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24 1961

ROAD TRAFFIC ACT, 1961

PART I.

Preliminary and general.

Short title.

1. —This Act may be cited as the Road Traffic Act, 1961.

Commencement.

2. —This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by any order or orders of the Minister, either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act.

Interpretation.

3. —(1) In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—.

ancillary disqualification order” has the meaning specified in subsection (1) of section 27;

appointed stand” has the meaning specified in subsection (1) of section 84;

appointed weighbridge” has the meaning specified in subsection (1) of section 15;

approved guarantee” has the meaning specified in section 63;

approved policy of insurance” has the meaning specified in section 62;

built-up area speed limit” has the meaning specified in subsection (4) of section 45;

certificate of competency” has the meaning specified in subsection (4) of section 33;

certificate of fitness” has the meaning specified in subsection (4) of section 34;

certificate of exemption” has the meaning specified in section 68;

certificate of guarantee” has the meaning specified in subsection (2) of section 66;

certificate of insurance” has the meaning specified in subsection (1) of section 66;

combination of vehicles” means a mechanically propelled vehicle and a vehicle or vehicles drawn thereby;

the Commissioner” means the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána;

consequential disqualification order” has the meaning specified in subsection (1) of section 26;

contravenes” includes refuses or fails to comply with, and “contravention” shall be construed accordingly;

driving” includes managing and controlling and, in relation to a bicycle or tricycle, riding, and “driver” and other cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

driving licence” has the meaning specified in subsection (1) of section 22;

footway” means that portion of any road which is provided primarily for the use of pedestrians;

hire-drive agreement” means, in relation to a mechanically propelled vehicle, an agreement under which the vehicle is hired from its registered owner, other than—

(a) a hire-purchase agreement,

(b) an agreement merely for the carriage of persons or goods, or

(c) an agreement under which the registered owner of the vehicle drives, or provides a driver for, the vehicle;

the insured” has the meaning assigned to it in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 62;

large public service vehicle” means a public service vehicle having seating passenger accommodation for more than eight persons exclusive of the driver;

mechanically propelled vehicle” means, subject to subsection (2) of this section, a vehicle intended or adapted for propulsion by mechanical means, including—

(a) a bicycle or tricycle with an attachment for propelling it by mechanical power, whether or not the attachment is being used,

(b) a vehicle the means of propulsion of which is electrical or partly electrical and partly mechanical,

but not including a tramcar or other vehicle running on permanent rails;

the Minister” means the Minister for Local Government;

mobile weighbridge” has the meaning specified in subsection (7) of section 15;

omnibus” means a large public service vehicle which is for the time being used on a definite route for the carriage of passengers who are carried at separate fares and are picked up and set down along such route whether on request or at fixed stopping places;

ordinary speed limit” has the meaning specified in subsection (3) of section 44;

owner”, when used in relation to a mechanically propelled vehicle which is the subject of a hire-purchase agreement, means the person in possession of the vehicle under the agreement;

park”, in relation to a vehicle, means keep or leave stationary, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

parking place” has the meaning specified in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 90;

pedal bicycle” means a bicycle which is intended or adapted for propulsion solely by the physical exertions of a person or persons seated thereon;

pedal cycle” means a vehicle which is a pedal bicycle or pedal tricycle;

pedal cyclist” means a person driving a pedal cycle;

pedal tricycle” means a tricycle which is intended or adapted for propulsion solely by the physical exertions of a person or persons seated thereon;

pedestrian-controlled mechanically propelled vehicle” means a mechanically propelled vehicle—

(a) which is neither intended nor adapted for use for carrying the driver or a passenger, or

(b) which is intended or adapted so that there are alternative methods of driving it, namely, by a person carried on it or by a pedestrian,

except during a period during which it is driven while carrying the driver or a passenger

period of cover” has the meaning assigned to it in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 62 or paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 63 (as may be appropriate);

prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

principal debtor” has the meaning assigned to it in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 63;

public place” means 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;

public road” means a road the responsibility for the maintenance of which lies on a road authority;

public service vehicle” means a mechanically propelled vehicle used for the carriage of persons for reward;

registered owner” has the meaning assigned to it by the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations, 1958, but, if those regulations should be revoked, it shall have the meaning assigned to it by such regulations corresponding to those regulations as may for the time being be in force;

