52.—(1) A person shall not drive a vehicle in a public place without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the place.
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(2)A person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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Dangerous driving.
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53.—(1) A person shall not drive a vehicle in a public place at a speed or in a manner which, having regard to all the circumstances of the case (including the nature, condition and use of the place and the amount of traffic which then actually is or might reasonably be expected then to be therein) is dangerous to the public.
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(2)A person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and— (a) in case the contravention causes death or serious bodily harm to another person, he shall be liable on conviction on indictment to penal servitude for any term not exceeding five years or, at the discretion of the court, to a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds or to both such penal servitude and such fine, and (b) in any other case, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
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(3)In a prosecution for an offence under this section, it shall not be a defence to prove that the speed at which the accused person was driving was not in excess of an ordinary, built-up area or special speed limit applying in relation to the vehicle.
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(4)Where, when a person is tried on indictment or summarily for an offence under this section, the jury, or, in the case of a summary trial, the District Court, is of opinion that he was not guilty of an offence under this section but was guilty of an offence under section 52 of this Act, the jury or court may find him guilty of an offence under section 52 of this Act and he may be sentenced accordingly.
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(5)A person liable to be charged with an offence under this section shall not, by reference to the same occurrence, be liable to be charged with an offence under section 35 of the Offences against the Person Act, 1861 .
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(6)Where a member of the Garda Síochána is of opinion that a person has committed an offence under this section and that the contravention has caused death or serious bodily harm to another person, he may arrest the first-mentioned person without warrant.
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Driving of dangerously defective vehicle.
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54.—(1) A person who drives a mechanically propelled vehicle in a public place while there is a defect affecting the vehicle which he knows of or could have discovered by the exercise of ordinary care and which is such that the vehicle is, when in motion, a danger to the public shall be guilty of an offence.
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(2)Where a mechanically propelled vehicle is driven in a public place while there is a defect affecting the vehicle which the owner thereof knows of or could have discovered by the exercise of ordinary care and which is such that the vehicle is, when in motion, a danger to the public, such owner shall be guilty of an offence.
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(3)Where a person is charged with an offence under subsection (2) of this section, it shall be a, good defence to the charge for him to show that the vehicle was being driven on the occasion in question by another person and that such driving was unauthorised.
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(4)A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
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Parking vehicle in dangerous position.
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55.—(1) A person shall not park in a public place a vehicle in such a position or in such condition or in such circumstances as to be likely to cause danger to other persons using the place.
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(2)A person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction— (a) in the case of— (i) a first offence where any part of the period of the contravention was a period within lighting-up hours (as declared by regulations under section 11 of this Act) during which the vehicle did not fulfil the requirements imposed by law with respect to lighting and reflectors, or (ii) a second or any subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three months or to both such fine and such imprisonment, and (b) in any other case—to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding one month or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
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(3)If and so long as, this section having come into operation, the repeal by this Act of Part X of the repealed Act has not come into operation, “(within the meaning of the repealed Act)” shall be substituted in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section for “(as declared by regulations under section 11 of this Act)”.
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PART VI.
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Compulsory Insurance of Mechanically Propelled Vehicles.
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Obligation to be insured or guaranteed.
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56.—(1) A person (in this subsection referred to as the user) shall not use in a public place a mechanically propelled vehicle unless either a vehicle insurer, a vehicle guarantor or an exempted person would be liable for injury caused by the negligent use of the vehicle by him at that time or there is in force at that time either— (a) an approved policy of insurance whereby the user or some other person who would be liable for injury caused by the negligent use of the vehicle at that time by the user, is insured against all sums without limit (save as is hereinafter otherwise provided) which the user or his personal representative or such other person or his personal representative shall become liable to pay to any person (exclusive of the excepted persons) by way of damages or costs on account of injury to person or property caused by the negligent use of the vehicle at that time by the user, or (b) an approved guarantee whereby there is guaranteed the payment by the user, or some other person who would be liable for injury caused by the negligent use of the vehicle at that time by the user, of all sums without limit (save as is hereinafter otherwise provided) which the user or his personal representative or such other person or his personal representative shall become liable to pay to any person (exclusive of the excepted persons) by way of damages or costs on account of injury to person or property caused by the negligent use of the vehicle at that time by the user.
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(2)The insurance or guarantee required by this section may be subject to the following limitation and the following exception or either of them: (a) it may, in so far as it relates to injury to property, be limited to the sum of one thousand pounds in respect of injury caused by any one act of negligence or any one series of acts of negligence collectively constituting one event, (b) there may be excepted from the liability covered thereby any liability (in excess of the common law or the statutory liability applicable to the case) undertaken by the insured or the principal debtor by special contract.
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(3)Where a person contravenes subsection (1) of this section, he and, if he is not the owner of the vehicle, such owner shall each be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
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(4)Where, in a prosecution for an offence under this section, it is shown that, a demand having been made under section 69 of this Act,— (a) the person on whom the demand was made refused or failed to produce a certificate of insurance, certificate of guarantee or certificate of exemption then and there, or (b) such person, having duly produced such certificate consequent upon the demand, refused or failed to permit the member of the Garda Síochána to whom such certificate was produced to read and examine it, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the defendant, that the vehicle was being used in contravention of this section.
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(5)Where a person charged with an offence under this section is the owner of the vehicle, it shall be a good defence to the charge for the person to show that the vehicle was being used without his consent and either that he had taken all reasonable precautions to prevent its being used or that it was being used by his servant acting in contravention of his orders.
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(6)Where a person charged with an offence under this section was the servant of the owner of the vehicle, it shall be a good defence to the charge for the person to show that he was using the vehicle in obedience to the express orders of the owner.
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Fine in lieu of damages and imprisonment in addition to damages.
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57.—(1) Where— (a) the court, on a conviction for an offence under the immediately preceding section, is satisfied that injury was caused to person or property by the negligent use on the occasion on which the offence was committed of the vehicle in relation to which the offence was committed and (b) the court is of opinion that some person then present or represented would be entitled to recover in a civil action against the convicted person damages in respect of the injury, the court may, if it thinks fit and the person present or represented consents, inflict on the convicted person, in addition to any other punishment, a fine not exceeding the damages which in the opinion of the court the person present or represented would be entitled to recover against the convicted person.
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(2)Where a fine is imposed under subsection (1) of this section on a convicted person— (a) the court imposing the fine may sentence the convicted person to any term of imprisonment, not exceeding six months, in default of payment of the fine within such time, not being less than fourteen days, as the court appoints, (b) the amount of the fine shall be paid to the person on account of whose right to recover damages the fine was imposed and, if there is more than one such person, in such proportions as the court directs, (c) the payment of the fine by the convicted person shall be a good defence to any civil action brought by any person to whom the fine or any part thereof was so paid in respect of the injury on account of which the fine was inflicted, (d) without prejudice to any right of appeal by any other person, the person or any of the persons to whom the fine is made payable shall have a right of appeal (limited to one or more of the following matters, that is to say, the amount of the fine and the person to whom and the proportions in which it is payable) to the Judge of the Circuit Court within whose circuit is situate the district or any part of the district of the Justice by whom the fine was inflicted, and the decision of the Judge on the appeal shall be final.
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(3)Where damages are recovered in a civil action against a person who was convicted of an offence under the immediately preceding section in respect of injury to person or property caused by the negligent use on the occasion on which the offence was committed of the mechanically propelled vehicle in relation to which the offence was committed, the court before whom the damages are recovered may if the damages are not paid within fourteen days or such longer period as the court may determine order that the person against whom the damages were recovered be forthwith taken into custody and be imprisoned for whichever of the following periods is the shorter, that is to say, until the expiration of six months from the taking into custody or until he pays the amount of the damages to the person by whom they were recovered and lodges in court, by way of security for the payment of the costs recovered by that person in the action, such sum (if any) as the court fixes.
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(4)This section applies only to injury against liability with respect to which an approved policy of insurance or an approved guarantee is required by this Act to be effected.
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Vehicle insurer.
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58.—In this Act “vehicle insurer” means, subject to subsection (1) of section 78 of this Act,— (a) an assurance company within the meaning of section 3 of the Insurance Act, 1936 , carrying on mechanically propelled vehicle insurance business within the meaning of that section, or (b) a syndicate within the meaning of that section carrying on that business.
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Vehicle guarantor.
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59.—In this Act “vehicle guarantor” means, subject to subsection (2) of section 78 of this Act, a person who— (a) is not a vehicle insurer, and (b) carries on the business of issuing approved guarantees, and (c) has made and maintains the deposit with the Accountant of the Courts of Justice authorised by this Part of this Act to be made by persons who intend to carry on the business of issuing approved guarantees, Exempted person.
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60.—In this Part of this Act “exempted person” means, subject to subsection (3) of section 78 of this Act, a person who— (a) is neither a vehicle insurer nor a vehicle guarantor, and (b) has made and maintains the deposit with the Accountant of the Courts of Justice authorised by this Part of this Act to be made by persons who desire to become exempted persons.
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Deposits by vehicle guarantors and exempted persons.
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61.—(1) A person (other than a vehicle insurer) who intends to carry on the business of issuing approved guarantees or who desires to become an exempted person may deposit and thereafter keep deposited with the Accountant of the Courts of Justice the sum of fifteen thousand pounds.
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(2)The Accountant of the Courts of Justice shall invest a sum deposited under this section in such of the securities authorised by law for the investment of funds in the High Court as the depositor directs, and the income accruing on the securities shall be paid to the depositor.
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(3)The Accountant of the Courts of Justice shall not accept a deposit under this section save on a warrant of the Minister for Industry and Commerce.
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(4)The Minister for Industry and Commerce may make rules with respect to applications for warrants for the purposes of this section, the payment of deposits and the investment thereof or dealing therewith, the deposit of stocks, shares or other securities in lieu of money, the payment of the income from time to time accruing on securities in which deposits are for the time being invested and the withdrawal and transfer of deposits.
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Approved policy of insurance.
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62.—(1) A policy of insurance shall be an approved policy of insurance for the purposes of this Act if, but only if, it complies with the following conditions: (a) it is issued by a vehicle insurer to a person (in this Act referred to as the insured) named therein; (b) the insurer by whom it is issued binds himself by it to insure the insured against all sums without limit which the insured or his personal representative shall become liable to pay to any person (exclusive of the excepted persons) whether by way of damages or costs on account of injury to person or property caused by the negligent use, during the period (in this Act referred to as the period of cover) specified in that behalf in the policy, of a mechanically propelled vehicle to which the policy relates, by the insured or by any of such other persons (if any) as are mentioned or otherwise indicated in that behalf in the policy; (c) the liability of the insurer under the policy is not subject to any condition, restriction, or limitation prescribed as not to be inserted in an approved policy of insurance; and (d) the period of cover is not capable of being terminated before its expiration by effluxion of time by the insurer save either with the consent of the insured or after seven days' notice in writing to the insured.
