STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS.

S.I. No. 11 of 2005 .

ROAD TRAFFIC (TRAFFIC AND PARKING) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2005.

S.I. No. 11 of 2005 .

ROAD TRAFFIC (TRAFFIC AND PARKING) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2005.

I, MARTIN CULLEN, Minister for Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 35 of the Road Traffic Act 1994 ( No. 7 of 1994 ) and the National Roads and Road Traffic (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2002 ( S.I. No. 298 of 2002 ) (as adapted by the Public Enterprise (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2002 ( S.I. No. 305 of 2002 )), hereby make the following regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) (Amendment) Regulations 2005.

(2) The Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1992 to 2004 and these Regulations may be cited together as the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 to 2005.

(3) These Regulations come into operation on 20 January 2005.

2. Article 33(1) of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 ( S.I. No. 182 of 1997 ) is amended by substituting for paragraph (d) the following:

“(d)  drive a vehicle of a class for which an ordinary speed limit of not more than 80 kilometres per hour is prescribed by regulations under section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 2004 ( No. 44 of 2004 ) in the traffic lane nearest the right hand edge of a carriageway having more than one traffic lane except where it is necessary to proceed in that lane due to an obstruction or because another lane is for the time being closed to traffic.”.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations amend regulations of 1997 to provide that, with effect from 20 January 2005, a driver of a class of vehicle that is subject to an ordinary speed limit of not more than 80 kilometres per hour is prohibited from driving in the outside lane of a motorway. The vehicles to which this driving rule applies are passenger vehicles that accommodate more than 8 passengers (these include minibuses, buses and coaches), trucks/goods vehicles that have a gross weight in excess of 3,500 kilograms, any vehicle towing a trailer, caravan, horsebox, etc. and double deck buses/coaches.