Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
1997 No. 305

ROAD TRAFFIC AND VEHICLES
The Road Vehicles Lighting (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997

Made
20th June 1997

Coming into operation
1st September 1997

The Department of the Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred upon it by Articles 55(1), (2) and (6), and 110(2) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(1) and of every other power enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Road Vehicles Lighting (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 and shall come into operation on 1st September 1997.

(2) In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995(2).

Amendments to regulation 3 (Interpretation)

2.  In regulation 3(1) of the principal Regulations—

(a)after the definition of “dual-purpose vehicle” there shall be inserted the following definition—

““Education and Library Board” has the same meaning as in Article 3(1) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(3);”

(b)after the definition of “pedestrian-controlled vehicle” there shall be inserted the following definition—

““prescribed sign” means a sign which is of a type shown in Schedule 21A and complies with the requirements of that Schedule.”

Colour of light shown by lamps and reflectors (including reflectors on rear markings and signs on buses carrying children)

3.  Regulation 14 of the principal Regulations shall be amended as follows—

(a)in paragraph (2) after sub-paragraph (u) there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraphs—

“(v)reflected light from yellow retro reflective material incorporated in a prescribed sign and fitted to the rear of a bus; or

(w)reflected light from yellow retro reflective material incorporated in a sign fitted to the rear of a bus in accordance with paragraph (4).”

(b)after paragraph (3) there shall be inserted the following—

“(4) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(w), a sign (“the secondary sign”) is fitted to the rear of a bus in accordance with this paragraph if—

(a)a prescribed sign is also fitted to the rear of the bus;

(b)the total area of the retro reflective material incorporated in the secondary sign is no greater than the area of the prescribed sign; and

(c)the secondary sign satisfies the requirements specified—

(i)in the case of a bus which is owned or hired by an Education and Library Board or any person managing an education establishment attended by children under the age of 16 years, in paragraph (5) or (6); or

(ii)in any other case, in paragraph (6).

(5) The requirements referred to in paragraph (4)(c)(i) are that the secondary sign contains no words or other markings apart from words or markings identifying the Education and Library Board or the educational establishment.

(6) The requirements referred to in paragraph (4)(c)(ii) are that the secondary sign contains no words or other markings apart from words or other markings which—

(a)indicate that children are on board the bus when it is in motion or likely to be on board the bus or in its vicinity when it is stationary; and

(b)are calculated to reduce the risk of road accidents involving such children.”

4.  After regulation 17 of the principal Regulations, there shall be inserted—

“Signs on buses carrying children

17A.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a person shall not use or cause or permit to be used on a road a bus when it is carrying a child to or from his school unless—

(a)a prescribed sign is fitted to the front of the bus and is plainly visible to road users ahead of the bus; and

(b)a prescribed sign is fitted to the rear of the bus and is plainly visible to road users behind the bus.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply—

(a)where a bus is on a bus service of a description specified in paragraph 2 of Schedule 11A (bus services specified for the purposes of regulation 48A(5))(4) of the Construction and Use Regulations; or

(b)where a bus is the property of an Education and Library Board and is painted in the distinctive livery of that Board.

(3) A prescribed sign shall be removed while any bus to which it has been fitted is being used for purposes other than carrying a child to or from his school.

(4) For the purposes of this regulation—

(a)a reference to a bus carrying a child to or from his school is a reference to a bus carrying a child—

(i)to, or to a place within the vicinity of, his school on a day during term time before he has attended the school on that day; or

(ii)from, or from a place within the vicinity of, his school on a day during term time after he has finished attending the school on that day;

(b)“school” has the same meaning as in Article 2(2) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(5); and

(c)a reference to a child is a reference to a child under the age of 16 years.”

5.  The Schedule set out in the Schedule to these Regulations shall be inserted after Schedule 21 to the principal Regulations.

Amendments relating to regulation 30 (restrictions on the use of lamps other than those to which regulation 27 refers)

6.  The Table in regulation 30 of the principal Regulations shall be amended as follows—

(a)in column (3) of item 5, at the end of sub-paragraph (iii) for the full stop there shall be substituted “; or ”; and

(b)after sub-paragraph (iii) there shall be inserted the following—

“(iv)in the case of a bus to which prescribed signs are fitted as described in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of regulation 17(A)(1) and in the case of a bus painted in the livery of an Education and Library Board as referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2) of that regulation when the bus is stationary and children under the age of 16 years are entering or leaving, or are about to enter or leave, or have just left the vehicle.”.

Amendment to Schedule 10 (rear position lamps)

7.  In paragraph 12 of Part I of Schedule 10 to the principal Regulations, sub-paragraph (b) shall be deleted.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of the Environment on

L.S.
J. Ritchie
Assistant Secretary
20th June 1997.

Regulation 5
SCHEDULE

Regulation 3(1)
“SCHEDULE 21A

ColourShaded areas — yellow retro reflective materialBorder and silhouette — blackDimensionsA.Front — not less than 250 mmRear — not less than 400 mmB.Front — not more than 20 mmRear — not more than 30 mm
”

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)
These Regulations amend the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 (“the 1995 Regulations”).
Regulation 3 amends regulation 14(2) of the 1995 Regulations by making provision for two types of special signs made of yellow reflective material, “the prescribed sign” and “the secondary sign”, which indicate the presence of children, to be fitted to the rear of a bus. The amendments make it possible for these signs to be fitted to the rear of a bus without regulation 14(2) being contravened.
Regulation 4 inserts a new regulation 17A, which requires buses used to carry children to or from school to have the prescribed sign fitted at both front and rear and to have that sign removed when those buses are used for purposes other than carrying children to and from school.
Regulation 6 amends regulation 30 of the 1995 Regulations to allow a bus which is fitted with these signs in the prescribed manner and which is being used to carry a child to or from his school to use hazard warning lights when it is stationary and children are entering or leaving the vehicle.
Regulation 7 makes a minor amendment relating to lamps and reflectors fixed on movable parts of the vehicle.


(1)
S.I. 1995/2994 (N.I. 18)

(2)
S.R. 1995 No. 449

(3)
S.I. 1986/594 (N.I. 3)

(4)
Regulation 48A and Schedule 11A were inserted into the Construction and Use Regulations by Regulations 5 and 6 of S.R. 1996 No. 275

(5)
S.I. 1986/594 (N.I. 3)