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(2)A policy of insurance which complies with the conditions specified in subsection (1) of this section shall not be prevented from being an approved policy of insurance merely by reason of its containing provisions additional to and not inconsistent with the provisions required by those conditions.
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(3)A policy of insurance shall not be prevented from being an approved policy of insurance merely by reason of the insurance being subject to the following limitation and the following exception or either of them: (a) the limitation thereof, in so far as it relates to injury to property, to the sum of one thousand pounds in respect of injury occasioned by any one act of negligence or any one series of acts of negligence collectively constituting one event, (b) the exception therefrom of any liability (in excess of the common law or the statutory liability applicable to the case) undertaken by the insured by special contract.
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Approved guarantee.
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63.—(1) A guarantee shall be an approved guarantee for the purposes of this Act if, but only if, it complies with the following conditions; (a) it is issued by a vehicle insurer or a vehicle guarantor to a person (in this Act referred to as the principal debtor) named therein; (b) the insurer or guarantor by whom it is issued binds himself by it to guarantee the payment by the principal debtor or his personal representative of all sums without limit which the principal debtor or his personal representative shall become liable to pay to any person (exclusive of the excepted persons) whether by way of damages or costs on account of injury to person or property caused by the negligent use during the period (in this Act referred to as the period of cover) specified in that behalf in the guarantee, of a mechanically propelled vehicle to which the guarantee relates, by the principal debtor or by any of such other persons (if any) as are mentioned or otherwise indicated in that behalf in the guarantee; (c) the liability under the guarantee of the insurer or guarantor by whom it is issued is not subject to any condition, restriction, or limitation prescribed as not to be inserted in an approved guarantee; and (d) the period of cover is not capable of being terminated before its expiration by effluxion of time by the insurer or guarantor save either with the consent of the principal debtor or after seven days' notice in writing to the principal debtor.
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(2)A guarantee which complies with the conditions specified in subsection (1) of this section shall not be prevented from being an approved guarantee merely by reason of its containing provisions additional to and not inconsistent with the provisions required by those conditions.
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(3)A guarantee shall not be prevented from being an approved guarantee merely by reason of the guarantee being subject to the following limitation and the following exception or either of them: (a) the limitation thereof, in so far as it relates to injury to property, to the sum of one thousand pounds in respect of injury occasioned by any one act of negligence or any one series of acts of negligence collectively constituting one event, (b) the exception therefrom of any liability (in excess of the common law or the statutory liability applicable to the case) undertaken by the principal debtor by special contract.
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(4)An approved guarantee issued by a vehicle insurer shall, for the purposes of sections 25 , 26 and 27 of the Insurance Act, 1936 , be regarded as if it were a policy issued by the insurer in the course of carrying on mechanically propelled vehicle insurance business within the meaning of section 3 of that Act.
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Fraud in obtaining policy or guarantee.
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64.—(1) A person shall not, for the purpose or in the course of obtaining the issue of an approved policy of insurance or an approved guarantee to himself or to another person, or for the purpose of securing his or another person's participation in the cover afforded by an approved policy of insurance or an approved guarantee, commit any fraud or make any representation or statement (whether in writing or verbally or by conduct) which is to his knowledge false or misleading in any material respect.
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(2)A person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
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(3)In a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) of this section, a document— (a) which purports to be— (i) a proposal forming the basis of the relevant contract of insurance or guarantee, (ii) a document (other than a proposal) forming that basis, or (iii) an application for participation in the cover afforded by the relevant contract of insurance or guarantee, and (b) which purports to be signed by the defendant, may be tendered in evidence without proof and shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the defendant, to be such proposal or document as aforesaid and to have been signed by the defendant.
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Excepted persons.
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65.—(1) In this Part of this Act “excepted persons” means the following persons: (a) any person claiming in respect of injury to person to himself sustained while he was in or on a mechanically propelled vehicle to which the relevant document relates, other than a mechanically propelled vehicle of a class specified for the purposes of this paragraph by the Minister by regulations, (b) any person claiming in respect of injury to person to another person where— (i) in case the injury caused the other person's death—the other person would, assuming that the injury had not caused his death, be an excepted person under paragraph (a) of this subsection if he were himself claiming in respect of the injury, and (ii) in any other case—the other person would be such an excepted person if he were so claiming, (c) any person claiming in respect of injury to property sustained while the property was in or on a mechanically propelled vehicle to which the relevant document relates, (d) any person claiming in respect of injury to property sustained while the property was owned by or was in the possession, custody or control of the insured or the principal debtor in the relevant document, (e) any person claiming in respect of injury to any weighbridge or to any road or to anything in or below the surface of a road due to the weight of or vibration caused by a mechanically propelled vehicle to which the relevant document relates, (f) any person claiming in respect of injury to property due to an explosion of a boiler forming part of a mechanically propelled vehicle to which the relevant document relates or due to sparks or ashes proceeding from any such vehicle, and (g) any person claiming in respect of an injury to himself or any other person in respect of which he would be entitled to claim against the insured or the principal debtor in the relevant document and be awarded compensation or other relief under the Workmen's Compensation Acts, 1934 to 1955.
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(2)In this section— (a) “relevant document” means the approved policy of insurance or the approved guarantee in relation to which the expression “excepted persons” is used, and (b) references to injury sustained while in or on a vehicle include injury sustained while entering, getting on to, being put into or on, alighting from, or being taken out of or off, the vehicle, and injury caused by being thrown out of or off the vehicle.
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Certificate of insurance and certificate of guarantee.
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66.—(1) Where a vehicle insurer issues an approved policy of insurance, he shall give to the person to whom it is issued the prescribed number of certificates (each of which is referred to in this Act as a certificate of insurance) in the prescribed form certifying that it has been issued and stating the prescribed particulars thereof.
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(2)Where a vehicle insurer or a vehicle guarantor issues an approved guarantee, he shall give to the person to whom it is issued the prescribed number of certificates (each of which is referred to in this Act as a certificate of guarantee) in the prescribed form certifying that it has been issued and stating the prescribed particulars thereof.
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(3)For the purposes of this section, a renewal of an approved policy of insurance or an approved guarantee shall be deemed to be an issue thereof.
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Effect of certificate of insurance or guarantee.
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67.—(1) Where a vehicle insurer has issued a certificate of insurance certifying that an approved policy of insurance has been issued by him to a specified person— (a) if and so long as no such policy as is described in the certificate has been issued, the insurer shall, as between himself and any other person except the specified person, be deemed to have issued to the specified person an approved policy of insurance conforming in all respects with the description and particulars stated in the certificate, and (b) if the insurer has issued to the specified person a policy such as is described in the certificate, but the actual terms of the policy are less favourable to persons claiming under or by virtue of the policy against the insurer, either directly or through the specified person, than the particulars of the policy as stated in the certificate, the policy shall, as between the insurer and any other person except the specified person, be deemed to be in terms conforming in all respects with those particulars.
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(2)Where a vehicle insurer or a vehicle guarantor has issued a certificate of guarantee certifying that an approved guarantee has been issued by him to a specified person— (a) if and so long as no such guarantee as is described in the certificate has been issued, the insurer or guarantor shall, as between himself and any other person except the specified person, be deemed to have issued to the specified person an approved guarantee conforming in all respects with the description and particulars stated in the certificate, and (b) if the insurer or guarantor has issued to the specified person a guarantee such as is described in the certificate, but the actual terms of the guarantee are less favourable to persons claiming under or by virtue of the guarantee against the insurer or guarantor, either directly or through the specified person, than the particulars of the guarantee as stated in the certificate, the guarantee shall, as between the insurer or guarantor and any other person except the specified person, be deemed to be in terms conforming in all respects with those particulars.
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(3)Nothing in this section shall render a certificate of insurance or a certificate of guarantee liable to any stamp duty to which it would not have been liable if this section had not been enacted.
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Certificate of exemption.
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68.—(1) A vehicle insurer, a vehicle guarantor or an exempted person may at any time issue one or more certificates (each of which is in this Act referred to as a certificate of exemption) in the prescribed form in respect of any mechanically propelled vehicle owned by him certifying that the vehicle is owned by him and stating the prescribed particulars in respect of his liability for injury caused by the negligent use of the vehicle.
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(2)A certificate of exemption issued by a vehicle insurer shall, for the purposes of sections 25 , 26 and 27 of the Insurance Act, 1936 , be regarded as if it were a policy issued by the insurer in the course of carrying on mechanically propelled vehicle insurance business within the meaning of section 3 of that Act.
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Production of certificate on demand.
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69.—(1) (a) Where a member of the Garda Síochána has reasonable grounds for believing that a mechanically propelled vehicle has been used in a public place on a particular occasion (including a case in which the member has himself observed the use) and that the actual user of the vehicle on that occasion was a particular person, the member may, at any time not later than one month after the occasion, demand of the person the production of either a certificate of insurance or a certificate of guarantee or a certificate of exemption in respect of the use of the vehicle by the person on the occasion and, if the person refuses or fails to produce any such certificate then and there, he shall, unless within ten days after the day on which the production was demanded he produces such certificate in person to a member of the Garda Síochána at a Garda Síochána station named by the person at the time at which the production was demanded, be guilty of an offence. (b) In a prosecution for an offence under this subsection, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the defendant, that he did not, within ten days after the day on which the production was demanded produce the certificate in person to a member of the Garda Síochána at a Garda Síochána station named by the defendant at the time at which the production was demanded. (c) It shall be a good defence in a prosecution for an offence under this subsection if the defendant shows that on the occasion in question— (i) he did not use the vehicle, or (ii) he was the servant of the owner of the vehicle and was using the vehicle in obedience to the express orders of the owner.
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(2)(a) Where a member of the Garda Síochána has reasonable grounds for believing that a mechanically propelled vehicle has been used in a public place on a particular occasion (including a case in which the member has himself observed the use), the member may, at any time not later than one month after the occasion, demand of the owner of the vehicle the production of either a certificate of insurance or a certificate of guarantee or a certificate of exemption in respect of the use on the occasion of the vehicle by the person then actually using it and, if the owner refuses or fails to produce any such certificate then and there, he shall, unless within ten days after the day on which the production was demanded he produces such certificate in person to a member of the Garda Síochána at a Garda Síochána station named by the owner at the time at which such production was demanded, be guilty of an offence. (b) In a prosecution for an offence under this subsection, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the defendant, that he did not, within ten days after the day on which production was demanded, produce the certificate in person to a member of the Garda Síochána at a Garda Síochána station named by the defendant at the time at which the production was demanded. (c) It shall be a good defence in a prosecution for an offence under this subsection if the defendant shows— (i) that the vehicle was not used on the occasion in question, or (ii) that a person other than himself used the vehicle on the occasion in question, that it was so used without his consent and either that he had taken all reasonable precautions to prevent its being so used or that the person so using it was his servant acting in contravention of his orders.
