Road Traffic Act 1961
Requirements with respect to weighing.
16.—(1) Where an authorised officer observes a vehicle or combination of vehicles on any occasion on a public road and he suspects that the weight laden of the vehicle or combination or the weight transmitted to the ground by any part of the vehicle or combination is such that the use of the vehicle or combination constitutes an offence under this Act—
(a) in case the officer has with him a mobile weighbridge, the officer may require the person in charge of the vehicle or combination—
(i) to permit the officer to ascertain by means of the mobile weighbridge the weight transmitted to the ground by any part of the vehicle or combination with the load or loads (if any) thereon; and
(ii) to do all such things as may be indicated by the officer and are reasonably necessary to facilitate him in effecting such ascertainment;
(b) in any other case, the officer may require the person in charge of the vehicle or combination to do all or any of the following things:
(i) forthwith to bring the vehicle or combination with the load or loads (if any) thereon to any appointed weighbridge named by the officer and not more than F36[25 kilometres] distant by the shortest available route from the place at which the requisition is made;
(ii) to carry the officer to the weighbridge in the vehicle or combination;
(iii) to cause the vehicle (or any part thereof) or combination (or any part thereof) with the load or loads (if any) thereon to be weighed on the weighbridge in the presence of the officer.
(2) Where—
(a) an authorised officer observes a vehicle or combination of vehicles on any occasion on a public road,
(b) the officer suspects that the weight unladen of the vehicle or combination is such that use of the vehicle or combination constitutes an offence under this Act, and
(c) the vehicle or combination either has no load or has a load or loads which can be unloaded without undue inconvenience, the officer may require the person in charge of the vehicle or combination to do all or any of the following things:
(i) forthwith to bring the vehicle or combination, inclusive of all additions with it on the said occasion, to any appointed weighbridge named by the officer and not more than F36[25 kilometres] distant by the shortest available route from the place at which the requisition is made;
(ii) to carry the officer to the weighbridge in the vehicle or combination;
(iii) to unload the vehicle or combination if it has a load or loads;
(iv) to cause the vehicle or combination, inclusive of all additions with it on the said occasion, to be weighed on the weighbridge in the presence of the officer.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section—
(a) each of the following shall, with respect to a vehicle or combination of vehicles, be an addition:
(i) a body,
(ii) apart,
(iii) a fitting,
(iv) a receptacle,
(b) in a case in which there is one addition only, any reference to all additions shall be construed as a reference to that addition.
(4) Anything placed on a vehicle or combination of vehicles for the purpose of the conveyance of goods or burden of any other description shall be a receptacle for the purposes of subsections (2) and (3) of this section.
F37[(5) A person who contravenes a requirement under this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to F38[a fine not exceeding €2,000] or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.]
(6) Where a weighing is, consequent upon a requirement under this section, carried out on an appointed weighbridge not maintained by a road authority, the fee for the weighing shall be recouped to the person paying it by—
(a) in case the weighbridge was declared to be an appointed weighbridge by one road authority only—that authority, and
(b) in any other case—by such one of the road authorities by whom the weighbridge was declared to be an appointed weighbridge as may be agreed upon between those authorities or, in default of agreement, as may be determined by the Minister.
(7) (a) In this section “authorised officer” means—
(i) a member of the Garda Síochána, or
(ii) an officer F39[or a servant] of the road authority charged with the maintenance of the public road on which the vehicle or combination of vehicles is observed, authorised by that authority as an authorised officer for the purposes of this section.
F39[or
(iii) an officer of the Minister authorised by the Minister as an authorised officer for the purposes of this section.]
(b) Where a person appointed to be an authorised officer for the purposes of this section makes a requirement under this section, he shall, if requested by the person to whom the requirement is addressed, produce his authorisation as such officer for examination by that person.
Annotations
Amendments:
F36
Substituted (30.08.1999) by Road Transport Act 1999 (15/1999), s. 17(2), S.I. No. 264 of 1999.
F37
Substituted (18.07.1984) by Road Traffic Act 1984 (16/1984), s. 3(3), commenced on enactment.
F38
Substituted (5.03.2007) by Road Traffic Act 2006 (23/2006), s. 18(1)(a) and table, part 1 ref. no. 2, S.I. No. 86 of 2007. A fine of €2,000 translates into a class C fine, not exceeding €2,500, as provided (4.01.2011) by Fines Act 2010 (8/2010), ss. 3, 6(3) and table ref. no. 1, S.I. No. 662 of 2010.
F39
Inserted (1.09.1968) by Road Traffic Act 1968 (25/1968), s. 6 and sch., S.I. No. 169 of 1968.
Modifications (not altering text):
C21
Application of section extended (1.09.1968) by Road Traffic Act 1968 (25/1968), s. 16, S.I. No. 169 of 1968.
Extension of powers of authorised officer under section 16 of Principal Act.
16.—(1) The powers conferred on an authorised officer by section 16 (1) and 16 (2) of the Principal Act are hereby extended—
(a) to include power to inspect any part of a vehicle or combination of vehicles for the purpose of forming an opinion as to whether or not the appropriate regulations under sections 11 and 12 of that Act have been or are being complied with, and
(b) to include power to require the person in charge of a vehicle or combination of vehicles not to proceed further in the vehicle or combination if and so long as—
(i) the vehicle or combination having been weighed in accordance with the said section 16, there is, in the opinion of the officer, a contravention of section 12 (3) of the Principal Act in relation to that vehicle or combination, or
(ii) the authorised officer is of opinion that the vehicle or combination does not comply with a regulation under section 11 or 12 of the Principal Act and would, if permitted to proceed further, be likely to cause damage to a public road.
(2) A member of the Garda Síochána may arrest without warrant a person who has refused or failed to comply with a requirement mentioned in subsection (1) (b) (ii).