the repealed Act” means the Road Traffic Act, 1933 (repealed by this Act);

road” includes any bridge, pipe, arch, gully, footway, pavement, fence, railing or wall forming part thereof;

road authority” means—

(a) the council of a county,

(b) the corporation of a county or other borough, or

(c) the council of an urban district;

road traffic weighbridge” has the meaning specified in subsection (4) of section 15;

roadway” means that portion of a road which is provided primarily for the use of vehicles;

small public service vehicle” means a public service vehicle which is not a large public service vehicle;

special disqualification order” has the meaning specified in subsection (5) of section 28;

special speed limit” has the meaning specified in subsection (4) of section 46;

street service vehicle” means a small public service vehicle the driver of which offers on a public road himself and the vehicle for hire and for that purpose stands or drives the vehicle on a public road;

test certificate” has the meaning specified in paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of section 18;

use”, in relation to a vehicle, includes park, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

vehicle guarantor” has the meaning specified in section 59;

vehicle insurer” has the meaning specified in section 58.

(2) Where a vehicle, which, apart from this subsection, would be a mechanically propelled vehicle, stands so substantially disabled (either through accident, breakdown or the removal of the engine or other such vital part) as to be no longer capable of being propelled mechanically, it shall be regarded for the purposes of this Act as not being a mechanically propelled vehicle.

(3) Save in relation to animal-drawn vehicles, any reference in this Act to a drawn vehicle is to a vehicle attached to another (including attached by way of partial superimposition) for the purpose of being drawn thereby, or actually drawn thereby.

(4) Any reference in this Act to the Rules of the Road is to the publication issued (whether before or after the commencement of this section) under that title by the Minister, being the edition thereof which, at the relevant time, is the latest edition.

(5) Any reference in this Act to use of a vehicle with the consent of a person includes a reference to use with his implied consent and to use on his order.

Application to persons and vehicles in the service of the State.

4. —(1) Save as is otherwise provided by this section, this Act applies to persons in the public service of the State and to vehicles owned by the State.

(2) Part VI of this Act shall not apply to—

(a) a vehicle owned by the State or a person using such vehicle in the course of his employment,

(b) a vehicle under seizure by a person in the service of the State in the course of his duty or a person using such vehicle in the course of his employment, or

(c) a member of the Garda Síochána or an officer of any Minister using a vehicle for the purpose of a test, removal or disposition of the vehicle pursuant to this Act or any regulation thereunder.

General provisions with respect to regulations.

5. —(1) The Minister may make regulations prescribing any matter or thing which is referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.

(2) Every regulation made under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Approval of bye-laws made by the Commissioner.

6. —(1) A bye-law made by the Commissioner under this Act which is required by this Act to be made with the consent of the Minister shall be submitted in the prescribed manner to the Minister for his approval.

(2) Where a bye-law is submitted to the Minister under this section, the Minister shall either, as he thinks proper, refuse to approve of the bye-law, approve thereof without modification or make such modifications therein as he thinks proper and approve of the bye-law as modified.

(3) A bye-law approved of by the Minister under this section (whether with or without modification) shall be published in the prescribed manner.

(4) No such bye-law as is mentioned in the foregoing subsections of this section shall be of any force or effect unless or until it has been submitted to and approved of by the Minister and published in accordance with this section.

(5) Where the Commissioner proposes to make under this Act a bye-law which is required by this Act to be made after consultation with the local authority concerned, the following provisions shall have effect:

(a) the Commissioner shall give, to the corporation of every county or other borough, council of a county, council of an urban district and commissioners of a town to which or to any part of which the bye-law is intended to apply, notice of his intention to make the bye-law, and the Commissioner shall consider all representations made to him by any such corporation, council or commissioners in respect of the proposed bye-law;

(b) the Commissioner shall, if and when he submits the bye-law to the Minister under this section, give to every such corporation, council and commissioners notice of the submission, and the Minister shall consider all representations made to him by such corporation, council or commissioners in respect of the bye-law;

(c) the Minister shall not approve of the bye-law before the expiration of one month after notice of the submission of the bye-law to him was given under this section to every such corporation, council and commissioners;

(d) for the purposes of this subsection, a bye-law shall not be deemed to be intended to apply to any part of a county unless it is intended to apply to some part of the county which is not in any borough, urban district or town.