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(3)Where a person produces pursuant to this section a certificate to a member of the Garda Síochána but refuses or fails to permit the member to read and examine it, he shall be guilty of an offence and the member may demand of him his name and address.
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(4)Where a person whose name and address is demanded under subsection (3) of this section refuses or fails to give his name and address or gives a name or address which is false or misleading, he shall be guilty of an offence.
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(5)A member of the Garda Síochána may arrest without warrant— (a) a person who pursuant to this section produces a certificate but refuses or fails to permit the member to read and examine it, or (b) a person who, when his name and address is demanded of him by the member under this section, refuses or fails to give his name and address or gives a name or address which the member has reasonable grounds for believing to be false or misleading.
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Obligation to deliver up certificate.
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70.—(1) Where the period of cover under an approved policy of insurance is terminated or suspended by any means before its expiration by effluxion of time, the insured shall, within seven days after the termination or suspension, deliver to the vehicle insurer by whom the policy was issued the latest certificate of insurance in respect of the policy.
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(2)Where the period of cover under an approved guarantee is terminated or suspended by any means before its expiration by effluxion of time, the principal debtor shall, within seven days after the termination or suspension, deliver to the vehicle insurer or the vehicle guarantor by whom the guarantee was issued the latest certificate of guarantee in respect of the guarantee.
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(3)A person who contravenes subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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Obligation of insured or principal debtor to give notice of accident.
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71.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, where an event occurs in relation to a mechanically propelled vehicle in consequence of which the vehicle insurer who issued an approved policy of insurance or the vehicle insurer or the vehicle guarantor who issued an approved guarantee, then in force in respect of the vehicle, may become liable to pay money to any person, the insured or the principal debtor (as the case may be) shall, as soon as practicable after the occurrence of the event, or where the event did not occur in his presence, within forty-eight hours after the occurrence of the event first came to his knowledge, give to the insurer by whom the policy was issued or to the insurer or guarantor by whom the guarantee was issued notice in writing of the occurrence of the event together with such particulars of the event as are in his knowledge or procurement and are reasonably required by the insurer or guarantor.
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(2)An approved policy of insurance or an approved guarantee may contain a provision relieving the insured or the principal debtor (as the case may be) from the obligation of giving the notice mentioned in subsection (1) of this section and, in any such case, that notice need not be given.
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(3)A person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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(4)A notice or particulars required by this section may be given by posting the notice or particulars in a properly closed and prepaid envelope addressed to the insurer or guarantor, and the notice or particulars shall be deemed to be given in the time specified in this section for the giving thereof if so posted within that time.
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Obligation of user of vehicle to give notice of accident.
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72.—(1) Where an event occurs in relation to a mechanically propelled vehicle in consequence of which the vehicle insurer who issued an approved policy of insurance, or the vehicle insurer or the vehicle guarantor who issued an approved guarantee, then in force in respect of the vehicle, may become liable to pay money to any person, the person who is actually using the vehicle when the event occurs shall— (a) unless he is himself the insured under the policy or the principal debtor under the guarantee or the event occurs in the presence of such insured or principal debtor, give to such insured or principal debtor, as soon as practicable after the occurrence of the event, notice of the occurrence together with full particulars thereof, (b) give, on demand, to the insurer or guarantor such particulars relating to the event as are in his knowledge or procurement and are reasonably required by the insurer or guarantor.
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(2)A person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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(3)A notice or particulars required by paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section may be given by posting the notice or particulars in a properly closed and prepaid envelope addressed to the insured or the principal debtor.
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Obligation to give information as to insurance.
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73.—(1) Where a claim is made against a person in respect of any such liability as is appropriate in accordance with this Act to be covered by an approved policy of insurance or an approved guarantee, such person, on demand in writing (served by registered post) by or on behalf of the person making the claim, shall— (a) if the liability was so covered, state that fact, state the name and address of the insurer or guarantor concerned and state the prescribed particulars referred to in subsection (1) or subsection (2) (as may be appropriate) of section 66 of this Act, (b) if the liability would have been so covered but for an approved policy of insurance or an approved guarantee having been avoided, cancelled or otherwise terminated, state that fact and state the name and address of the insurer or guarantor concerned, (c) if the liability was not so covered on account of the person against whom the claim is made having been a vehicle insurer, a vehicle guarantor or an exempted person, state that fact and state the prescribed particulars referred to in section 68 of this Act, and (d) if none of the foregoing paragraphs apply, state that fact.
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(2)A person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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(3)A statement demanded under this section may be given by posting the statement in a properly closed and prepaid envelope addressed to the person demanding it.
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Amendment of Assurance Companies Act, 1909.
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74.—(1)
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Section 1
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of the Assurance Companies Act, 1909 , as adapted by or under subsequent enactments, shall have effect as if after paragraph (e) thereof the following paragraph were added: “(f) mechanically propelled vehicle insurance business, that is to say, the business of effecting contracts of insurance against loss of or damage to or arising out of or in connection with the use of mechanically propelled vehicles, including third party risks.”
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(2)Where an assurance company or syndicate within the meaning of section 3 of the Insurance Act, 1936 , carries on mechanically propelled vehicle insurance business within the meaning of that section, the Assurance Companies Act, 1909 , as adapted by or under subsequent enactments, shall apply with respect to that business, subject to the following modifications: (a) sections 5 and 6 of the said Act shall not apply to the company or syndicate; (b) the company or syndicate shall annually prepare a statement of its mechanically propelled vehicle insurance business in such form as shall from time to time be directed by the Minister for Industry and Commerce and the statement shall be printed, signed and deposited with that Minister in accordance with section 7 of the said Act and that section shall apply accordingly; (c) paragraphs (d), (e), (f) and (g) of section 32 of the said Act shall apply to the company or syndicate as if those paragraphs were here set out with the substitution of the expression “mechanically propelled vehicle insurance business” for the expression “accident insurance business” wherever that expression occurs in those paragraphs.
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Regulations in relation to certificates, keeping of records and giving of information.
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75.—(1) The Minister may make regulations for all or any of the following purposes: (a) the issue of certificates of insurance, certificates of guarantee and certificates of exemption; (b) the issue of copies of, or new certificates in lieu of, any such certificates which are lost or destroyed and the maximum charges that may be made on such issues; (c) the cancellation and surrender of such certificates; (d) requiring vehicle insurers to keep records of all approved policies of insurance and approved guarantees issued by them; (e) requiring vehicle guarantors to keep records of all approved guarantees issued by them; (f) requiring exempted persons to keep records of all certificates of exemption issued by them; (g) specifying the matters to be recorded in the records; (h) enabling the records to be inspected by members of the Garda Síochána and officers of the Minister; (i) requiring vehicle insurers to furnish to members of the Garda Síochána and officers of the Minister information in relation to approved policies of insurance and approved guarantees issued by such insurers; (j) requiring vehicle guarantors to furnish to members of the Garda Síochána and officers of the Minister information in relation to approved guarantees issued by such guarantors.
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(2)A person who contravenes a regulation under this section which is declared to be a penal regulation shall be guilty of an offence.
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Miscellaneous provisions in relation to insured or guaranteed moneys.
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76.—(1) Where a person (in this section referred to as the claimant) claims to be entitled to recover from the owner of a mechanically propelled vehicle or from a person (other than the owner) using a mechanically propelled vehicle (in this section referred to as the user), or has in any court of justice (in proceedings of which the vehicle insurer or vehicle guarantor hereinafter mentioned had prior notification) recovered judgment against the owner or user for, a sum (whether liquidated or unliquidated) against the liability for which the owner or user is insured by an approved policy of insurance or the payment of which by the owner or user is guaranteed by an approved guarantee, the claimant may serve by registered post, on the vehicle insurer by whom the policy was issued, or on the vehicle insurer or the vehicle guarantor by whom the guarantee was issued, a notice in writing of the claim or judgment for the sum, and upon the service of the notice such of the following provisions as are applicable shall, subject to subsection (2) of this section, have effect: (a) the insurer shall not after service of the notice pay to the owner or user in respect of the sum any greater amount than the amount (if any) which the owner or user has actually paid to the claimant in respect of the sum; (b) where the claimant has so recovered judgment for the sum, or after service of the notice so recovers judgment for the sum or any part thereof, the insurer or guarantor shall pay to the claimant so much of the moneys (whether damages or costs) for which judgment was or is so recovered as the insurer or guarantor has insured or guaranteed and is not otherwise paid to the claimant, and the payment shall, as against the insured or principal debtor, be a valid payment under the policy or guarantee; (c) where the claimant has so recovered judgment for the sum, or after service of the notice so recovers judgment for the sum or any part thereof, and has not recovered from the owner or user or such insurer or guarantor the whole amount of the judgment, the claimant may apply to the court in which he recovered the judgment for leave to execute the judgment against the insurer or guarantor, and thereupon the court may, if it thinks proper, grant the application either in respect of the whole amount of the judgment or in respect of any specified part of that amount; (d) where the claimant has not so recovered judgment for the sum, the claimant may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction in which he might institute proceedings for the recovery of the sum from the owner or user for leave to institute and prosecute those proceedings against the insurer or guarantor (as the case may be) in lieu of the owner or user, and the court, if satisfied that the owner or user is not in the State, or cannot be found or cannot be served with the process of the court, or that it is for any other reason just and equitable that the application should be granted, may grant the application, and thereupon the claimant shall be entitled to institute and prosecute those proceedings against the insurer or guarantor, and to recover therein from the insurer or guarantor any sum which he would be entitled to recover from the owner or user and the payment of which the insurer or guarantor has insured or guaranteed;
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(e) the insurer or guarantor shall not, as a ground for refusing payment of moneys to the claimant or as a defence to proceedings by the claimant, rely on or plead any invalidity of the policy or guarantee arising from any fraud or any misrepresentation or false statement (whether fraudulent or innocent) to which the claimant was not a party or privy and which, if constituting a misdemeanour under this Part of this Act, was not the subject of a prosecution and conviction under the relevant section of this Act.
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(2)Where, in respect of any one act of negligence or any one series of acts of negligence collectively constituting one event, there are two or more claimants and the total of the sums claimed for damages for injury to property or for which judgment has been recovered for damages for such injury exceeds the sum which the insurer or guarantor has insured or guaranteed, the liability, as regards each claimant, of the insurer or guarantor in relation to such damages shall be reduced to the appropriate proportionate part of the sum insured or guaranteed.
