Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988

Part I — Trial

Introductory

Use of records kept by operators of goods vehicles.

1

• (1) Subject to section 2 of this Act, a person shall not be convicted of an offence to which this section applies unless—

• (a) he was warned at the time the offence was committed that the question of prosecuting him for some one or other of the offences to which this section applies would be taken into consideration, or

• (b) within fourteen days of the commission of the offence a summons (or, in Scotland, a complaint) for the offence was served on him, or

• (c) within fourteen days of the commission of the offence a notice of the intended prosecution specifying the nature of the alleged offence and the time and place where it is alleged to have been committed, was—

• (i) in the case of an offence under section 28 or 29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (cycling offences), served on him,

• (ii) in the case of any other offence, served on him or on the person, if any, registered as the keeper of the vehicle at the time of the commission of the offence.

• (1ZA) In the case of an offence to be prosecuted in England and Wales, a notice required by this section to be served on any person may be served on that person in accordance with Criminal Procedure Rules.

• (1ZB) For the purposes of subsection (1ZA)—

• (a) Criminal Procedure Rules (as they have effect from time to time) apply to the notice as if it were a document to be served in criminal proceedings before a magistrates’ court, and

• (b) any magistrates’ court may discharge functions conferred on a court by those Rules in relation to such service.

• (1ZC) In the case of an offence to be prosecuted elsewhere, subsections (1A) and (2) apply.

• (1A) A notice required by this section to be served on any person may be served on that person—

• (a) by delivering it to him;

• (b) by addressing it to him and leaving it at his last known address; or

• (c) by sending it by registered post, recorded delivery service or first class post addressed to him at his last known address.

• (2) A notice shall be deemed for the purposes of subsection (1)(c) above to have been served on a person if it was sent by registered post or recorded delivery service addressed to him at his last known address, notwithstanding that the notice was returned as undelivered or was for any other reason not received by him.

• (3) The requirement of subsection (1) above shall in every case be deemed to have been complied with unless and until the contrary is proved.

• (4) Schedule 1 to this Act shows the offences to which this section applies.

Penalty points to be taken into account on conviction.

2

• (1) The requirement of section 1(1) of this Act does not apply in relation to an offence if, at the time of the offence or immediately after it, an accident occurs owing to the presence on a road of the vehicle in respect of which the offence was committed.

• (2) The requirement of section 1(1) of this Act does not apply in relation to an offence in respect of which—

• (a) a fixed penalty notice (within the meaning of Part III of this Act) has been given or fixed under any provision of that Part, ...

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) Failure to comply with the requirement of section 1(1) of this Act is not a bar to the conviction of the accused in a case where the court is satisfied—

• (a) that neither the name and address of the accused nor the name and address of the registered keeper, if any, could with reasonable diligence have been ascertained in time for a summons or, as the case may be, a complaint to be served or for a notice to be served or sent in compliance with the requirement, or

• (b) that the accused by his own conduct contributed to the failure.

• (4) Failure to comply with the requirement of section 1(1) of this Act in relation to an offence is not a bar to the conviction of a person of that offence by virtue of the provisions of—

• (a) section 24 of this Act, or

• (b) any of the enactments mentioned in section 24(6);

but a person is not to be convicted of an offence by virtue of any of those provisions if section 1 applies to the offence with which he was charged and the requirement of section 1(1) was not satisfied in relation to the offence charged.

Restriction on institution of proceedings for certain offences

3

• (1) . . .

• (2) In England and Wales, proceedings for an offence under section 94(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (notice about relevant or prospective disability) shall not be instituted except by the Secretary of State or by a constable acting with the approval of the Secretary of State.

• (2A) In subsection (2) above the reference to section 94(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 includes a reference to that section as applied by section 99D or 109C of that Act.

Effect of endorsement on Community licence holders.

4

• (1) The council of a county, metropolitan district or London Borough or the Common Council of the City of London may institute proceedings for an offence under section 15A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (safety equipment for children in motor vehicles) or under section 17 or 18 of that Act (helmets and other head-worn appliances for motor cyclists).

• (2) The council of a county, metropolitan district or London Borough or the Common Council of the City of London may institute proceedings for an offence under section 27 of that Act (dogs on roads) relating to a road in their area.

• (3) The council of a county, district or London borough or the Common Council of the City of London may institute proceedings for offences under section 35A(1), (2) or (5) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 which are committed in connection with parking places provided by the council, or provided under any letting arrangements made by the council under section 33(4) of that Act.