(6) The making of representations pursuant to subsection (5) of this section shall—

(a) where they are made by the council of a county, the corporation of a borough other than a county borough, the council of an urban district or the commissioners of a town, be a reserved function for the purposes of the County Management Acts, 1940 to 1955, and

(b) where they are made by the corporation of a county borough, be a reserved function for the purposes of the Acts relating to the management of the county borough.

(7) Every bye-law made under section 86 or section 88 of this Act and approved of under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is approved of and, if a resolution annulling the bye-law is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the bye-law is laid before it, the bye-law shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Proof of certain bye-laws and rules.

7. —(1) Section 4 of the Documentary Evidence Act, 1925 , shall apply to every bye-law under this Act made by the Commissioner and every rule thereunder made by him or a local authority.

(2) Subsection (1) of section 6 of the Documentary Evidence Act, 1925 , is hereby amended by adding to the official documents mentioned in that subsection bye-laws under this Act made by the Commissioner and rules thereunder made by him or a local authority, and the said section 6 shall have effect accordingly.

Finance.

8. —(1) All expenses incurred by any Minister or by the Commissioner in execution of the Roads Act, 1920, of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Acts, 1952 and 1960, or of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be defrayed out of the Road Fund, and for that purpose there shall, in respect of every financial year, be paid into the Exchequer from the Road Fund, at such times and in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs, such sums as the Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, determines to be the amount of the expenses so incurred in the execution of the Roads Act, 1920, of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Acts, 1952 and 1960, and of this Act in that financial year.

(2) Where the Minister for Finance is satisfied that the amount of the expenses incurred by any Minister or by the Commissioner in the execution of the Roads Act, 1920, of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Acts, 1952 and 1960, or of this Act in any financial year cannot conveniently be determined, the sum payable under this section into the Exchequer from the Road Fund in respect of those expenses may, with the sanction of the Minister for Finance, be calculated in any manner approved of by the Minister for Finance and, in particular, may be determined as a percentage of the total amount paid into the Road Fund from any source in that financial year.

(3) Any expenses which are by virtue of this section to be defrayed out of the Road Fund may, with the sanction of the Minister for Finance, be paid directly out of the Road Fund, and any salary or remuneration of any person so paid directly out of the Road Fund shall for the purposes of the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1956, be deemed to be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(4) The expenses incurred by any Minister or by the Commissioner in the execution of the Roads Act, 1920, of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Acts, 1952 and 1960, or of this Act in any financial year shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to include such charges in respect of superannuation and other allowances and gratuities payable on death or retirement as the Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, determines to be proper.

(5) Subsection (4) of section 3 of the Roads Act, 1920, shall be construed and have effect as if—

(i) the reference in paragraph (a) to expenses were a reference to the expenses which in the opinion of the Minister are reasonably and properly incurred by the relevant council of a county or corporation of a county borough in connection with the levying of the duties referred to in that paragraph, the registration of mechanically propelled vehicles, and the issuing of licences to drivers (including the issuing pursuant to this Act of test certificates, certificates of competency and certificates of fitness),

(ii) paragraphs (b) and (c) were omitted, and

(iii) the expenses required by this section to be defrayed out of the Road Fund were included in the expenses mentioned in paragraph (e) of the said subsection.

(6) So far as may be necessary for the purposes of the transition from the repealed Act to this Act, the references to this Act in subsections (1), (2) and (4) of this section shall be construed as including references to the repealed Act.

Disposal of fees and fines.

9. —(1) Save as is otherwise expressly provided by this Act, all fees and other sums received by the Commissioner or any other member of the Garda Síochána under this Act or regulations thereunder shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs.

(2) Save as is otherwise expressly provided by this Act, all fines in respect of offences under this Act shall be paid into the Exchequer in accordance with such directions as may from time to time be given by the Minister for Finance.

(3) All moneys paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer under this section shall, for the purposes of section 2 of the Roads Act, 1920, be deemed to have been paid into the Exchequer under that Act.

Repeals.

10. —(1) The enactments mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

(2) Orders, regulations, bye-laws and rules made under any enactment repealed by this Act and in force at the commencement of this section shall continue in force and be regarded as having been made under the corresponding provision of this Act, and they shall be capable of being amended or revoked accordingly, and documents issued under any such order, regulation, bye-law or rule and in force at such commencement shall continue in force for the purposes of this Act.