitions 

Full definitions of the categories of vehicle are removed and replaced with reference to the definitions given in the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations 2006; this is to ensure consistency across the Regulations.

Numerous administrative changes are made to ensure that the category names used in these Regulations are the same as those used in the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations 2006. This does not change the meaning of the categories or the requirements relating to them.

 

Link to full government text

 

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