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(3)Subsections (1) and (2) of this section apply only to claims against the liability for which an approved policy of insurance or an approved guarantee is required by this Act to be effected.
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(4)Where a person (hereinafter referred to as the insured) who has effected an approved policy of insurance, if an individual, becomes bankrupt or insolvent or dies or, if a corporate body is wound up or, if a partnership or other unincorporated association, is dissolved, moneys payable to the insured under the policy shall be applicable only to discharging in full all valid claims by third parties against the insured in respect of which those moneys are payable, and no part of those moneys shall be assets of the insured or applicable to the payment of the debts (other than those claims) of the insured in the bankruptcy or insolvency or in the administration of the estate of the insured or in the winding-up or dissolution, and no such claim shall be provable in the bankruptcy, insolvency, administration, winding-up or dissolution.
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(5)A reference in this section to the owner or user of a mechanically propelled vehicle shall, where the context so admits, be construed as including a reference to his personal representative.
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Application and repayment of deposit.
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77.—(1) In this section “deposit” means a deposit under section 61 of this Act.
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(2)Where a person has recovered judgment in any court against the depositor of a deposit for a sum to which this section applies, the High Court may, on the application of that person and if satisfied that the depositor has no goods which can be taken in execution to satisfy the judgment, order the amount of the judgment, together with the costs of the order, the application therefor and the proceedings thereunder, to be paid by the Accountant of the Courts of Justice out of the deposit.
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(3)Where the amount of a judgment is paid under this section out of a deposit, the depositor may deposit with the Accountant of the Courts of Justice a sum equal to the sum paid out, and until he does so, he, shall be deemed not to comply with the provisions of this Part of this Act relating to the making of deposits.
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(4)Where the depositor of a deposit, if an individual, becomes bankrupt or insolvent or dies or, if a corporate body, is wound up or, if a partnership or other unincorporated association, is dissolved, the deposit shall be applied, firstly, in payment of liabilities for sums to which this section applies and, secondly, as general assets.
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(5)Where the High Court is satisfied, on the application of the depositor of a deposit or a person claiming through or under him and after notice to the Minister for Industry and Commerce and after such publication of advertisements as the High Court directs, that the deposit should be paid out to the applicant, the High Court may order it to be so paid out either unconditionally or subject to conditions.
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(6)Each of the following sums shall, for the purposes of the foregoing subsections of this section, be a sum to which this section applies: (a) a sum against the liability for which the depositor of a deposit, being a vehicle guarantor, is guarantor under an approved guarantee, (b) a sum against the liability for which the depositor of a deposit, being a vehicle guarantor or an exempted person, would, if he were not such depositor, have been required by this Act to have effected an approved policy of insurance or an approved guarantee.
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Provisions relating to Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland.
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78.—(1) A person shall not carry on mechanically propelled vehicle insurance business within the meaning of section 3 of the Insurance Act, 1936 , unless— (a) he is a member of the Bureau, or (b) there is in force an undertaking by him in terms approved of by the Minister that he will deal with third-party claims in respect of mechanically propelled vehicles insured by him on terms similar to those standing agreed from time to time between the Minister and the Bureau in respect of the Bureau.
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(2)A person shall not act as a vehicle guarantor unless— (a) he is a member of the Bureau, or (b) there is in force an undertaking by him in terms approved of by the Minister that he will deal with third-party claims in respect of mechanically propelled vehicles guaranteed by him on terms similar to those standing agreed from time to time between the Minister and the Bureau in respect of the Bureau.
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(3)A person shall not be an exempted person unless there is in force an undertaking by him in terms approved of by the Minister that he will deal with third-party claims in respect of mechanically propelled vehicles owned by him on terms similar to those standing agreed from time to time between the Minister and the Bureau in respect of the Bureau.
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(4)The provisions of this section shall have effect notwithstanding any other provision of this or any other Act.
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(5)In this section “the Bureau” means the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland.
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Exception of pedestrian-controlled vehicles.
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79.—Pedestrian-controlled vehicles which are specified for the purposes of this section by the Minister by regulations and which comply with the conditions stated in the regulations are hereby excepted from this Part of this Act.
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Special provisions for non-residents.
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80.—The Minister may make regulations for the purpose of facilitating compliance with this Part of this Act by persons who ordinarily reside outside the State, and the regulations may modify in respect of those persons all or any of the provisions of this Part of this Act, but not so as substantially to exempt any person from the obligations imposed by this Part of this Act.
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Transitional provisions (Part VI).
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81.—(1) A deposit under section 61 of the repealed Act existing at the commencement of this subsection shall be deemed to be a deposit under section 61 of this Act.
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(2)A certificate under subsection (1) of section 68 of the repealed Act in force at the commencement of this subsection shall be deemed to be a certificate under subsection (1) of section 66 of this Act.
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(3)A certificate under subsection (2) of section 68 of the repealed Act in force at the commencement of this subsection shall be deemed to be a certificate under subsection (2) of section 66 of this Act.
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(4)A certificate under section 70 of the repealed Act in force at the commencement of this subsection shall be deemed to be a certificate under section 68 of this Act.
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PART VII.
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Control and Operation of Public Service Vehicles.
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Regulations in relation to control and operation of public service vehicles.
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82.—(1) The Minister may make regulations in relation to the control and operation of public service vehicles.
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(2)Regulations under this section may, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, make provision in relation to all or any of the following matters: (a) the licensing of public service vehicles; (b) the licensing of drivers and conductors of public service vehicles; (c) the payment of specified fees in respect of licences, badges or plates granted under the regulations and the disposition of such fees; (d) the conduct and duties of drivers and conductors of public service vehicles and of their employers; (e) the conduct and duties of passengers and intending passengers in public service vehicles; (f) the conditions (including the use of taximeters) subject to which vehicles may be operated as public service vehicles; (g) the keeping of specified records and the issue of specified certificates and the specifying of the persons by whom such certificates are to be issued; (h) the authorising of the fixing of maximum fares for street service vehicles; (i) matters related to the transition from the repealed Act to the regulations under this section.
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(3)Different regulations may be made under this section— (a) in respect of different classes of vehicles, (b) for different circumstances and for different areas.
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(4)A certificate purporting to be issued pursuant to regulations under this section that on a specified day a specified fare was the maximum fare fixed for street service vehicles in a specified area shall, without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign it or that he was the proper person to issue it, be evidence in any legal proceedings until the contrary is shown of the matters certified therein.
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(5)A certificate purporting to be issued pursuant to regulations under this section that a specified person was on a specified day the holder of a licence under the regulations or that on a specified day a licence under the regulations was in force in respect of a specified vehicle shall, without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign it or that he was the proper person to issue it, be evidence in any legal proceedings until the contrary is shown of the matters certified therein.
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(6)A person who contravenes a regulation under this section which is declared to be a penal regulation and, in such cases involving a vehicle as may be prescribed and where such person is not the owner of the vehicle, such owner shall each be guilty of an offence.
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(7)In a prosecution for an offence under this section in which a licence under regulations under this section is material, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the defendant, that at the material time, such a licence, then having effect, was not held.
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(8)Where a mechanically propelled vehicle is used for the carriage of eight or more persons who are not in the employment of the owner of the vehicle, they shall, until the contrary is shown, be deemed to be carried in the vehicle for reward.
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Annual inspection and verification of taximeters.
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83.—(1) The definition of “measuring instrument” contained in section 35 of the Weights and Measures Act, 1889, as extended by section 10 of the Weights and Measures Act, 1928 , shall be and is hereby extended so as to include a taximeter, and the said section 35 shall have effect accordingly.
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(2)The powers and duties of inspectors of weights and measures appointed by the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of Dublin or by the Corporation of Dún Laoghaire shall not extend to or include the inspection, testing, verification or stamping of taximeters.
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(3)The Commissioner may from time to time appoint so many members of the Garda Síochána to be inspectors of measuring instruments (in this section referred to as special inspectors) for the purposes of the inspection, verification and stamping of taximeters as he thinks necessary and the Minister for Finance sanctions, and the following provisions shall have effect in relation to special inspectors: (a) the Commissioner may suspend or dismiss any special inspector from his office as special inspector; (b) a member of the Garda Síochána shall not be appointed to be a special inspector unless he possesses either a certificate under section 8 of the Weights and Measures Act, 1904, or a special inspector's certificate granted in accordance with regulations made by the Minister for Industry and Commerce under this section; (c) an ex-officio inspector of weights and measures may be appointed to be a special inspector and when so appointed may, if the Commissioner so directs, continue to be an ex-officio inspector of weights and measures; (d) a special inspector shall, in relation to the inspection, verification and stamping of taximeters, have all the powers and perform all the duties conferred or imposed on an inspector or an ex-officio inspector of weights and measures by the Weights and Measures Acts, 1878 to 1936, but without any restriction as to the area or district in which those powers may be exercised or those duties are to be performed by the special inspector; (e) references in the Weights and Measures Acts, 1878 to 1936, to an inspector or an ex-officio inspector of weights and measures shall, in relation to the inspection, verification and stamping of taximeters, be construed as including references to a special inspector, and those Acts shall have effect accordingly; (f) the Commissioner shall provide a special inspector with such standards and equipment as are necessary for the performance by him of his duties as a special inspector; (g) there shall be paid in respect of the verification and stamping of taximeters by special inspectors such fees as may be appointed by regulations made under this section by the Minister for Industry and Commerce with the consent of the Minister for Finance, and every such fee shall be payable by the person appointed in that behalf by those regulations; (h) all fees payable under this section in respect of the verification and stamping of taximeters by special inspectors shall be paid to the Commissioner and disposed of by him in accordance with this Act, save that such proportion (if any) of the fees as the Minister for Finance directs shall be paid into the Garda Síochána Reward Fund.
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(4)In addition to the powers conferred by section 8 of the Weights and Measures Act, 1889, as extended by section 6 of the Weights and Measures Act, 1904, the Minister for Industry and Commerce shall be entitled to charge on the comparison and verification of the standards and equipment provided by the Commissioner under this section such fees as he may, after consultation with the Minister and with the approval of the Minister for Finance, appoint.
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(5)The power of making general regulations vested in the Minister for Industry and Commerce by virtue of section 5 of the Weights and Measures Act, 1904, shall include power to make, after consultation with the Minister, general regulations with respect to the provision and maintenance of standards and equipment by the Commissioner under this section and the verification of such standards and equipment and with respect to the guidance of special inspectors in the execution and performance of their duties under this section, and the said section 5 shall have effect accordingly.
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(6)This section shall be construed as one with the Weights and Measures Acts, 1878 to 1936, and those Acts and this section may be cited together as the Weights and Measures Acts, 1878 to 1961.
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Bye-laws in relation to stands for street service vehicles.
