Road Traffic Act 1994
Minor and consequential amendments.
49.—(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended—
(a) in section 3 (1)—
(i) by the insertion in paragraph (a) of the definition of “hire-drive agreement” after “hire-purchase” of “or letting”;
(ii) by the insertion after the definition of “mobile weigh-bridge” of the following definitions:
“‘motorway’ has the meaning assigned to it by the Roads Act, 1993;
‘motorway speed limit’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 44B (inserted by the Road Traffic Act, 1994) of this Act;”;
(iii) by the substitution for the definition of “owner” of the following definition:
“‘owner’, when used in relation to a mechanically propelled vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer which is the subject of a hire-purchase agreement or letting agreement, means the person in possession of the vehicle under the agreement;”;
(iv) by the substitution for the definition of “public place” of the following definition:
“‘public place’ means—
(a) any public road, and
(b) any street, road or other place to which the public have access with vehicles whether as of right or by permission and whether subject to or free of charge;”;
and
(v) by the substitution for the definition of “special speed limit” of the following definition:
“‘special speed limit’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 46 (inserted by the Road Traffic Act, 1994) of this Act;”;
(b) in section 7—
(i) by the substitution in subsection (1) for “under this Act made by the Commissioner and every rule thereunder made by him or a local authority” of “and rule made under the Road Traffic Acts, 1961 to 1994”, and
(ii) by the substitution in subsection (2) for “under this Act made by the Commissioner and rules thereunder made by him or a local authority” of “and rules made under the Road Traffic Acts, 1961 to 1994”;
(c) in section 28 (1)—
(i) by the insertion after “Garda Síochána” of “or appropriate licensing authority”, and
(ii) by the insertion after “such officer” of “or licensing authority”;
(d) in section 36 (1), by the substitution for the words in brackets of the following:
“and, in the case of an offence which would be an offence such as is specified in paragraph 1, 2, 3, 9, 10 or 12 (b) of the Second Schedule to this Act if it were a second or any subsequent offence committed within any period of 3 years and, in the case of an offence which would be an offence such as is specified in paragraph 7 of the said Second Schedule if it were a third or any subsequent offence committed within any period of 3 years and, in the case of an offence which is specified in paragraph 8 or 11 of the Second Schedule to this Act, being an offence in respect of which the court has declined, pursuant to section 26 (5) (b) of this Act, to make a disqualification order, shall”;
(e) in section 37 (2), by the substitution in paragraph (b) (i) for “five years” of “three years”;
(f) in section 53—
(i) by the substitution in subsection (2) (a) for “five years” of “10 years” and for “£3,000” (as inserted by the Act of 1984) of “£10,000”, and
(ii) by the substitution in subsection (3) for “built-up area or special” of “built-up area, special or motorway”;
(g) in section 64, by the substitution for subsection (4) (inserted by the Act of 1968) of the following subsection:
“(4) (a) For the purposes of a prosecution for an offence under this section, a member of the Garda Síochána may, by a notice in writing served by post on a vehicle insurer, require the person within 10 days of the date of service of the notice to furnish to the member any document referred to in subsection (3) of this section which is in that person’s possession or within his procurement and is specified in the notice.
(b) A person who refuses or fails to comply with a requirement of a member of the Garda Síochána under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be guilty of an offence.”;
(h) in section 69 (2), by the substitution for “one month” of “3 months” in paragraph (a);
(i) in section 101, by the insertion after subsection (7A) (inserted by the Act of 1968) of the following new subsections:
“(7B) Where, in relation to a mechanically propelled vehicle, there is a contravention of a bye-law under subsection (7) of this section, each of the following persons shall be guilty of an offence—
(a) the registered owner of the vehicle,
(b) if the vehicle is the subject of a hire-drive agreement on the occasion in question, the person to whom the vehicle is hired under the agreement, and
(c) if the person who parked the vehicle is not its registered owner or the person to whom it is hired under a hire-drive agreement, the first-mentioned person.
