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by Les Oldridge AIRTE, AMIMI
The new h.g.v. driving licence (2)
AN IMPORTANT PART of the new law concerning h.g.v. driving licences is that dealing with the way experienced drivers can obtain a licence for the type of vehicle which they are in the habit of driving without having to pass a test, and the date when such a licence is needed.
From February 2 1970 a person who drives a heavy goods vehicle on a road needs an h.g.v. licence but he can continue to drive without one on the strength of his ordinary driving licence until it expires. The ordinary licence must be a full licence, not a provisional one, and must be for Group 1. Not more than six months before his ordinary licence expires he may apply for his h.g.v. licence. It will be seen that if an ordinary licence was renewed on, say, January 21 1970, an h.g.v. licence is not required until until January 211973.
To obtain the h.g.v. licence without having to pass a test the applicant must be able to satisfy the Licensing Authority for the traffic area in which he lives that he has been in the habit of driving heavy goods vehicles, of the class for which he requires a licence, for six months between February 2 1969 and February 11970. The six months need not be a continuous period of driving; separate periods totalling six months will do. Experience gained while holding a provisional licence will not count.
The term "in the habit of driving" may cause some difficulty for the applicant who is not employed regularly as alorry driver but as a fitter who drives heavy vehicles on test or a recovery vehicle from time to time on breakdown jobs. One can only assume that the ordinary meaning of the words are intended and that the Licensing Authority will be satisfied if the applicant has genuinely been "in the habit of driving" such vehicles.
Qualifying period
It is important to note that the qualifying period for obtaining the experience is between February 1969 and February 1970, and although the application for the licence may not be made until 1973 it is the 1969 to 1970 period of driving which counts and not the 12 months prior to the time the application for the licence is submitted.
A certificate signed by the employer is necessary to substantiate the claim for exemption from the test; if the applicant has had more than one employer during the period his six months' experience was gained then a separate certificate from each employer must be obtained. Owner-drivers may sign their own certificate. It would seem prudent for certificates of experience to be completed now.
Regulation 3 (i) (Li) ti) requires that an applicant for a licence sends with his application a certificate signed by a doctor not earlier than three months before the licence is to have effect. This certificate is incorporated in the application form and the doctor is required to answer seven questions. These `questions relate to whether the applicant suffers from epilepsy, vertigo, giddiness or fainting or any mental ailment likely to interfere with the efficient discharge of his duties as a driver of heavy goods vehicles; whether he has any deformity, loss of members or physical disability; whether he suffers from any heart or lung disorder; has any serious defect of hearing; evidence of addiction to excessive consumption of alco hol or drugs or whether he is suffering from any other disease or physical disability likely to interfere with the efficient discharge of his duties as a driver, or to cause the driving by him of a heavy goods vehicle to be a source of danger to the public. Finally, there is an eyesight • test. The medical test has to be paid for by the applicant; it cannot be done free of charge under the National Health Scheme. The test may be carried out by any doctor of the applicant's choice.
I stated earlier that application for an h.g.v. licence may be made six months before the ordinary licence expires. Although this is correct, subsequent applications or first applications for a licence where exemption from a test is not being claimed, must be made not earlier than two months before the date on which the licence is to have effect.
The ordinary driving licence must be sent with the application and also the fee. The fee for a full licence is £1 and that for a provisional one 10s.
Application form The application form requires the applicant to disclose any disqualification by a court from holding or obtaining a licence which was in force during the three years prior to the application or during the past 10 years where the disqualification arose from an offence involving driving under the influence of drink or drugs. Any other motoring conviction occurring during the past three years must also be disclosed.
In the notes on the application form, for the guidance of the applicant in filling it out, particular mention is made, in connection with the motoring offences which have to be disclosed, those relating to roadworthiness or loading of vehicles and a driver's hours and records offences. All other convictions, e.g. for speeding, careless driving, contravening a no-waiting order, must be entered on the form. It does not necessarily follow that convictions will bar the applicant from being granted a licence, these -are taken into account by the Licensing Authority when deciding whether or not to grant the application.