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84.—(1) The Commissioner may, with the consent of the Minister and after consultation with the local authority concerned, make bye-laws in respect of any specified area for all or any of the following purposes: (a) appointing the places (in this Act referred to as appointed stands) in public roads in the area at which street service vehicles may stand for hire; (b) fixing the maximum number of street service vehicles which may stand for hire at any one time at any particular appointed stand; (c) prohibiting street service vehicles from standing for hire at places in public roads in the area which are not appointed stands; (d) regulating and controlling the use of appointed stands by street service vehicles.
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(2)The Commissioner, with the consent of the Minister, may make, in respect of any specified area temporary rules for all or any of the purposes specified in subsection (1) of this section.
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(3)The following provisions shall have effect in relation to temporary rules under this section in respect of an area: (a) the rules shall come into operation on a specified day not earlier than one week after the making of the rules; (b) during that week the Commissioner shall give, in relation to the rules, such notice as may be prescribed; (c) the rules shall have effect, unless they are sooner revoked, for the period of one year beginning on the day on which they come into operation; (d) the rules shall operate in lieu of such (if any) corresponding bye-laws under this section as may be in force in respect of the area.
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(4)Different bye-laws or rules may be made under this section in respect of different circumstances.
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(5)A driver of a street service vehicle who contravenes a bye-law or rule under this section and, if such driver is not the owner of the vehicle, such owner shall each be guilty of an offence.
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(6)Where a person charged with an offence under this section is the owner of the vehicle, it shall be a good defence to the charge for him to show that the vehicle was being used on the occasion in question by another person and that such use was unauthorised Stopping places and stands for omnibuses.
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85.—(1) The Commissioner may, by notice in writing, direct, in respect of a route upon which omnibuses are operated, that specified points shall be stopping places or that specified places shall be used as stands for the omnibuses.
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(2)The Commissioner may, at any time, by notice in writing, revoke or amend a direction given by him under subsection (1) of this section or any amendment made under this subsection of any such direction.
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(3)The Commissioner, when directing under this section that any particular point shall be a stopping place, may further direct that the point shall be a stopping place only for taking up passengers or that the point shall be a stopping place only for setting down passengers.
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(4)The Commissioner, when directing under this section that any particular point shall be a stopping place, may further direct that the point shall be a designated stopping place for omnibuses bearing a special notice indicating that they will stop only at designated stopping places.
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(5)The following provisions shall have effect in relation to a notice under this section: (a) the notice shall be signed by the Commissioner or by an officer of the Garda Síochána authorised in that behalf by the Commissioner; (b) the notice shall be addressed to the person who is operating the omnibus service specified in the notice; (c) the notice may state the date on and after which it is to be effective; (d) the notice, or a copy thereof, shall be served on the said person by registered post; (e) the notice shall have effect on and after whichever of the following days is the later, that is to say, the day stated in that behalf in the notice or the day after the day on which service of the notice (or a copy thereof) is effected or is deemed by section 18 of the Interpretation Act, 1937 to have been effected.
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(6)A certificate purporting to be signed by an officer of the Garda Síochána and to certify that a notice under this section in specified terms had effect on a specified day or days or during a specified period shall, without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign the certificate or that he was an officer of the Garda Síochána, be evidence in any legal proceedings until the contrary is shown that a notice under this section in the specified terms has been issued, that the requirements of subsection (5) of this section have been complied with in relation thereto and that it had effect on the specified day or days or during the specified period.
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Bye-laws with respect to stopping places and stands for omnibuses.
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86.—(1) In this section— references to stopping places shall be construed as references to stopping places directed by notice under section 85 of this Act; references to stands shall be construed as references to stands directed by notice under that section; “provide” includes erect or place, and also maintain, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.
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(2)The Commissioner may, with the consent of the Minister, make bye-laws for all or any of the following purposes: (a) controlling the stopping of omnibuses on any route on which there are stopping places; (b) controlling the use by omnibuses of stopping places and stands; (c) prohibiting, from stopping at or being parked in the vicinity of stopping places and stands, vehicles other than those for which stopping places or stands are directed; (d) enforcing order at stopping places and stands (including requiring queueing of intending passengers).
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(3)Different bye-laws may be made under this section— (a) in respect of different classes of vehicles, (b) for different circumstances.
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(4)Where a person uses an omnibus in contravention of a bye-law under this section, he and, if he is not the owner of the omnibus, such owner shall each be guilty of an offence.
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(5)Where a person uses a mechanically propelled vehicle other than an omnibus in contravention of a bye-law under this section, he and— (a) if he is not the registered owner of the vehicle, such owner, and (b) if the vehicle is the subject of a hire-drive agreement on the occasion in question and the person using it is not the hirer under the agreement, such hirer, shall each be guilty of an offence.
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(6)Where a person contravenes a bye-law under this section and the contravention does not constitute an offence under subsection (4) or subsection (5) of this section, he shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection.
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(7)Where a person charged with an offence under subsection (4) of this section is the owner of the vehicle, it shall be a good defence to the charge for him to show that the vehicle was being used on the occasion in question by another person and that such use was unauthorised.
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(8)(a) Where a person charged with an offence under subsection (5) of this section is the registered owner of the vehicle, it shall be a good 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 (5) of this section is the hirer of the vehicle, it shall be a good 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.
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(9)Where there are stopping places or stands in respect of a route upon which omnibuses are operated— (a) the person carrying on the service may, with respect to any stopping place or stand, provide thereat a sign to indicate that it is a stopping place or stand and provide markings on the roadway, in the vicinity thereof, indicating the area within which vehicles (other than vehicles for which the stopping place or stand is directed) are not to be stopped or parked; (b) the said person, on request by the Commissioner with respect to any stopping place or stand, shall provide such sign and markings as aforesaid at that stopping place or stand; (c) a sign or markings provided under or in pursuance of this subsection shall be of a size, form and colour approved of by the Minister; (d) a sign or markings provided under or in pursuance of this subsection may be provided on a public road without the consent of the road authority charged with the maintenance of the road; (e) the said person may provide, or contribute to the provision of, a shelter for intending bus passengers at or near any stopping place or stand, subject, where the shelter is provided on a public road, to the consent of the road authority charged with the maintenance of the road; (f) a sign provided at a stopping place or stand and indicating such stopping place or markings provided on the roadway in the vicinity of a stopping place or stand and indicating an area in which vehicles are not to be stopped or parked shall, in any prosecution for an offence under this Act, be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the defendant, to have been so provided lawfully and to be of a size, form and colour approved of by the Minister.
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(10)Where a person, without lawful authority, removes, defaces or otherwise injures a sign or shelter provided under this section, he shall be guilty of an offence.
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Property left in public service vehicle.
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87.—(1) The Commissioner may, in respect of any area and in respect of all public service vehicles or any class of public service vehicles, make bye-laws for all or any of the following purposes: (a) requiring the owners, drivers and conductors of public service vehicles to deposit in an appointed place within a specified time property left in the vehicles by passengers therein; (b) providing for the safe custody of such property and the re-delivery of such property to the owners thereof; (c) providing for the disposal of all such property which is not re-delivered to the owners thereof and, in particular, making special provision in regard to property which is a live animal or is of a perishable or offensive character; (d) authorising the charging of fees for re-deliveries; (e) providing, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, for the disposition of fees, proceeds of sale and other moneys received by the Commissioner in respect of such property, including the payment out of those moneys of rewards to persons depositing property in pursuance of this section.
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(2)Bye-laws shall not be made under this section save where the Commissioner is of opinion that, as respects the area and vehicles to which the bye-laws relate, satisfactory provision has not been made for the safe custody, re-delivery and disposal of property left in the vehicles by passengers.
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(3)A person who contravenes a bye-law under this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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(4)The Commissioner shall cause to be established and kept registers of lost property deposited under this section.
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(5)A register kept in pursuance of this section shall be in such form and in respect of such area as the Commissioner directs, and there shall be entered therein all such matters as he directs.
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(6)A register kept in pursuance of this section shall be received in evidence without further proof in any legal proceedings on being produced as such register by an officer of the Garda Síochána.
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(7)A document purporting to be a copy of an entry in a register kept in pursuance of this section and purporting to be certified by an officer of the Garda Síochána to be a true copy of the entry shall, without proof of the signature of the person purporting so to certify or that he was such officer, be received in evidence in any legal proceedings and shall, until the contrary is shown, be deemed to be a true copy of the entry and to be evidence of the terms of the entry.
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(8)A register kept in pursuance of this section shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection by any person on payment of a fee of one shilling.
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(9)A person shall be entitled to obtain from the Commissioner a copy, certified in writing by an officer of the Garda Síochána to be a true copy, of any entry in any register kept in pursuance of this section on payment therefor of a fee of sixpence for every folio or part of a folio of seventy-two words contained in the copy.
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PART VIII.
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Regulation of Traffic.
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Bye-laws for the general control of traffic and pedestrians.
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88.—(1) The Commissioner may, with the consent of the Minister, make bye-laws for the general regulation and control of traffic and pedestrians in public places.
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(2)Bye-laws under this section may, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, provide for all or any of the following matters: (a) specifying rules for the use of roads by traffic and pedestrians; (b) requiring traffic to proceed along a specified side of the roadway or, in the case of dual or multiple carriageways, along a specified carriageway; (c) assigning different parts of the roadway (including cycle tracks) to different traffic; (d) prohibiting specified traffic from using specified parts of the roadway; (e) prohibiting traffic from using footways; (f) specifying rights of priority of passage for traffic proceeding in the same direction or in different directions (whether opposite or crossing); (g) specifying the courses to be taken by traffic at road junctions; (h) regulating and controlling the stopping, reversing, turning and overtaking of vehicles; (i) regulating and controlling the driving of mechanically propelled vehicles and pedal cycles in relation to animals or animal-drawn traffic; (j) regulating and controlling the driving or leading of animals; (k) assigning specified parts of the road to pedestrians; (l) regulating and controlling the conduct of pedestrians on roads (and, in particular, the crossing of roadways by pedestrians) and specifying the respective rights of priority of traffic and pedestrians on roadways; (m) requiring specified signals to be given by persons in charge of traffic to indicate their intentions; (n) the control of traffic and pedestrians by members of the Garda Síochána on traffic control duty (and, in particular, specifying the signals to be given by such members and requiring persons in charge of traffic and pedestrians to obey those signals); (o) the control of traffic and pedestrians by means of signals given mechanically (and, in particular, requiring persons in charge of traffic and pedestrians to obey those signals); (p) requiring persons in charge of traffic to give audible warning of their approach; (q) prohibiting or restricting races, trials of speed or other competitions on roads.
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(3)Different bye-laws may be made under this section— (a) in respect of different classes of traffic, (b) for different circumstances, different areas and different classes of roads.
