Debate contribution: Motor Vehicles (Specified Restrictions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026

Debate contribution by Mr Harry Harvey on 23 June 2026.

MLA: Mr Harry Harvey
Party at the time: Democratic Unionist Party
Date: 23 June 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Executive Committee Business
Heading: Motor Vehicles (Specified Restrictions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5637236

Text

Minister, the thrust of graduated driver licensing is to provide new and learner drivers and riders with better experiences and skills over time, doing so in low-risk environments. There was much consternation across the House and in Committee around the way in which the Minister first announced that plan. Nonetheless, it is welcomed and represents the single most radical overhaul of our learner-driver and licensing programme for many decades. I am grateful to the departmental officials who have engaged heavily with the sector and our driving instructors ahead of implementation. Over 300 individuals have been killed on our roads over the past five years, and we think especially of those whose lives have been lost in recent days. It is no secret that the cohort of 17- to 25-year-olds proportionately remains the age group with the highest involvement in serious injury collisions on our roads. It is against that backdrop that many of the changes that have been emphasised are to be welcomed as the Department seeks to increase safety on our roads. Moves to increase the restricted period to two years and introduce a mandatory learning period of six months before a practical test can be conducted and a requirement to complete an evidenced programme of training will better standardise the learning period and enhance driver safety post test. Further clarity will be required from the Minister and her officials on a number of proposals, particularly in relation to how the learner logbook will operate and how verification by a qualified driver will be policed in practice to ensure that there is limited opportunity for the abuse of that new element. I welcome the post-test passenger-carrying restrictions, which I believe the general public will view as a valuable and much-needed change in the restricted driving period. It is arguable that, of all the changes that are proposed in the regulations, that change will likely prove the most effective in having a direct impact on reducing the percentage of young people involved in serious injury collisions on our roads. Minister, if you get a chance, I want you to tell us a wee bit more about the removal of the 45 mph speed limit. Maybe we could have a conversation about it at a later stage. Notwithstanding the need for further clarification on some of the detail, I am very happy to support the motion and welcome the reforms that are being advanced by the Minister.

406 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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