(7C) (a) Where a person charged with an offence under subsection (7B) (inserted by the Road Traffic Act, 1994) of this section is the registered owner of the vehicle concerned, it shall be a defence for him to show that the vehicle was being used on the occasion in question by another person and that—
(i) such use was unauthorised, or
(ii) the vehicle was on that occasion the subject of a hire-drive agreement.
(b) Where a person charged with an offence under subsection (7B) (as so inserted) of this section is a person to whom the vehicle concerned stood hired at the time of the commission of the offence, it shall be a defence for him to show that the vehicle was being used on the occasion in question by another person and that such use was unauthorised.”;
(j) in section 101B (as inserted by the Act of 1987)—
(i) by the substitution in subsection (2) for “90 of this Act” of “35 or 36 of the Road Traffic Act, 1994”, and
(ii) by the substitution in paragraph (b) of subsection (8) for “bye-laws or temporary rules under section 90 of this Act” of “regulations or bye-laws under section 35 or 36 of the Road Traffic Act, 1994”;
(k) in sections 97 (1) (b), 102, 103, 107, 110, 111, 115, 125 and 126, by the substitution for “this Act” of “the Road Traffic Acts, 1961 to 1994”; and
(l) F65[…]
(2) Reference in section 3 (1) (a) (as inserted by the Act of 1987) of the Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act, 1975 to the Road Traffic Acts, 1961 to 1984 and references in the Act of 1993 to the Road Traffic Acts, 1961 to 1987, shall be construed as references to the Road Traffic Acts, 1961 to 1994.
(3) The Act of 1993 is hereby amended—
(a) in section 20 (1) by the substitution for paragraph (l) of the following paragraph:
“(l) provide a specified traffic sign under and in accordance with section 95 of the Act of 1961,”, and
(b) in section 23, by the deletion of subsection (3).
Annotations
Amendments:
F65
Repealed (28.10.2011) by Road Traffic Act 2010 (25/2010), s. 65(3)(a), S.I. No. 543 of 2011.
Annotations:
Editorial Notes:
E114
Previous affecting provision: power pursuant to section exercised (29.01.1999) by Road Traffic Act 1961 (Section 103) (Offences) Regulations 1999 (S.I. No. 12 of 1999); revoked (3.04.2006) by Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2005 (Fixed Charge Offences) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 135 of 2006), reg. 8(a). Note: there does not appear to be a power to make regulations in this section.
E115
Previous affecting provision: power pursuant to section exercised (1.10.1997) by Road Traffic Act, 1961 (Section 103) (Offences) Regulations 1997 (S.I. No. 396 of 1997), in effect as per reg. 2; revoked (29.01.1999) by Road Traffic Act 1961 (Section 103) (Offences) Regulations 1999 (S.I. No. 12 of 1999), reg. 6. Note: there does not appear to be a power to make regulations in this section.
E116
Previous affecting provision: power pursuant to section exercised (1.10.1997) by Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act, 1975 (Section 3) (Offences) Regulations 1997 (S.I. No. 395 of 1997), in effect as per reg. 2; revoked (3.04.2006) by Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act 1975 (Fixed Charge Offences) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 136 of 2006), reg. 8, in effect as per reg. 2. Note: there does not appear to be a power to make regulations in this section.
E117
Previous affecting provision: power pursuant to section exercised (1.12.1996) by Road Traffic Act, 1961 (Section 103) (Offences) Regulations 1996 (S.I. No. 319 of 1996), in effect as per reg. 2; revoked (1.10.1997) by Road Traffic Act, 1961 (Section 103) (Offences) Regulations 1997 (S.I. No. 396 of 1997), reg. 7, in effect as per reg. 2. Note: there does not appear to be a power to make regulations in this section.
E118
Previous affecting provision: power pursuant to section exercised (1.06.1995) by Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act, 1975 (Section 3) (Offences) Regulations 1995 (S.I. No. 88 of 1995), in effect as per reg. 7; revoked (1.10.1997) by Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act, 1975 (Section 3) (Offences) Regulations 1997 (S.I. No. 395 of 1997), reg. 7, in effect as per reg. 2. Note: there does not appear to be a power to make regulations in this section.