Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences)

L.N. 331 of 2017

TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDINANCE

(CAP. 65)

AUTHORITY FOR TRANSPORT IN MALTA ACT

(CAP. 499)

Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences)

(Amendment) Regulations, 2017

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 and Transport, after

consultation with the Authority for Transport in Malta, has made the

following regulations

(1) The title of these regulations is the Motor Vehicles

(Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations, 2017, and these

regulations shall be read and construed as one with the Motor

Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations, hereinafter referred to as

"the principal regulations".

(2) These regulations shall come into force on the 1 st

December 2017.

Immediately after the definition "authorisation" in

regulation 2 of the principal regulations there shall be added the

following new definition

" S.L. 291.04.

"Board" means the Petitions Board

established by the Petitions (Local Tribunals)

Regulations;".

Immediately after regulation 36 of the principal

regulations there shall be added the following new regulations

36A. Without prejudice to the other

"Applicability of

penalty points

provisions of these regulations on the penalty

system to holder

of full driving

points system applicable to probationary

licence.

driving licences, and save as otherwise

provided in regulation 36D, a penalty points

system shall apply to the holders of a full

driving licence.

36B. (1) For each contravention,

Recording of the

penalty points on

penalty points, as indicated in the Sixth

the counterpart

of full driving

Schedule, shall be imposed by the Court of

licence.

Magistrates or by the Commissioners for

Justice, as the case may be, and recorded in a

computerised database established for this

purpose by the Authority.

(2) Where the holder admits the offence

and pays the relative pecuniary penalty in

accordance with the special procedure

established in article 62 of the Traffic

Regulation Ordinance or in article 14 of the

Commissioners for Justice Act, as the case

may be, the Authority shall record in a

computerised database established for this

purpose, the minimum penalty points as

indicated in the Sixth Schedule for the

particular offence.

(3) When a holder of a full driving

licence is requested to appear before a court or

tribunal on charges of having committed any

of the offences included in the Sixth Schedule,

he shall be in possession of the driving licence

and the presiding Magistrate or Commissioner

for Justice shall have the power to confiscate

the said licence if the aggregate penalty points

resulting from the database established by the

Authority together with the penalty points

awarded by the judgement delivered by such

Magistrate or Commissioner for Justice add up

to twelve or more accumulated during the

preceding period of twelve months

36C. A full driving licence shall be

Revocation of

driving licence

revoked if at any time during any period of

on exceeding the

maximum

twelve months, its holder accumulates in

penalty points

aggregate twelve penalty points or more.

permissible.

36D. Any holder of a full driving licence

Possibility to

reduce number

or of a probationary driving licence may have

of penalty

points.

the number of penalty points recorded in his

entry reduced by 50% at any time if he or she

attends a safety awareness course approved by

the Authority and passes a test which shall be

prepared by the Authority for this purpose. A

person may only take such course every two

years.

B

36E.(1)The following rules shall apply to

Effects of

revocation and

a driver whose full driving licence has been

re-application

for a driving

revoked in virtue of regulation 36C

licence.

(a)

where the driving licence has

been revoked for the first time the driver

shall, upon his application, be granted a

new driving licence after the expiration

of a period of two months from the said

revocation without the need to sit for a

driving test;

(b) where the driving licence has

been revoked for the second time within

a period of three years the driver may

only apply for a new driving licence after

the expiration of a period of two months

from such revocation by submitting a

fresh application in terms of Part III;

(c)

where the driving licence has

been revoked for a third time within a

period of five years the driver may only

apply for a new driving licence by

submitting a fresh application in terms of

Part III after the expiration of a period of

one year from such revocation or of such

other shorter period, not being less than

six months, as the Administrative

Review Tribunal may, upon the

application of the driver, determine;

(d) where the driving licence has

been revoked for a fourth time within a

period of seven years the driver may only

apply for a new driving licence by

submitting a fresh application in terms of

Part III if so authorised by the

Administrative Review Tribunal, which

authorisation may not be granted before

the expiration of a period of two years

from such revocation.