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(4)In this section “traffic” does not include pedestrians.
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(5)A person who contravenes a bye-law under this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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Bye-laws for the control of traffic and pedestrians in specified area.
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89.—(1) The Commissioner may, with the consent of the Minister and after consultation with the local authority concerned, make in respect of any specified area bye-laws for the regulation and control of traffic and pedestrians and to facilitate the movement of traffic and pedestrians.
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(2)Bye-laws under this section may, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, provide for all or any of the following matters: (a) specifying the courses to be taken by traffic proceeding along, crossing or turning into or out of public roads or any specified public road; (b) prohibiting or restricting traffic from entering or passing along any specified public road; (c) requiring traffic proceeding along any specified public road to proceed in a specified direction only; (d) prohibiting the passage through any specified public road of any article exceeding a specified length or a specified breadth; (e) regulating and controlling the conduct of pedestrians on public roads generally or any specified public road and, in particular, the crossing of the roadway of public roads or any specified public road by pedestrians; (f) prohibiting or restricting the loading or unloading of goods on, through, or across the footway of any specified public road; (g) prohibiting the lifting or lowering of goods by means of ropes, chains, tackles or other machinery across or over the footway of any specified public road; (h) restricting and controlling the driving or leading of animals on public roads or any specified public road; (i) restricting and controlling the deposit of goods on public roads or any specified public roads; (j) restricting and controlling the washing of footways of public roads; (k) controlling the conduct of persons waiting on public roads for transport or for admission to a building or other place or for any other lawful purpose and, in particular, requiring such persons to arrange themselves in queues and regulating the formation of the queues; (l) prohibiting or restricting the stopping, reversing, turning or overtaking of vehicles on any specified public road.
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(3)The Commissioner, with the consent of the Minister, may make, in respect of any specified area temporary rules for all or any of the purposes for which bye-laws may be made under this section.
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(4)The following provisions shall have effect in relation to temporary rules under this section in respect of an area: (a) the rules shall come into operation on a specified day not earlier than one week after the making of the rules; (b) during that week the Commissioner shall give, in relation to the rules, such notice as may be prescribed; (c) the rules shall have effect, unless they are sooner revoked, for the period of one year beginning on the day on which they come into operation; (d) the rules shall operate in lieu of such (if any) corresponding bye-laws under this section as may be in force in respect of the area.
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(5)Different bye-laws or rules may be made under this section— (a) in respect of different classes of traffic, (b) for different circumstances.
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(6)In this section “traffic” does not include pedestrians.
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(7)A person who contravenes a bye-law or rule under this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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(8)Where a person is charged with having committed an offence under this section, it shall be a good defence to the charge for him to show that the act alleged to constitute the offence was done bona fide and reasonably for the purpose or in the course of saving or endeavouring to save some person or property from death, destruction or injury by fire, flood or other calamity.
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Parking of vehicles on public roads.
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90.—(1) The Commissioner may, with the consent of the Minister and after consultation with the local authority concerned, make in respect of any specified area bye-laws for the control and regulation of the parking of vehicles on public roads.
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(2)Bye-laws under this section may, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, provide for all or any of the following matters: (a) specifying the places on public roads (in this Act referred to as parking places) in which vehicles may be parked either indefinitely or for any period not exceeding a specified period; (b) specifying the parking places in which parking is to be subject to the payment of fees by means of parking meters (in this section referred to as meter parking places); (c) specifying the parking places in which parking is to be subject to the exhibition of a document (in this section referred to as a disc) complying with specified requirements (in this section referred to as disc parking places); (d) specifying the parking places in which parking is to be subject to the payment of fees to licensed parking attendants (in this section referred to as attended parking places); (e) specifying the conditions (other than any condition referred to in paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of this subsection) subject to which vehicles may be parked in parking places or any specified parking place or class of parking places; (f) specifying the periods during which, and the purposes for which and the conditions subject to which vehicles may be parked, otherwise than in parking places, on public roads or any specified public road or class of public roads; (g) prohibiting the parking, including parking in parking places, of vehicles on public roads except in accordance with the bye-laws; (h) prohibiting wholly the parking, otherwise than in parking places, of vehicles on any specified public road; (i) prohibiting any person from acting, or holding himself out as ready to act, as a parking attendant on a public road (except at a parking place), and prohibiting any person other than a licensed parking attendant from acting or holding himself out as ready to act as a parking attendant at a parking place.
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(3)The following provisions shall apply in relation to a meter parking place: (a) the appropriate local authority shall provide the parking meters and collect the fees; (b) subject to any provisions made under this section by the Commissioner by bye-laws or rules, the appropriate local authority may by rules (made with the approval of the Minister) make such provisions as they consider necessary for the administration of the meter parking place, including (in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing) all or any of the following provisions: (i) provisions specifying the fees to be paid; (ii) provisions specifying the maximum periods in respect of which vehicles may be parked in respect of specified fees; (iii) provisions as to payment of fees, including manner of payment; (iv) provisions prohibiting the parking of a vehicle for a period for which a fee is chargeable without the appropriate fee having been paid in the manner specified; (v) provisions prohibiting the parking of a vehicle for a greater period than that in respect of which a fee was paid; (vi) provisions specifying the vehicles which may use the parking place; (vii) provisions exempting specified classes of vehicles from payment of the fees and provisions for effecting identification of exempted vehicles; (viii) provisions applying when parking meters are out of order or temporarily suspended from operation; (ix) provisions that indications given by parking meters shall be treated as evidence of such facts and for such purposes as may be specified in the rules.
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(4)The Commissioner may by bye-laws under subsection (1) of this section make such provisions as he considers necessary for the operation of disc parking places, including (in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing) all or any of the following provisions: (a) provisions requiring specified fees to be paid for discs; (b) provisions specifying the manner in which fees are to be paid; (c) provisions specifying the persons by whom and the manner in which discs are to be issued; (d) provisions specifying the duties in relation to discs of persons parking vehicles; (e) provisions specifying the manner in which discs are to be exhibited.
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(5)The Commissioner may by bye-laws under subsection (1) of this section specify the fees to be charged by licensed parking attendants in respect of attended parking places and make such provisions regarding payment of the fees (including manner of payment) as he considers necessary.
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(6)The Commissioner may by bye-laws under subsection (1) of this section make such provisions as he considers necessary with regard to the licensing of parking attendants, including (in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing) all or any of the following provisions: (a) provisions for the licensing by the Commissioner of persons to act as parking attendants at parking places; (b) provisions for the issuing of official badges by the Commissioner to licensed parking attendants and the wearing of the badges by the attendants; (c) provisions specifying the duties of licensed parking attendants; (d) provisions specifying the fees to be paid by licensed parking attendants for licences granted and for badges issued to them under the bye-laws; (e) provisions prohibiting persons from interfering with, obstructing or molesting a licensed parking attendant in the performance of his duties as such attendant.
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(7)(a) The Commissioner, with the consent of the Minister, may make, in respect of any specified area, temporary rules for all or any of the purposes for which bye-laws may be made under this section. (b) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to temporary rules under this subsection in respect of an area: (i) the rules shall come into operation on a specified day not earlier than one week after the making of the rules; (ii) during that week the Commissioner shall give, in relation to the rules, such notice as may be prescribed; (iii) the rules shall have effect, unless they are sooner revoked, for the period of one year beginning on the day on which they come into operation; (iv) the rules shall operate in lieu of such (if any) corresponding bye-laws under this section as may be in force in respect of the area.
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(8)Different bye-laws or rules may be made under this section— (a) in respect of different classes of vehicles, (b) for different circumstances.
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(9)Where there is a contravention of a bye-law or rule under this section and a mechanically propelled vehicle is involved— (a) the person parking the vehicle, and (b) if the person parking it is not its registered owner, such owner, and (c) if the vehicle is the subject of a hire-drive agreement on the occasion in question and the person parking it is not the hirer under the agreement, such hirer, shall each be guilty of an offence.
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(10)(a) Where a person charged with an offence under subsection (9) of this section is the registered owner of the vehicle, it shall be a good 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 (9) of this section is the hirer of the vehicle, it shall be a good 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.
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(11)Where there is a contravention of a bye-law or rule under this section and a mechanically propelled vehicle is not involved, the person contravening the bye-law or rule shall be guilty of an offence.
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(12)In any prosecution for an offence under this section, a parking meter at a meter parking place shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the defendant, to have been duly placed there under this section and to have been accurate and in good working order.
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(13)The performance by the Commissioner or a local authority of his or their functions under this section or under any bye-law or rule thereunder shall not render the Commissioner or the local authority subject to any liability in respect of loss of or damage to any vehicle in a parking place or the contents of such vehicle.
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(14)A licensed parking attendant shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act not to be the person in charge of the vehicles in the parking place at which he is the parking attendant.
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(15)(a) In this section— “licensed parking attendant” means a person duly licensed under bye-laws under this section to act as a parking attendant at a parking place; “parking meter”means an apparatus for collecting fees at a parking place and for indicating payment of such fees and the periods that have elapsed since they were paid. (b) Where a parking place is in the functional area of the council of a county, the corporation of a county or other borough, the council of an urban district or the commissioners of a town, such council, corporation or commissioners shall be the appropriate local authority for the purposes of subsection (3) of this section. (c) Where a county includes any borough, urban district or town, the functional area of the council of the county shall, for the purposes of the foregoing paragraph, be deemed not to include the borough, urban district or town.
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(16)Rules under subsection (3) of this section shall, for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act, 1947 , be deemed to be an instrument to which that Act primarily applies.
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(17)The Minister may by regulations provide for the disposition of any fees under this section and fees to which any such regulations relate shall be disposed of in accordance with these regulations.
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Control of traffic when there is event attracting large assembly, etc.
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91.—(1) For the purpose of preserving order in relation to traffic when there is an event attracting a large assembly of persons or when there is traffic congestion or a fire, flood or similar occurrence, a member of the Garda Síochána in uniform may do all or any of the following things: divert, regulate and control traffic and regulate and control the parking of vehicles.
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(2)The powers conferred by subsection (1) of this section shall, in particular, include power to do all or any of the following things by oral or manual direction: (a) prohibit the passage of traffic; (b) indicate the direction in which traffic is to proceed; (c) prohibit the parking of vehicles; (d) indicate places for the parking of vehicles or as standsfor public service vehicles and regulate their use; (e) make any other prohibitions or indications which he considers necessary for preventing obstruction or disorder in traffic.
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(3)A person who contravenes a direction given by a member of the Garda Síochána under this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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(4)Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a person may, for the purposes of this section, act temporarily as a parking attendant subject to his having been authorised so to do by an officer of the Garda Síochána.
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Prevention of obstruction of traffic by fairs and markets.
