4. The principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after Part II thereof, the following Part: —“PART IIA | LICENSING OF DRIVING INSTRUCTORS AND DRIVING SCHOOLS |
| 23F. For the purposes of this Part “driving instructor” means a person who gives instruction in the driving of a motor vehicle for a fee or reward. |
| Licensing of driving instructors |
23G.—(1) No person shall act as a driving instructor unless he is the holder of a licence (hereinafter referred to as an instructor’s licence) granted to him by the Registrar authorising him to do so.| (2) A person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment. |
| (3) The Minister may exempt any body or organisation from the provisions of subsection (1) of this section subject to such conditions as he may think fit to impose. |
|
| Application for instructor’s licence |
23H.—(1) An application for an instructor’s licence shall be made to the Registrar in such form as the Registrar may require.| (2) Upon receiving an application under subsection (1) of this section the Registrar shall consider the application and may grant a licence, with or without conditions, or refuse to grant a licence. |
| (3) Where an instructor’s licence is subject to conditions, the driving instructor to whom such licence was issued shall comply with the conditions. |
| (4) The Registrar may at any time vary or revoke any of the existing conditions of a licence or impose conditions or additional conditions thereto. |
| (5) A driving instructor who fails to comply with any of the conditions of his licence shall be guilty of an offence under this Act. |
|
| Revocation or suspension of instructor’s licence |
23I.—(1) The Registrar may revoke or suspend an instructor’s licence —| (a) | if he is satisfied that the driving instructor —| (i) | has improperly obtained his instructor’s licence contrary to the provisions of this Part or any rules made thereunder; | | (ii) | is no longer a fit and proper person to continue to hold an instructor’s licence by reason of his conduct or physical disability; or | | (iii) | is contravening or has contravened any of the provisions of this Part or any rules made thereunder; or |
| | (b) | if he considers it in the public interest to do so. |
| (2) The Registrar shall, before revoking or suspending a licence under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, give the driving instructor concerned notice in writing of his intention to do so specifying a date, not less than fourteen days after the date of the notice, upon which such revocation or suspension shall be made and calling upon the driving instructor to show cause to the Registrar why his licence should not be revoked or suspended. |
| (3) Where the Registrar has revoked or suspended a licence under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, he shall forthwith inform the driving instructor concerned by notice in writing of such revocation or suspension. |
| (4) A driving instructor may, within fourteen days of the receipt of the notice referred to in subsection (2) of this section, appeal in writing against such revocation or suspension to the Minister whose decision shall be final. |
| (5) An order of revocation or suspension shall not take effect until the expiration of a period of fourteen days after the Registrar has informed the driving instructor concerned of the order. |
| (6) If within that period the driving instructor concerned appeals to the Minister, the order shall not take effect until it is confirmed by the Minister or the appeal is for any reason dismissed by the Minister. |
| (7) Where an order of revocation or suspension becomes effective under subsection (5) of this section, the driving instructor concerned shall, as from the date when the order becomes effective, cease to give instruction to any person in the driving of a motor vehicle. |
| (8) A driving instructor whose instructor’s licence has been revoked under this section shall forthwith surrender it to the Registrar. |
|
| Licensing of driving school |
23J.—(1) No person shall carry on the business of a driving school unless he is the holder of a licence (hereinafter referred to as a driving school licence) issued to him by the Registrar authorising him so to do.| (2) A person carries on the business of a driving school if that person engages or employs other persons or agents to give instruction to persons in the driving of a motor vehicle. |
| (3) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment. |
|
| Application for driving school licence |
23K.—(1) An application for a driving school licence shall be made to the Registrar and shall be in such form as the Registrar may require.| (2) On receipt of an application, the Registrar may require the applicant to furnish him with such additional documents or information as the Registrar may require. |
| (3) The Registrar may grant a driving school licence, with or without conditions, or refuse to grant such a licence. |
|
| 23L. The Registrar may, before issuing a driving school licence, require the applicant to give security in the form of a cash deposit in such amount as may be prescribed to ensure that the provisions of this Part or any rules made thereunder and the conditions of the licence shall be observed. |
| Revocation of driving school licence and forfeiture of deposit |
23M. The Registrar may revoke a driving school licence and forfeit the whole or such part of the money deposited with him under section 23L of this Act if he is satisfied that the owner of the driving school —| (a) | has carried on the driving school in an improper or unsatisfactory manner; | | (b) | has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the driving school licence was issued; or | | (c) | has been convicted of an offence under this Act or any rules made thereunder. |
|
| Notice to owner of driving school |
23N.—(1) The Registrar shall, before revoking a driving school licence and forfeiting any deposit under the provisions of section 23M of this Act, give the owner of the driving school concerned notice in writing of his intention to do so specifying a date, not less than fourteen days after the date of the notice, upon which such revocation and forfeiture shall be made and calling upon him to show cause to the Registrar why his licence should not be revoked and why his deposit should not be forfeited.| (2) The Registrar, on receiving any representation from the owner of the driving school, may instead of revoking his licence and forfeiting any deposit under the provisions of section 23M of this Act impose on him a penalty not exceeding five hundred dollars and may recover the penalty from the, cash deposit given by him to the Registrar. |
| (3) Any person aggrieved by the decision made by the Registrar under section 23M of this Act may, within fourteen days of the written notification to him of the Registrar’s decision, appeal in writing to the Minister whose decision shall be final. |
|
| Refusal to issue or renew licence |
| 23O. The Registrar may in his discretion refuse to issue or renew any licence issued under this Part without assigning any reason therefor. |
| 23P. Any person aggrieved by the refusal of the Registrar to issue or renew any licence under this Part may, within fourteen days of the written notification to him of the refusal, appeal in writing to the Minister whose decision shall be final. |
23Q. The Minister may make rules for any purpose for which rules may be made under this Part and for prescribing anything which may be prescribed under this Part and otherwise for the purpose of carrying this Part into effect, and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions, may make rules —| (a) | regulating the granting of any licence issued under this Part and prescribing the form of application for and the contents of such licence; | | (b) | requiring persons desiring to be driving instructors to attend and pass courses on driving instruction and such other tests and examinations as may be prescribed; | | (c) | prescribing the kind of motor vehicles which may be used for driving instruction and driving tests and the conditions that must be complied with before such vehicles may be so used; | | (d) | regulating the conduct of driving instructors when giving driving instruction; | | (e) | regulating the activities of driving schools and prescribing the manner in which driving schools shall conduct their business; | | (f) | prescribing the maximum age of a driving instructor beyond which his instructor’s licence may not be renewed; | | (g) | prescribing the form of records to be kept by driving instructors and driving schools and the particulars to be entered therein; | | (h) | prescribing the conditions for a licence and the forms to be issued under this Part; | | (i) | prescribing the duration of any licence issued under this Part; | | (j) | prescribing the deposits payable by owners of driving schools; | | (k) | exempting any person or class of persons from the provisions of this Part; and | | (l) | prescribing fees for the purposes of this Part. |
|
23R. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Part a person who, immediately before the commencement of the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 1979 —| (a) | was acting as a driving instructor shall be entitled to carry on as such without an instructor’s licence; or | | (b) | was carrying on the business of a driving school without a licence shall be entitled to continue to carry on such business without a driving school licence, |
| for a period of three months (or such further period as the Minister may specify) beginning from the commencement of that Act and, if before the expiration of that period such person applies for an instructor’s licence or a driving school licence, as the case may be, until the licence is granted or finally refused or the application is withdrawn.”. |
|
|
|
|