• (4) The council of a county, metropolitan district or London borough or the Common Council of the City of London may institute proceedings for an offence under section 47 or 52 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 in connection with a designated parking place controlled by the council.

• (5) In England, the council of a county or metropolitan district and, in Wales, the council of a county or county borough may institute proceedings for an offence under section 53 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 in connection with a designated parking place in the council’s area . . .

• (6) In this section “parking place” means a place where vehicles, or vehicles of any class, may wait and “designated parking place” has the same meaning as in the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

• (7) This section extends to England and Wales only.

• (8) In relation to Wales, any reference in subsections (1) to (4) above to a county shall be read as including a reference to a county borough.

Exemption from Licensing Act offence

5

A person liable to be charged with an offence under section 3A, 4, 5, 7 or 30 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (drink and drugs) is not liable to be charged under section 12 of the Licensing Act 1872 with the offence of being drunk while in charge, on a highway or other public place, of a carriage.

Time within which summary proceedings for certain offences must be commenced

6

• (1) Subject to subsection (2) below, summary proceedings for an offence to which this section applies may be brought within a period of six months from the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the prosecutor to warrant the proceedings came to his knowledge.

• (2) No such proceedings shall be brought by virtue of this section more than three years after the commission of the offence.

• (3) For the purposes of this section, a certificate signed by or on behalf of the prosecutor and stating the date on which evidence sufficient in his opinion to warrant the proceedings came to his knowledge shall be conclusive evidence of that fact.

• (4) A certificate stating that matter and purporting to be so signed shall be deemed to be so signed unless the contrary is proved.

• (5) In relation to proceedings in Scotland, subsection (3) of section 136 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (date of commencement of proceedings) shall apply for the purposes of this section as it applies for the purposes of that.

• (6) Schedule 1 to this Act shows the offences to which this section applies.

Duty of accused to provide licence

7

• (1) Where—

• (a) a person who is the holder of a licence is prosecuted for an offence involving obligatory or discretionary disqualification,

• (b) there is a hearing, and

• (c) the person attends the hearing,

the person must bring the licence to the hearing.

• (1A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (1B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (1C) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Duty to include date of birth and sex in written plea of guilty

8

A person who—

• (a) gives a notification to the designated officer for a magistrates' court in pursuance of section 12(4) of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (written pleas of guilty),

• (aa) serves a written notification on the designated officer for a magistrates' court stating a desire to plead guilty and to be tried in accordance with section 16A of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (trial by single justice on the papers),

• (ab) gives a notification amounting to acceptance of the automatic online conviction option (within the meaning of section 16G of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980), or

• (b) gives a written intimation of a plea of guilty in pursuance of section 334(3) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975,

in respect of an offence involving obligatory or discretionary disqualification or of such other offence as may be prescribed by regulations under section 105 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, must include in the notification or intimation a statement of the date of birth and sex of the accused.

Trial

Mode of trial

9

An offence against a provision of the Traffic Acts specified in column 1 of Part I of Schedule 2 to this Act or regulations made under such a provision (the general nature of which offence is indicated in column 2) shall be punishable as shown against the offence in column 3 (that is, on summary conviction or on indictment or in either one way or the other).

Jurisdiction of district court in Scotland

10

• (1) Notwithstanding anything in any enactment or rule of law to the contrary, a justice of the peace court in Scotland may try—

• (a) any fixed penalty offence (within the meaning of Part III of this Act), and

• (b) any other offence in respect of which a conditional offer (within the meaning of sections 75 to 77A of this Act) may be sent.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Evidence by certificate as to driver, user or owner

11

• (1) In any proceedings in England and Wales for an offence to which this section applies, a certificate in the prescribed form, purporting to be signed by a constable and certifying that a person specified in the certificate stated to the constable—

• (a) that a particular mechanically propelled vehicle was being driven or used by, or belonged to, that person on a particular occasion, or

• (b) that a particular mechanically propelled vehicle on a particular occasion was used by, or belonged to, a firm and that he was, at the time of the statement, a partner in that firm, or

• (c) that a particular mechanically propelled vehicle on a particular occasion was used by, or belonged to, a corporation and that he was, at the time of the statement, a director, officer or employee of that corporation,

shall be admissible as evidence for the purpose of determining by whom the vehicle was being driven or used, or to whom it belonged, as the case may be, on that occasion.

