EU Licence Directive

In 2010 a public consultation was undertaken by the DOE (Department of the Environment), regarding the implementation of the 3rd EC Directive On Driving Licences in January 2013.

Right To Ride responded to the consultation in April 2010.

A summary of  the Consultation Responses, the Department’s Response, and Next Steps was subsequently published which included information on the drafting of the necessary legislation.

The DOE also stated that a communication plan would be put in place to keep stakeholders and interested parties informed of the changes being made and the implementation of the directive here in Northern Ireland.

At Right To Ride we then attended on Tuesday 6th December 2011, the first meeting of a stakeholder’s group which will not only advise members of the group of the implementation aspects of the Directive prior to 19th January 2013.

The Stakeholder Group has now met several times and has sought to:

  • help identify and resolve problems and issues arising from the introduction of the Directive;
  • help to quality assure the accuracy of information gathered by DVA in relation to the implementation of the Directive;
  • feed views to the policy making process

Below is our response to the orignal consultation and you can view all our updates, news and FAQs on what this means for riders in Northern Ireland.

Information on Right To Ride

EU Licence For NI – Click Here

EU Licence FAQS – Click Here

EU Licence News – Click Here

EU Licence Directive Consultation – Click Here

If you have any questions, which are not in the FAQs please get in touch and we will endeavour to find an answer.

Email us – Click Here

Or contact us – Click Here

EU Licence Background

A European Directive (3rd European Driving Licence Directive) is to be implemented across Europe by 19th January 2013, which includes a raft of changes to the motorcycle licence and testing requirements.

The directive was adopted in the European Parliament in 2006 and aims to harmonise licences across Europe and will see:

  • introducing enhanced security features on driving licences;
  • harmonising definitions of vehicle sub-categories and rules on the duration of the validity of a licence;
  • formal testing or training for younger motorcyclists wishing to progress to larger and more powerful machines;
  • introducing minimum standards for driving examiners; and
  • aiming to ensure that no one can, at any one time, possess more than one licence issued by an EU or European Economic Area (EEA) state