Driving law changes you may have missed in November – New licence rules, electric cars and more
Britons are being urged to ensure they are caught up with new driving law changes which have been introduced over the past few weeks that could impact their experience behind the wheel.
November saw the continued aftermath of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Autumn Statement and the effect it would have on motorists in the coming months, as well as a landmark Presidential election in the United States.
To help drivers deal with the countless motoring changes, GB News has rounded up the most important new rules you need to be aware of.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing motoring@gbnews.uk
Electric car charging
November 24 represented the one-year deadline for public charge point operators to ensure their devices meet minimum service standards for electric vehicle owners.
The Department for Transport said these measures were crucial to give motorists confidence in switching to an EV with “consistent and positive” usage.
The Public Charge Point Regulations have four main factors including good customer experience, ease of payment, ensuring chargers work and comparing prices.
As part of the new regulations, charge point operators must ensure that new public chargers of 8kW and above and existing chargers of 50kW and above must offer contactless to consumers.
Charging networks that open their charge points for public use will have one year from the date that the charge point becomes public to offer contactless.
All chargers must also have a reliability rate of 99 per cent, measured as an average across each charge point operator’s rapid network.
Charge point operators must also publish information about their compliance with the reliability target on their websites.
Driving licence changes
A new agreement between the UK Government and Portugal was agreed at the end of the month which allowed for the “mutual recognition for the purpose of driving and exchange of driving licences”.
The agreement will enter into force 30 days after the date of receipt of the last notification through diplomatic channels that everything has been confirmed.
This follows a similar agreement between the UK and Italy at the end of October which will also allow for recognition of both licences.
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US Presidential election
Donald Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris at the start of November, with the 45th President set to become the 47th President when he is inaugurated in January.
Many experts have already sounded alarms about what a second Trump presidency could mean for the future of electric vehicles, with the billionaire hinting that he would be in favour of scrapping EV grants to help Americans make the transition away from petrol and diesel vehicles.
Trump has also been headstrong in his support for new tariffs on major economies like China, Canada and Mexico, as well as potential vehicle tariffs on the European Union, as highlighted by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.