Overview

This bill amends the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 and the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995 to clarify and simplify procedures around the surrender, production, and handling of driving licences and test certificates following traffic offences. It streamlines processes for fixed penalty notices and conditional offers, requiring better identification of offenders.

Description

The bill makes several key changes:

• Court Proceedings: Clarifies the requirements for producing a driving licence in court for offences leading to disqualification. It simplifies the existing legislation.
• Licence Surrender: Introduces a new requirement for drivers disqualified by a court to surrender their licence to the Secretary of State within 28 days. Failure to do so is an offence.
• Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) and Conditional Offers: Removes the requirement to surrender a licence when paying a FPN or accepting a conditional offer. However, it strengthens the identification requirements for those paying FPNs or accepting offers for offences requiring endorsement, requiring name, date of birth and licence number.
• New Drivers: Amends the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995 to align the surrender of licences and test certificates for new drivers with the changes made for other drivers. It clarifies the process and the Secretary of State's role.
• Minor Amendments: Includes various minor and consequential amendments to other related Acts to ensure consistency and remove outdated or redundant provisions.

Government Spending

The bill is not expected to significantly impact UK government spending. The changes primarily affect administrative processes within the Department for Transport, with any costs likely to be offset by increased efficiency.

Groups Affected

• Drivers: Drivers facing disqualification or penalty points will be directly affected by the changes to licence surrender and identification requirements for FPNs and conditional offers.
• Courts: Courts will need to adapt their procedures to reflect the amended requirements for licence production.
• Police and Enforcement Officers: Police and other enforcement officers will need to understand and apply the new identification requirements for FPNs and conditional offers.
• Department for Transport: The Department for Transport will be responsible for administering the new licence surrender process.

Powered by nyModel