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92.—(1) Where any fair or market is held in any public place within the functional area of the corporation of a county or other borough, the council of a county or an urban district or the commissioners of a town, the corporation, council or commissioners may make such bye-laws as they consider necessary for securing the free passage of vehicular traffic through public roads on the occasion of fairs or markets.
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(2)Sections 219 to 223 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878 , shall apply to bye-laws under this section in like manner as they apply to bye-laws under that Act, subject to the modification that references therein to a sanitary authority shall be construed as references to the corporation of a county or other borough, the council of a county or an urban district, or the commissioners of a town, as the case may require.
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(3)A person who contravenes a bye-law under this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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(4)Where a county includes any borough, urban district or town, the functional area of the council of the county shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed not to include the borough, urban district or town.
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Protection of bridges from excessive burdens.
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93.—(1) (a) A road authority, railway or canal company or other person liable to maintain a bridge carrying a public road may, by notices in the prescribed form placed in the prescribed manner on the approaches to the bridge, prohibit any vehicle, which with the load (if any) thereon exceeds the weight specified in the notices, from passing over the bridge either (as may be specified in the notices) at all, at a speed exceeding a specified speed or subject to specified conditions. (b) A notice placed on the approaches to a bridge which purports to be a notice under this subsection shall, in any legal proceedings, be presumed, until the contrary is shown, to be a notice placed pursuant to this subsection and to be in the prescribed form and placed in the prescribed manner.
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(2)Notices shall not be placed under subsection (1) of this section in respect of a bridge unless some restriction on the use of the bridge is reasonably necessary to ensure that the traffic over the bridge will not impose on the bridge a greater burden than it is capable of bearing, and no such notice shall impose a greater restriction on the use thereof than is reasonably necessary for that purpose.
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(3)A person, who claims that notices purporting to have been placed under subsection (1) of this section have been so placed in contravention of subsection (2) of this section, may appeal in the prescribed manner to the Minister and, on the hearing of the appeal, the Minister shall give such directions (whether for the maintenance, removal or alteration of the notices) as he thinks proper.
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(4)Where the Minister, in consequence of an appeal to him under this section, gives directions for the removal or alteration of the notices to which the appeal relates, the person by whom the notices were placed shall, within three days after the communication of the directions to him, remove or alter the notices in accordance with the directions.
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(5)A person who contravenes subsection (4) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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(6)A person shall not drive a vehicle over a bridge in contravention of a notice placed under subsection (1) of this section in relation to the bridge (notwithstanding that the notice may have been placed in contravention of subsection (2) of this section).
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(7)A person who contravenes subsection (6) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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(8)Where a vehicle is driven over a bridge in such circumstances as to constitute an offence under subsection (6) of this section, the owner of the vehicle shall be liable in damages to the authority, company or other person liable to maintain the bridge for any injury caused to the bridge by the driving of the vehicle over the bridge, and the damages shall be recoverable by such person from the owner of the vehicle by civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction.
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(9)Where notices are placed under this section in respect of a bridge, it shall be lawful, with the consent of the Commissioner, for the authority, company or other person liable to maintain the bridge, and it shall be the duty of such authority, company or other person if required by the Commissioner, to erect and maintain a sign, either in advance of or at the bridge, to give indication to traffic of the prohibition provided for by the notices, being a sign conforming with the prescribed provisions as to size, shape, colour and character.
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Closing of particular roads to vehicles.
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94.—(1) The Minister may, after holding a public inquiry, by order prohibit, subject to such exceptions or conditions as may be specified in the order, the driving of vehicles or any class of vehicles on any specified public road in respect of which it appears to him, in consequence of the inquiry, to be proved that the driving of vehicles or the class of vehicles on the road would endanger the traffic thereon or that the road is for any other reason unsuitable for use by vehicles or such class of vehicles.
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(2)Where an order is made under subsection (1) of this section— (a) it shall be the duty of the road authority charged with the maintenance of the road to which the order relates to erect and maintain, at such places as are specified in the order, notices in a form approved of by the Minister stating the effect of the order, and (b) it shall be lawful for such road authority, with the consent of the Commissioner, and shall be their duty if required by the Commissioner, to erect and maintain a sign, either in advance of or at the road, to give indication to traffic of the prohibition provided for by the order, being a sign conforming with the prescribed provisions as to size, shape, colour and character.
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(3)Where an order has been made under subsection (1) of this section, the Minister may at any time, after giving notice to the road authority charged with the maintenance of the road to which the order relates and considering any representations made to him by such road authority, by order revoke or amend the first-mentioned order and thereupon it shall be the duty of such road authority to remove or alter the notices erected and maintained by them under subsection (2) of this section in relation to the first-mentioned order.
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(4)The making of representations pursuant to subsection (3) 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 or the council of an urban district, 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.
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(5)A person shall not drive a vehicle on a road in contravention of an order under subsection (1) of this section.
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(6)Where a person contravenes subsection (5) of this section, he and, if he is not the owner of the vehicle, such owner shall each be guilty of an offence.
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(7)Where a person charged with an offence under this section is the owner of the vehicle, it shall be a good defence to the charge for him to show that the vehicle was being used on the occasion in question by another person and that such use was unauthorised.
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Traffic signs.
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95.—(1) In this section— “road regulation” means an order, regulation, bye-law or rule under an enactment (other than section 86 , 93 , 94 or 96 of this Act) relating to traffic on a road; “traffic sign” means any sign, device, notice or roadway marking, or any instrument for giving signals by mechanical means, which does one or more of the following: (a) gives information in regard to a public road, including the places to which it leads and the distances to or from such places, (b) warns persons of danger in relation to a public road, or advises the precautions to be taken against such danger, or both, (c) indicates the existence of a road regulation in relation to a public road, or implements such a regulation, or both; “provide” includes erect or place, maintain and (in the case of an instrument for giving signals by mechanical means) operate and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.
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(2)(a) The Minister, if he so thinks fit, may make regulations with respect to specified traffic signs, and where a traffic sign of the same kind as a traffic sign specified in any such regulations is provided by a road authority, it shall be in accordance with the regulations unless otherwise authorised by the Minister. (b) Regulations under this subsection may specify the significance to be attached to a traffic sign specified in the regulations, but this provision shall not be construed as requiring the regulations to provide that the traffic sign is to comprise any word, words or symbol indicating precisely the significance of the traffic sign.
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(3)A road authority shall provide on any public road in their charge such traffic signs as may be requested by the Commissioner in the positions indicated by him and shall, as respects any traffic signs so provided, carry out any periodical transfers from place to place and any alterations and removals which he may request.
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(4)A request by the Commissioner under subsection (3) of this section may be for the provision either of traffic signs for all times or occasions or of traffic signs for a limited period or a particular occasion or particular occasions.
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(5)A road authority may, with the consent of the Commissioner, provide for any public road in their charge such traffic signs as they consider desirable.
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(6)Where the provision by a road authority of a traffic sign on land adjacent to but not forming part of a public road is reasonably necessary, the road authority may, after at least twenty-one days' notice, given by registered post to the occupier (if any) of the land and to every (if any) person interested in the land whose existence, name and address can be ascertained by such road authority by reasonable enquiries, enter and provide the traffic sign on the land.
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(7)Where a traffic sign is provided under subsection (6) of this section on any land by a road authority, any person interested in the land may at any time, on giving notice of his intention so to do to the road authority, apply to the Minister to direct the removal of the traffic sign.
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(8)Where an application is made under subsection (7) of this section, in relation to a traffic sign provided on any land, the Minister, after consideration of the application, shall either— (a) refuse the application, (b) if he is satisfied that the provision of the traffic sign is not reasonably necessary, direct the removal of the traffic sign from the land, or (c) if he is satisfied that the provision of the traffic sign in its existing position causes unnecessary or unreasonable hardship, direct the removal of the traffic sign to another position on the land.
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(9)Where the Minister gives a direction under subsection (8) of this section in relation to a traffic sign, the road authority who provided the traffic sign shall comply with the direction.
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(10)A person other than a road authority shall not provide a traffic sign visible from a public road without the consent of the Commissioner.
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(11)The occupier or (in the case of unoccupied land) the owner of land on which a traffic sign is provided in contravention of subsection (10) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and, in any prosecution for an offence under this subsection and notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the traffic sign shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the defendant, to have been provided by a person other than a road authority without the consent of the Commissioner.
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(12)Where a person wilfully obstructs or interferes with the exercise by a road authority of the powers conferred by subsection (6) of this section, or without lawful authority, removes, defaces or otherwise injures a traffic sign provided under this section, he shall be guilty of an offence.
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(13)Expenses incurred by a road authority in providing traffic signs for a public road shall be part of the expenses of maintaining the road.
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(14)A person shall not provide any such sign, device, notice or light as is not a traffic sign if, on provision thereof, it is visible from a public road and— (a) it is capable of being confused with a traffic sign, (b) it makes a traffic sign provided in accordance with this section less visible to road users, or (c) it obstructs the view of public road users so as to render the road dangerous to them.
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(15)The occupier or (in the case of unoccupied land) the owner of land on which a sign, device, notice or light is provided in contravention of subsection (14) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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(16)Where a traffic sign, not being a traffic sign to which regulations under subsection (2) of this section relate, is provided under this section by a road authority, it shall be in conformity with any general or particular directions that may be given from time to time by the Minister.
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(17)A traffic sign standing provided under any subsection of section 69 of the Local Government Act, 1946 , at the commencement of this section shall be deemed to be provided under the corresponding subsection of this section.
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(18)A traffic sign on or near a public road shall, in any prosecution for an offence under this Act, be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the defendant, to have been so placed lawfully and to be in accordance with any regulation, or in conformity with any direction, under this section relating to it.
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(19)A request by or consent of the Commissioner under this section may be signed by an officer of the Garda Síochána authorised in that behalf by the Commissioner.
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(20)Where a person is charged with an offence under subsection (11) or subsection (15) of this section, it shall be a good defence to the charge for him to show— (a) that the traffic sign, sign, device, notice or light to which the charge relates was provided neither by him nor with his consent, and (b) that as soon as was practicable after its provision came to his notice, he had it removed.
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Patrol of places where school-children cross public roads.
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96.—(1) The council of a county, the corporation of a county or other borough, the council of an urban district or the commissioners of a town may, with the consent of the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, make arrangements for the patrolling, by persons (in this section referred to as traffic wardens) employed or nominated by them, of places where school-children cross public roads.
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(2)A traffic warden may exhibit such sign as may be prescribed requiring traffic to stop and remain stopped so as to enable school-children to cross the road in safety, and traffic shall stop and remain stopped accordingly so long as the sign is exhibited.