• (2) Nothing in subsection (1) above makes a certificate admissible as evidence in proceedings for an offence except in a case where and to the like extent to which oral evidence to the like effect would have been admissible in those proceedings.

• (3) Nothing in subsection (1) above makes a certificate admissible as evidence in proceedings for an offence—

• (a) unless a copy of it has, not less than seven days before the hearing or trial, been served in the prescribed manner on the person charged with the offence, or

• (b) if that person, not later than three days before the hearing or trial or within such further time as the court may in special circumstances allow, serves a notice in the prescribed form and manner on the prosecutor requiring attendance at the trial of the person who signed the certificate.

• (3A) Where the proceedings mentioned in subsection (1) above are proceedings before a magistrates’ court inquiring into an offence as examining justices this section shall have effect with the omission of—

• (a) subsection (2), and

• (b) in subsection (3), paragraph (b) and the word “or” immediately preceding it.

• (4) In this section “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made by the Secretary of State by statutory instrument.

• (5) Schedule 1 to this Act shows the offences to which this section applies.

Proof, in summary proceedings, of identity of driver of vehicle

12

• (1) Where on the summary trial in England and Wales of an information for an offence to which this subsection applies—

• (a) it is proved to the satisfaction of the court, on oath or in manner prescribed by Criminal Procedure Rules, that a requirement under section 172(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to give information as to the identity of the driver of a particular vehicle on the particular occasion to which the information relates has been served on the accused in accordance with Criminal Procedure Rules, and

• (b) a statement in writing is produced to the court purporting to be signed by the accused that the accused was the driver of that vehicle on that occasion,

the court may accept that statement as evidence that the accused was the driver of that vehicle on that occasion.

• (2) Schedule 1 to this Act shows the offences to which subsection (1) above applies.

• (3) Where on the summary trial in England and Wales of an information for an offence to which section 112 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 applies—

• (a) it is proved to the satisfaction of the court, on oath or in manner prescribed by Criminal Procedure Rules, that a requirement under section 112(2) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to give information as to the identity of the driver of a particular vehicle on the particular occasion to which the information relates has been served on the accused in accordance with Criminal Procedure Rules, and

• (b) a statement in writing is produced to the court purporting to be signed by the accused that the accused was the driver of that vehicle on that occasion,

the court may accept that statement as evidence that the accused was the driver of that vehicle on that occasion.

• (4) In summary proceedings in Scotland for an offence to which section 20(2) of the this Act applies, where—

• (a) it is proved to the satisfaction of the court that a requirement under section 172(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to give information as to the identity of a driver on a particular occasion to which the complaint relates has been served on the accused by post, and

• (b) a statement in writing is produced to the court, purporting to be signed by the accused, that the accused was the driver of that vehicle on that occasion,

that statement shall be sufficient evidence that the accused was the driver of the vehicle on that occasion.

Admissibility of records as evidence

13

• (1) This section applies to a statement contained in a document purporting to be—

• (a) a part of the records maintained by the Secretary of State in connection with any functions exercisable by him by virtue of Part III of the Road Traffic Act 1988 or a part of any other records maintained by the Secretary of State with respect to vehicles or of any records maintained with respect to vehicles by an approved testing authority in connection with the exercise by that authority of any functions conferred on such authorities, or on that authority as such an authority, by or under any enactment, or

• (b) a copy of a document forming part of those records, or

• (c) a note of any information contained in those records,

and to be authenticated by a person authorised in that behalf by the Secretary of State.

• (2) A statement to which this section applies shall be admissible in any proceedings as evidence (in Scotland, sufficient evidence) of any fact stated in it to the same extent as oral evidence of that fact is admissible in those proceedings.

• (3) In the preceding subsections, except in Scotland—

• “ copy ”, in relation to a document, means anything onto which information recorded in the document has been copied, by whatever means and whether directly or indirectly;

• “ document ” means anything in which information of any description is recorded; and

• “ statement ” means any representation of fact, however made.

• (3A) In any case where—

• (a) a person is convicted by a magistrates’ court of a summary offence under the Traffic Acts or the Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989,

• (b) a statement to which this section applies is produced to the court in the proceedings,

• (c) the statement specifies an alleged previous conviction of the accused of an offence involving obligatory endorsement or an order made on the conviction, and

• (d) the accused is not present in person before the court when the statement is so produced,

the court may take account of the previous conviction or order as if the accused had appeared and admitted it.