Road Traffic Act 1961
Taking vehicle without authority.
112.—F314[(1) (a) A person shall not use or take possession of a mechanically propelled vehicle without the consent of the owner thereof or other lawful authority.
(b) Where possession of a vehicle has been taken in contravention of this subsection, a person who knows of the taking shall not allow himself to be carried in or on it without the consent of the owner thereof or other lawful authority.]
F315[(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to F316[a fine not exceeding €5,000] or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment;
(b) on conviction on indictment, to F317[a fine not exceeding €20,000] or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.]
(3) A person shall not use or take possession of a pedal cycle F318[or a powered personal transporter] without the consent of the owner thereof or other lawful authority.
(4) A person who contravenes subsection (3) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
(5) Where a person is charged with an offence under this section, it shall be a good defence to the charge for him to show that, when he did the act alleged to constitute the offence, he believed, and had reasonable grounds for believing, that he had lawful authority for doing that act.
(6) Where a member of the Garda Síochána has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is committing F319[or has committed] an offence under this section, he may arrest the person without warrant.
(7) Where, when a person is tried on indictment or summarily for the larceny of a vehicle, the jury, or, in the case of a summary trial, the District Court, is of opinion that he was not guilty of the larceny of the vehicle but was guilty of an offence under this section in relation to the vehicle, the jury or court may find him guilty of that offence and he may be sentenced accordingly.
Annotations
Amendments:
F314
Substituted (1.09.1968) by Road Traffic Act 1968 (25/1968), s.65(a), S.I. No. 169 of 1968.
F315
Substituted (18.07.1984) by Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 1984 (16/1984), s. 3(7), commenced on enactment.
F316
Substituted (5.03.2007) by Road Traffic Act 2006 (23/2006), s. 18(1)(a) and table part 1 ref. no. 26, S.I. No. 86 of 2007. A fine of €5,000 translates into a class A fine not exceeding €5,000 as provided (4.01.2011) by Fines Act 2010 (8/2010), ss. 3, 4(3) and table ref. no. 1, S.I. No. 662 of 2010.
F317
Substituted (5.03.2007) by Road Traffic Act 2006 (23/2006), s. 18(1)(a) and table part 1 ref. no. 27, S.I. No. 86 of 2007.
F318
Inserted (20.05.2024) by Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 (16/2023), s. 27, S.I. No. 197 of 2024.
F319
Inserted (1.09.1968) by Road Traffic Act 1968 (25/1968), s.65(b), S.I. No. 169 of 1968.
Modifications (not altering text):
C95
Application of subs. (1) extended by Firearms Act 1964 (1/1964), s. 26(1), as substituted (1.11.2006) by Criminal Justice Act 2006 (26/2006), s. 57, S.I. No. 390 of 2006.
Possession of firearm while taking vehicle without authority.
[26.— (1) A person who contravenes subsection (1) of section 112 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 and who at the time of the contravention has with him or her a firearm or imitation firearm is guilty of an offence.
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Editorial Notes:
E1314
Obligation to provide specimen following arrest under subs. (6) and consequential procedure provided by Road Traffic Act 2010 (25/2010), s. 12(1), S.I. No. 543 of 2011, as amended (28.10.2011) by Road Traffic (No. 2) Act 2011 (28/2011), s. 9(d), S.I. No. 542 of 2011.
E1315
Procedure prescribed for detention of intoxicated drivers arrested under subs. (6) (28.10.2011) by Road Traffic Act 2010 (25/2010), s. 16, S.I. No. 543 of 2011.
E1316
Related offence prescribed (1.08.2002) by Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 (50/2001), s. 15(1)(d), S.I. No. 252 of 2002.
E1317
Offences under section prescribed as “serious offences” and discretion to refuse bail provided for (4.09.1998) by Bail Act 1997 (16/1997), ss. 1(1), 2 and sch., arts. 19(b), 29 and 30, S.I. No. 315 of 1998, as amended (18.05.2007) by Criminal Justice Act 2007 (29/2007), s. 17(d), S.I. No. 236 of 2007. Additional procedure prescribed for such bail applications by Bail Act 1997 (16/1997), ss. 1A and 2A as inserted (1.07.2007 and 18.05.2007) by Criminal Justice Act 2007 (29/2007), ss. 6 and 7, S.I. No. 236 of 2007.
E1318
Power of Garda Síochána to search vehicles and persons in vehicles provided for offences under subs. (2) by Criminal Law Act 1976 (32/1976), s. 8(2) and (1)(k) as inserted (4.04.1997) by Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997 (4/1997), s. 13, commenced as per s. 21 and later substituted (5.09.2000) by Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 (29/2000), s. 6, S.I. No. 266 of 2000.
E1319
Previous affecting provision: fines in subs. (2)(a) and (b) increased (31.10.2002) by Road Traffic Act 2002 (12/2002), s. 23(1)(a) and table, ref. nos. 27 and 28, S.I. No. 491 of 2002. Fines increased as per above F-notes.
E1320
Previous affecing provision: obligation to provide specimen following arrest under subs. (6) provided (2.12.1994) by Road Traffic Act 1994 (7/1994), s. 13(1), S.I. No. 350 of 1994, as substituted (4.10.2006) by Road Traffic and Transport Act 2006 (28/2006), s. 1(b), commenced on enactment. S. 13 repealed (29.10.2011) by Road Traffic Act 2010 (25/2010), s. 33(c), S.I. No. 544 of 2011.