Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Regulations, 2012

L. N. 48 of 2012

TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDINANCE

(CAP. 65)

AUTHORITY FOR TRANSPORT IN MALTA ACT

(CAP. 499)

Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Regulations, 2012

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 54 of the

Traffic Regulation Ordinance and by article 43 of the Authority for

Transport in Malta Act, the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport

and Communications has, after consultation with the Authority for

Transport in Malta, made the following regulations

The title of these regulations is the Motor Vehicles

(Amendment) Regulations, 2012 and they shall be read and

construed as one with the Motor Vehicles Regulations, 1994,

hereinafter referred to as “the principal regulations”.

Regulation 2 of the principal regulations shall be

amended as follows

(a) the definition “car for hire” shall be deleted; and

(b) immediately after the definition “stop light” there

shall be inserted the following new definition

“ “surveillance camera” means a camera fixed

inside a passenger transport vehicle or a motor route

bus which shall be kept switched on at all times while

the vehicle is on duty and shall record and transmit

the images captured to a control room designated by

the Authority, which images shall, however, only be

accessible to

- the Police in the event that they receive a

report or otherwise become aware that a criminal

offence has been committed or may have been

committed in the particular vehicle; and

- the Authority in the event that it receives

a report or otherwise becomes aware that an

infringement of the Passenger Transport Services

Regulations has been committed;”.

In regulation 68 of the principal regulations, for the words

“motor-car for hire” there shall be substituted the words “motor

vehicle for hire”.

In regulation 69 of the principal regulations, for the words

“motor car for hire” there shall be substituted the words “motor

vehicle for hire”.

Regulation 110A of the principal regulations shall be

amended as follows

(a) in sub-regulation (1) thereof, for the words “No

motor vehicle shall be driven or no person shall allow a motor

vehicle to be driven on the road where the glazings of that

vehicle” there shall be substituted the words “No person

shall drive, or cause or permit to be driven on a road a motor

vehicle, other than an M2 or an M3 vehicle, the glazings of

which,”;

(b) sub-regulations (2) to (4) thereof shall be

renumbered as sub-regulations (3) to (5) respectively;

(c) immediately after sub-regulation (1) thereof there

shall be inserted the following new sub-regulation

“(2) No person shall drive, or cause or permit

to be driven on a road an M2 or M3 vehicle where the

glazings of that vehicle do not allow a visible light

transmission of at least –

(a) 75 per cent in the case of the

windscreen,

(b) 70 per cent in the case of the front side

windows, and

(c) 30 per cent in the case of all remaining

windows

Provided that where the vehicle is fitted with

one or more functional surveillance cameras which

are positioned so as to capture the entire seating

area of the vehicle and in the vehicle there are

signs showing there are surveillance cameras in the

vehicle, the limits provided for under paragraph (c)

shall not apply.”.

Sub-regulation (7) of regulation 130 of the principal

regulations shall be deleted.

Immediately after regulation 130 of the principal

regulations there shall be inserted the following new regulation

130A. (1) No person shall drive a motor vehicle for

hire unless that person is in possession of the identification

tag issued to him by the Authority.

(2) A driver who wishes to be granted an identification

tag under this regulation shall submit an application to the

Authority on the prescribed form.

(3) The said tag shall only be issued by the Authority

to that driver who -

(a)

is in possession of the appropriate driving

licence,

(b)

in the opinion of the Authority is of good

repute,

(c) attends regularly a course of instruction

approved by the Authority and successfully undergoes

an examination at the end of the said course.

(4) Unless more onerous conditions are prescribed by

other regulations, for the purpose of this regulation, a person

is not considered to be of good repute if he

(a) has been convicted, during the previous five

years, of a crime liable to a term of imprisonment of

three months or more or a fine of at least four hundred

and sixty-five euros and eighty-seven cents (€465.87),

(b) has been convicted, during the previous

two years, of offences against traffic or road transport

regulations.

Applicants for an identification tag shall thus submit to

the Authority a Police conduct certificate.

(5) The Authority may withdraw an identification

tag where the holder no longer satisfies the good repute

requirement.

(6) The Authority may suspend an identification tag

until a final judgement is given where the holder is charged

in Court with a criminal offence which is liable to a term of

imprisonment of not less than three months or a fine of not

less than four hundred and sixty-five euros and eighty-seven

cents (€465.87).

(7) The driver of a motor vehicle for hire shall, while

carrying passengers, wear the tag in a conspicuous place on

the chest in a manner that it may be easily seen.

(8) No driver shall make use of a tag other than that

issued to him by the Authority and such tag shall not be

transferable from one driver to another.

(9) The driver of a motor vehicle for hire shall, whilst

on duty, wear a uniform of the pattern and colour as approved

by the Authority.”.

€0.36