(2) The application which may be

submitted in terms of paragraphs (c) and, or

(d) of sub-regulation (1) shall be filed by the

driver whose driving licence will have been so

revoked as an appeal from the last decision of

the Authority notifying him with the

revocation of his driving licence.

36F. Penalty points both with regard to a

Penalty points

may only be

probationary driving licence and with regard

imposed on

driver.

to a full driving licence may be imposed only

in respect of the driving licence of the person

who shall have committed the contravention

giving rise to the penalty points and nothing in

these regulations shall be interpreted as

authorizing the imposition of penalty points on

the driving licence of a person only by reason

of the fact that the motor vehicle by means of

which a contravention was committed is

registered in that person’s name.".

3. Regulation 40 of the principal regulations shall be Substitutes

regulation 40 of

substituted by the following

the principal

regulations.

" Recording of

40. (1) For each contravention, penalty

the penalty

points, as indicated in the Sixth Schedule, shall

points on the

be imposed by the Court of Magistrates or by the

counterpart

driving licence.

Commissioners for Justice, as the case may be,

in a computerised database established for this

purpose by the Authority.

(2) Where the holder admits the offence

and pays the relative pecuniary penalty in

accordance with the special procedure

established in article 62 of the Traffic

Regulation Ordinance or in article 14 of the

Commissioners for Justice Act, as the case may

be, the Authority shall record, in a computerised

database established for this purpose by the

Authority, the minimum penalty points as

indicated in the Sixth Schedule for the particular

offence.

B

(3) When a holder of a probationary

driving licence is requested to appear before a

court or tribunal on charges of having committed

any of the offences included in the Sixth

Schedule, he shall be in possession of the said

driving licence and the presiding Magistrate or

Commissioner for Justice shall have the power

to confiscate the said licence if the aggregate

penalty points resulting from the database

established by the Authority, together with the

penalty points awarded by the judgment

delivered by such Magistrate or Commissioner

for Justice add up to twelve or more

Provided that the confiscation of the

licence shall not come into effect in the event

that the convicted person declares that he or she

intends to appeal from the judgment or to file a

petition in front of the Petitions Board. The

declaration is to be made in writing by means of

a note which is to be held in the records of the

registrar of the court or tribunal, as the case may

be, and which is to be communicated to the

Authority which shall then register this fact in

the computerized database which shall be

established for this purpose.".

The Sixth Schedule to the principal regulations shall be

Amends the

Sixth Schedule

amended as follows

to the principal

regulations.

(a)

for the items

"

CU-1

Using a vehicle with defective brakes

CU-2

Using a vehicle with defective tyre(s)

CU-3

Using a vehicle with defective steering

CU-4

Causing or likely to cause a danger by

reason of load or passengers

"

there shall be substituted the following new items

"

CU-1

Using a vehicle with defective brakes

CU-2

Using a vehicle with defective tyre(s)

CU-3

Using a vehicle with defective steering

CU-4

Causing or likely to cause a danger by reason

of load or passengers

";

(b) for the items

"

RD-2

Manslaughter or culpable homicide while

3-11

driving a vehicle

RD-3

Causing death by dangerous driving

3-11

"

there shall be substituted the following new items

"

RD-2

Manslaughter or culpable homicide while

3-12

driving a vehicle

RD-3

Causing death by dangerous driving

3-12

";

(c) for the item

"

MS-1

Emission of loud electronic sound from

3 - 6

vehicle

"

there shall be substituted the following new item

"

MS-1

Emission of loud electronic sound from

vehicle

";

(d) for the item

"

MS-3

Driving without seat belt on

3 - 6

"

there shall be substituted the item

"

MS-3

Driving without seat belt on

"; and

B

(e)

item

"

TS-8

Failure to comply with direction of a constable

or warden

shall be deleted.

€0.63