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(3)A person who fails to stop a vehicle or animal or keep it stopped in accordance with subsection (2) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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(4)The power conferred on a traffic warden by subsection (2) of this section shall be exercisable only if the warden is wearing such uniform as may be prescribed.
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(5)Where a county includes any borough, urban district or town, the functional area of the council of the county shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed not to include the borough, urban district or town.
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(6)A person acting as a traffic warden shall, in any legal proceedings, be presumed, until the contrary is shown, to have been so acting in accordance with arrangements duly made under this section and with the regulations for the purposes of this section.
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(7)In this section— “traffic” does not include pedestrians; “uniform” includes any garment, armlet or cap.
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Vehicle left or abandoned on public road.
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97.—(1) Where a vehicle is left on a public road in such a position as to cause or to be likely to cause danger or obstruction to traffic or is abandoned on a public road, a member of the Garda Síochána may himself remove the vehicle or cause any other person to remove it and may arrange for the storage of the vehicle.
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(2)Where a vehicle is removed pursuant to this section, such charge in respect of the removal as may be specified by the Minister for Justice by regulations shall be paid to the Commissioner by the owner of the vehicle.
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(3)Where a vehicle is stored pursuant to this section, such charge in respect of the storage as may be appropriate in accordance with a scale specified by the Minister for Justice by regulations shall be paid to the Commissioner by the owner of the vehicle.
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(4)A charge under this section may, in default of being paid, be recovered as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.
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(5)When making regulations under this section, the Minister for Justice shall take account of the reasonable cost of removing and storing vehicles.
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Prohibition of obstruction of traffic.
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98.—(1) A person shall not do any act (whether of commission or omission) which causes or is likely to cause traffic through any public place to be obstructed.
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(2)A person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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(3)Where a person is charged with an offence under this section, it shall be a good defence to the charge for him to show that there was lawful authority for the act complained of or that it was due to unavoidable accident.
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Prohibition of unauthorised holding or getting on to vehicles.
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99.—(1) A person shall not hold on to, or get on or in to, a moving vehicle in a public place.
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(2)A person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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(3)Where a person is charged with an offence under this section, it shall be a good defence to the charge for him to show that there was lawful authority for the act complained of or that otherwise there was reasonable cause therefor.
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Cyclists holding on to other vehicles.
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100.—(1) A person on a bicycle or a tricycle in a public place shall not hold on to any other vehicle (other than a pedal bicycle which no person is driving) which is in motion or hold on to any person or thing on, in or attached to any such vehicle.
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(2)A person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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Provision of car parks by local authorities.
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101.—(1) In this section— “local authority” means a sanitary authority within the meaning of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Acts, 1878 to 1952; “car park” means a place (not being part of a public road) for the parking of mechanically propelled vehicles.
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(2)A local authority may provide such one or more car parks (and access thereto) as they consider desirable in order to relieve or prevent traffic congestion.
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(3)A local authority may, with the consent of the Minister, assist any person providing a car park, and the assistance may consist either of a contribution of money or the execution of works or the grant or lease of land.
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(4)For the purposes of subsection (2) or subsection (3) of this section, a local authority may, with the consent of the Minister, purchase or take on lease any land or any easement in, to or over the land or use any land which they have acquired for another purpose.
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(5)Sections 203 , 214 and 215 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878 , as amended by section 8 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1896 , and section 68 of the Local Government Act, 1925 , shall apply to the acquisition of land by a local authority under this section, but with the modification that the advertisements mentioned in subsection (2) of section 203 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878 , may be published in any month, and that the notices mentioned in that subsection shall be served in the next succeeding month.
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(6)Subsection (2) of this section shall be construed as conferring on a local authority— (a) power, subject to the consent of the Minister, to erect a building used wholly or mainly for parking mechanically propelled vehicles, (b) power, subject to the consent of the Minister, to erect waiting rooms, cloak rooms and similar facilities for any car park provided by them, (c) power to adapt land for use as a car park.
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(7)A local authority may make bye-laws as to the use of any car park provided by them under this section, and, in particular, in relation to all or any of the following matters: (a) restricting the classes of vehicles which may be admitted to the car park; (b) specifying the charges to be made for the use of the car park; (c) specifying the periods for which vehicles may remain in the car park.
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(8)Sections 219 to 223 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878 , shall apply to bye-laws under this section in like manner as they apply to bye-laws under that Act.
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(9)Where a local authority become of opinion that the land used for a car park provided by them under this section should be used for a different purpose for which they may lawfully use land, the local authority may terminate the use of the land for a car park.
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(10)A local authority who have provided under this section a car park may, with the consent of the Minister, sell or lease the car park or any part thereof to any person subject to such conditions as they think proper.
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(11)The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, make grants from the Road Fund towards the expenses incurred under this section by a local authority.
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PART IX.
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Miscellaneous.
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General penalty.
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102.—Where a person is guilty of an offence under any section or subsection of a section of this Act and, apart from this section and disregarding any disqualification that may be capable of being imposed, no penalty is provided for the offence, such person shall be liable on summary conviction— (a) in the case of a first offence under that section or subsection—to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, (b) in the case of a second offence under that section or subsection, or of a third or subsequent such offence other than an offence referred to in the next paragraph—to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, and (c) in the case of a third or subsequent offence under that section or subsection which is the third or subsequent such offence in any period of twelve consecutive months—to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
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Special provision applying where certain offences are alleged to have been committed.
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103.—(1) This section applies to such offences under this Act as may be declared by the Minister by regulations to be offences to which this section applies.
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(2)Where a member of the Garda Síochána finds a person and has reasonable grounds for believing that such person is committing or has committed an offence to which this section applies, the member may deliver to such person a notice in the prescribed form stating— (a) that such person is alleged to have committed that offence, (b) that such person may, during a period of twenty-one days beginning on the date of the notice, make to a member of the Garda Síochána at a specified Garda Síochána station a payment of a prescribed amount accompanied by the notice, (c) that a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during the period specified in the notice, or, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, at all.
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(3)Where a member of the Garda Síochána finds a mechanically propelled vehicle and has reasonable grounds for believing that an offence to which this section applies involving the use of the vehicle is being or has been committed, the member may affix to the vehicle a notice in the prescribed form stating— (a) that that offence is alleged to have been committed, (b) that a person liable to be prosecuted for the offence may, during a period of twenty-one days beginning on the date of the notice, make to a member of the Garda Síochána at a specified Garda Síochána station a payment of a prescribed amount accompanied by the notice, (c) that a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during the period specified in the notice, or, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, at all.
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(4)Where a notice is delivered under subsection (2) or affixed under subsection (3) of this section— (a) a person to whom the notice applies may, during the period specified in the notice, make to a member of the Garda Síochána at the Garda Síochána station specified in the notice the payment specified in the notice accompanied by the notice, (b) the member may receive the payment, issue a receipt therefor, retain it for disposal in accordance with this Act and no payment so received shall in any circumstances be recoverable by the person who made it, (c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall not be instituted during the period specified in the notice or, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, at all.
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(5)In a prosecution for an offence to which this section applies, the onus of showing that a payment pursuant to a notice under this section has been made shall lie on the defendant.
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(6)A notice affixed to a vehicle under subsection (3) of this section shall not be removed or interfered with except by a person to whom the notice applies.
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(7)A person who contravenes subsection (6) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
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Notice of offence.
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104.—Where a person is charged with an offence under section 47 , 52 or 53 of this Act, he shall not be convicted of the offence unless either— (a) he was warned at the time at which the offence is alleged to have been committed, or within twenty-four hours thereafter, that the question of prosecuting him for an offence under some one of those sections would be considered, or (b) within fourteen days after the commission of the offence, a summons for the offence was served on him, or (c) within those fourteen days a notice in writing stating the time and place at which the offence is alleged to have been committed and stating briefly the act or acts alleged to constitute the offence and stating the inten- tion to prosecute him therefor was served personally or by registered post on him or (in the case of a mechanically propelled vehicle) on the registered owner of the vehicle in relation to which the offence is alleged to have been committed:
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Provided that— (i) failure to comply with this requirement shall not be a bar to conviction in a case in which the court is satisfied that— (I) the accused by his own conduct contributed to the failure, or (II) in case the offence alleged to have been committed is in relation to a mechanically propelled vehicle, neither the name and address of the accused nor the name and address of the registered owner of the vehicle could with reasonable diligence have been ascertained in time for a summons to be served or for a notice to be served as aforesaid, or (III) in case the offence alleged to have been committed is not in relation to a mechanically propelled vehicle, the name and address of the accused could not with reasonable diligence have been ascertained in time for a summons to be served or a notice to be sent as aforesaid, and (ii) it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the defendant, that the requirement of this section has been complied with.
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Evidence of speed.
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105.—Where the proof of the commission of an offence under this Act involves the proof of the speed at which a person (whether the accused or another person) was driving— (a) the uncorroborated evidence of one witness stating his opinion as to that speed shall not be accepted as proof of that speed, (b) the onus of establishing that speed prima facie may be discharged by tendering evidence of indications from which that speed can be inferred which were given by a watch or electronic or other apparatus, and it shall not be necessary to prove that the watch or electronic or other apparatus was accurate or in good working order.
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Duties on occurrence of accident.
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106.—(1) Where injury is caused to person or property in a public place and a vehicle is involved in the occurrence of the injury (whether the use of the vehicle was or was not the cause of the injury), the following provisions shall have effect: (a) if the vehicle is not stationary after the occurrence, the driver of the vehicle shall stop the vehicle; (b) the driver or other person in charge of the vehicle shall keep the vehicle at or near the place of the occurrence for a period which is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case and having regard to the provisions of this section; (c) the driver of the vehicle or, if he is killed or incapacitated, the person then in charge of the vehicle shall give on demand the appropriate information to a member of the Garda Síochána or, if no such member is present, to one person entitled under this section to demand such information; (d) if a member of the Garda Síochána is not present at the occurrence and either— (i) there is no person entitled under this section to demand the information, or (ii) the case is one in which, as respects the sole person entitled under this section to demand the appropriate information or each of the persons so entitled, it is reasonably clear that he could not be expected to make a demand because of injury, illness, age or other disability, the driver of the vehicle or, if he is killed or incapacitated, the person then in charge of the vehicle shall report the occurrence as soon as possible to a member of the Garda Síochána and, if necessary, shall go for that purpose to the nearest convenient Garda Síochána station and also shall give on demand the appropriate information to the member.
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(2)Where— (a) a member of the Garda Síochána has reasonable grounds for believing that an injury has been caused to person or property in a public place and that a vehicle was involved in the occurrence of the injury (whether the use of the vehicle was or was not the cause of the injury), and (b) the member is not aware of the place where the vehicle is being kept, the member may require the owner of the vehicle to state to the member where the vehicle is being kept and the owner shall comply with that requirement.