Road Transport Act 1978
Number 8 of 1978
ROAD TRANSPORT ACT 1978
REVISED
Updated to 17 March 2019
This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Road Transport Act 1978. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.
All Acts up to and including the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2019 (8/2019), enacted 17 March 2019, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Social Welfare, Pensions And Civil Registration Act 2018 (Commencement) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 116 of 2019), made 20 March 2019, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.
Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to
revisedacts@lawreform.ie.
Number 8 of 1978
ROAD TRANSPORT ACT 1978
REVISED
Updated to 17 March 2019
Introduction
This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.
Related legislation
Although not included in a collective citation, this Act is one of a group of Acts which deal with the same subject matter:
• Road Transport Act 1933 (8/1933)
• Road Transport Act 1934 (17/1934)
• Road Transport Act 1935 (23/1935)
• Transport Act 1944 (21/1944), Part VII
• Transport (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1955 (21/1955)
• Transport Act 1958 (19/1958)
• Transport (No. 2) Act 1959 (40/1959)
• Road Transport Act 1971 (8/1971)
• Road Transport Act 1978 (8/1978)
• Road Transport Act 1986 (16/1986)
• Road Transport Act 1999 (15/1999)
• Road Traffic and Transport Act 2006 (28/2006)
• Road Transport Act 2011 (31/2011)
Acts previously included in the group but now repealed are:
• Road Transport Act 1932 (2/1932)
• Road Transport Act 1956 (13/1956)
The definitions in the Road Transport Act 1933 are applied by the Road Transport Acts 1934 and 1935 (s. 1(2) of each Act). The following Acts are to be construed together as one with the Road Transport Act 1933:
• Transport Act 1944 (21/1944), Part VII (s. 111(2))
• Road Transport Act 1971 (8/1971) (s. 12(2))
• Road Transport Act 1978 (8/1978) (s. 11(2))
• Road Transport Act 1986 (16/1986) (s. 22(2))
• Road Transport Act 1999 (15/1999) (other than ss. 17, 18 and 21) (s. 25(2))
• Road Traffic and Transport Act 2006 (28/2006) (s. 2 only) (s. 2(10))
• Road Transport Act 2011 (31/2011) (s. 23(2))
Annotations
This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.
An explanation of how to read annotations is available at
www.lawreform.ie/annotations.
Material not updated in this revision
Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.
Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.
A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at
www.irishstatutebook.ie.
Acts which affect or previously affected this revision
• Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2019 (8/2019)
• Road Transport Act 1999 (15/1999)
• Road Transport Act 1986 (16/1986)
All Acts up to and including Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2019 (8/2016), enacted 17 March 2019, were considered in the preparation of this revision.
Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) Order 1996 (S.I. No. 53 of 1996)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) (No. 2) Order 1995 (S.I. No. 201 of 1995)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) Order 1995 (S.I. No. 84 of 1995)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) Order 1992 (S.I. No. 191 of 1992)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) Order 1991 (S.I. No. 201 of 1991)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) Order 1990 (S.I. No. 180 of 1990)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) Order 1989 (S.I. No. 144 of 1989)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) Order 1988 (S.I. No. 357 of 1988)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) (No. 2) Order 1983 (S.I. No. 332 of 1983)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) Order 1983 (S.I. No. 331 of 1983)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) (No. 4) Order 1982 (S.I. No. 269 of 1982)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) (No. 3) Order 1982 (S.I. No. 268 of 1982)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) (No. 2) Order 1982 (S.I. No. 267 of 1982)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) Order 1982 (S.I. No. 41 of 1982)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) (No. 3) Order 1981 (S.I. No. 324 of 1981)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) (No. 2) Order 1981 (S.I. No. 323 of 1981)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) Order 1981 (S.I. No. 152 of 1981)
• Road Transport Act, 1978 (Section 5) Order 1980 (S.I. No. 160 of 1980)
All statutory instruments up to and including Social Welfare, Pensions And Civil Registration Act 2018 (Commencement) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 116 of 2019), made 20 March 2019, were considered in the preparation of this revision.
Number 8 of 1978
ROAD TRANSPORT ACT 1978
REVISED
Updated to 17 March 2019
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Number 8 of 1978
ROAD TRANSPORT ACT 1978
REVISED
Updated to 17 March 2019
AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE ROAD TRANSPORT ACT, 1933, AND THE ROAD TRANSPORT ACT, 1971, AND TO PROVIDE FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED WITH THE MATTERS AFORESAID. [16th May, 1978]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
Annotations
Modifications (not altering text):
C1
Prospective affecting provision: payment deposit may be required of non-resident drivers in respect of certain offences as provided by Road Traffic Act 2010 (25/2010), s. 50, not commenced as of date of revision.
Payment deposit from non-resident drivers in respect of certain alleged offences.
50.— (1) This section applies to such offences under—
(a) the Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2010,
(b) the Road Transport Act 1933 (including any Act construed as one with it),
(c) any regulation made under the European Communities Act 1972 providing for the carriage of merchandise by road or the carriage of passengers by road or the harmonisation of certain legislation relating to road transport, or
(d) any enactment or any instrument made under any enactment relating to the carriage of goods or passengers by road or to any vehicle or class of vehicles engaged in such carriage, as may be prescribed.
(2) Where—
(a) a member of the Garda Síochána or a transport officer has reasonable grounds for believing that an offence to which this section applies is being or has been committed by a person, and
(b) the person does not give to the member or officer an address in the State at which the member or officer is satisfied that it is likely that it would be possible to find the person whenever necessary to do so in connection with any proceedings in respect of the alleged offence,
then the member or officer may, subject to subsection (3), serve personally on the person a notice (in this section referred to as a “payment deposit notice”) in accordance with this section.
...
Editorial Notes:
E1
Certain offences under Act which may not be tried on indictment made subject to rules in relation to fixed charge offences and notice (25.07.2012, 1.06.2017) by Road Traffic Act 2010 (25/2010), s. 34(b)(i), S.I. Nos. 293 of 2012 and 241 of 2017.