S.I. No. 481/1998 - Road Traffic (Car Testing) Regulations, 1998

S.I. No. 481 of 1998.

ROAD TRAFFIC (CAR TESTING) REGULATIONS, 1998

In exercise of the powers conferred on the Minister for the Environment and Local Government by sections 5 , 11 , 18 and 123 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 , (No. 24 of 1961) which said powers are delegated to me by the Environment and Local Government (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 427 of 1997 ) and for the purposes of giving effect to the provisions of Council Directive 96/96/EC¹, I, Robert Molloy, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government hereby make the following Regulations:

¹ O.J. No. L 46 of 17.02.97

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Road Traffic (Car Testing) Regulations, 1998.

(2) Subject to sub-article 3(3), these Regulations shall come into operation on the 4th day of January 2000.

2. (1) In these Regulations:—

"date of first registration" means the date on which a vehicle was first registered, irrespective of place of registration

"design gross vehicle weight" means the design gross weight of the vehicle as specified by the manufacturer or distributor of the vehicle or, where such is not ascertainable, the design gross weight of the vehicle as certified by an automotive engineer;

"driver" means the person in charge of a vehicle when it is in a public place;

"fail report" means the report issued by the National Car Testing Service to the applicant for a test of a vehicle where the vehicle has failed such test.

"first licence" means the first licence issued for a vehicle under section 1 of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952 , (No. 24 of 1952);

"licence" means a licence issued for a vehicle under section 1 of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952 , (No. 24 of 1952);

"licensing authority" means the council of a county or the corporation of a county borough which for the time being exercises or performs the functions of a licensing authority under section 1 of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952 , (No. 24 of 1952);

"National Car Testing Service" means the company incorporated in Ireland under the name "National Car Testing Service Limited" to conduct tests on vehicles pursuant to these Regulations, and which is a contracting party to the project agreement with the Minister for the for the conduct of such tests;

"re-test" means a test carried out on a vehicle within two weeks of the issue of a fail report in respect of that vehicle;

"test" means a test of a vehicle carried out in accordance these Regulations;

"test disc" means the disc, issued simultaneously with the test certificate, to indicate that the vehicle to which it is affixed is one for which a test certificate has been issued;

"the Directive" means Council Directive 96/96/EC of 20 December, 1996 relating to roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers;

"the Minister" means the Minister for the Environment and Local Government;

"owner" means—

(a) of a vehicle (other than a vehicle referred to in paragraph (b)), the person by whom the vehicle is normally kept,

(b) of a vehicle which is the subject of a hire-purchase agreement or a lease, the person in possession of the vehicle under the agreement or lease;

"pass report" means a report, issued by the National Car Testing Service to the applicant for the test of a vehicle, certifying that the vehicle to which it relates has passed a test pursuant to these Regulations;

"the Principal Act" means the Road Traffic Act, 1961 (Number 24 of 1961);

"valid test disc" means a test disc which is displayed on a vehicle in respect of which there is in force a test certificate;

"vehicle" means a mechanically propelled vehicle;

(2) In these Regulations —

(a) any reference to an article or schedule which is not otherwise identified is a reference to the article or schedule of these Regulations,

(b) any reference to a sub-article which is not otherwise identified is a reference to the sub-article of the article in which the reference occurs,

3. (1) Sub-section 18 (1) of the Principal Act and these Regulations shall apply to a vehicle which is designed and constructed primarily for the carriage of passengers and which has a maximum of 8 seats excluding the driver's seat and a maximum design gross vehicle weight of 3,500 kilograms,

(2) Sub-section 18(1) of the Principal Act and these Regulations shall not apply to a vehicle —

(a) which is owned or leased by —

(i) the Defence Forces,

(ii) the Garda Siochana,

(iii) a fire authority,

(c) the date of first registration of which is 40 or more years before the day on which these Regulations would otherwise apply to it;

(d) which is kept on an island which is not connected to the mainland by a public road;

(3) Subject to sub article (2), sub-section 18(1) of the Principal Act and these Regulations shall apply —

(i) in the case of a vehicle the date of first registration of which was on or before the 31st day of December, 1991, from the anniversary of such registration which occurs in the year 2000;

(ii) in the case of a vehicle the date of first registration of which was between the 1st day of January, 1992 and the 31st day of December, 1996 from the anniversary of such registration which occurs in the year 2001;

(iii) in the case of a vehicle the date of first registration of which was on or after the 1st day of January, 1997, from the anniversary of such registration which occurs in the year 2002, or the fourth anniversary of first registration whichever is the later.

4. A test certificate in accordance with the principal Act shall cease to be valid on the next biennial of first registration which occurs after the date of issue of the said certificate.

5. (1) A person shall not use in a public place a vehicle to which these Regulations apply unless at that time there is displayed on the front windscreen of the said vehicle a valid test disc.

(2) A test disc shall cease to be valid on that day on which the test certificate to which it relates ceases to be valid.

6. A licensing authority shall refuse to issue a first licence or renew a licence in respect of a vehicle to which these Regulations apply unless the application for such licence is accompanied by a valid test certificate in respect of the said vehicle or a pass report which had been issued by the National Car Testing Service in respect of the said vehicle not more than two months prior to the day on which the application is made.

7. (1) The fee for a test shall be£35.00.

(2) The fee for a re-test shall be£19.80.

(3) An examination of a vehicle for the purposes of a re-test that does not involve the use of test equipment in a test centre shall not be subject to a fee.

8. (1) The National Car Testing Service is hereby specified to be the authority for the purposes of carrying out tests on vehicles, pursuant to these Regulations.

(2) Where the National Car Testing Service issues a pass report, the person to whom the report is issued may apply through the said National Car Testing Service to the issuing authority for a test certificate and test disc to be issued to the owner.

9. (1) The Minister for the Environment and Local Government is hereby designated as the issuing authority, for the purposes of issuing test certificates and test discs.

(2) The issuing authority shall issue a test certificate and test disc in respect of a vehicle only where it has received notification from the National Car Testing Service that it has issued a pass report in respect of the vehicle.

Dated this 14th day of December, 1998

Robert Molloy

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations require roadworthiness tests on certain mechanically propelled vehicles from 4 January 2000, prescribe the fees payable for such tests and specify the National Car Testing Service Limited as the authority to carry out such tests on the Minister's behalf.