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A | |
Bill | |
To | |
Make provision with respect to the driving and use of vehicles drawn by | |
horses or other animals on roads or in other public places; and for connected | |
purposes. | |
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and | |
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present | |
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— | |
Promotion of road safety | |
1 Code of Practice for Horse-drawn Vehicles | |
After section 38 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52) there shall be inserted the | |
following section— | |
“38A Code of Practice for Horse-drawn Vehicles | 5 |
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the Secretary of | |
State— | |
(a) shall make a Code of Practice for Horse-drawn Vehicles; and | |
(b) may from time to time revise such a Code of Practice by | |
revoking, amending or adding to its provisions in such manner | 10 |
as he thinks fit. | |
(2) Before making or revising a Code of Practice for Horse-drawn Vehicles, | |
the Secretary of State must consult with such representative | |
organisations as he thinks fit. | |
(3) Where the Secretary of State— | 15 |
(a) has made a Code of Practice for Horse-drawn Vehicles; or | |
(b) has made any alterations in the provisions of such a Code (other | |
than merely consequential on the passing, amendment or repeal | |
of any statutory provision), | |
he must lay the Code or the alterations before both Houses of | 20 |
Parliament. | |
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(4) A Code of Practice for Horse-drawn Vehicles, and any alterations to | |
such a Code, laid in accordance with subsection (3), shall be subject to | |
annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House before a period | |
of forty days has expired beginning with the day on which the Code or | |
alterations were so laid. | 5 |
(5) The Secretary of State must cause any Code of Practice for Horse-drawn | |
Vehicles to be printed and copies to be made available to the public | |
either free of charge or at such price as he may determine. | |
(6) A failure on the part of a person to observe a provision of a Code of | |
Practice for Horse-drawn Vehicles shall not of itself render that person | 10 |
liable to criminal proceedings of any kind but any such failure may in | |
any proceedings (whether civil or criminal, and including proceedings | |
for an offence under this Act) be relied upon by any party to the | |
proceedings as tending to establish or negative any liability which is in | |
question in those proceedings. | 15 |
(7) Until a Code of Practice for Horse-drawn Vehicles is made under this | |
section, the Code of Practice for Horse Drawn Vehicles published in | |
2000 by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions | |
shall have effect as if it had been so made, and may be revised | |
accordingly. | 20 |
(8) Paragraphs (a) and (c) of section 38(9) apply for the purposes of | |
subsections (3) and (4) as they apply for the purposes of section 38(3).” | |
Driving and other offences | |
2 Driving and other offences | |
After Part II of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52) there shall be inserted the | 25 |
following Part— | |
“part iia | |
Other road safety provisions | |
Driving offences relating to vehicles drawn by animals | |
86A Causing death by driving dangerously a horse-drawn vehicle etc. | 30 |
If a person causes the death of another person by driving dangerously | |
a vehicle drawn by a horse or other animal on a road or in another | |
public place, he shall be guilty of an offence. | |
86B Driving dangerously a horse-drawn vehicle etc. | |
If a person drives dangerously a vehicle drawn by a horse or other | 35 |
animal on a road or in another public place, he shall be guilty of an | |
offence. | |
86C Meaning of dangerous driving | |
(1) For the purposes of sections 86A and 86B a person is to be regarded as | |
driving dangerously if (and, subject to subsection (2), only if)— | 40 |
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(a) the way he drives falls far below what would be expected of a | |
competent and careful driver; and | |
(b) it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that | |
driving in that way would be dangerous. | |
(2) A person is also to be regarded as driving dangerously for the purposes | 5 |
of sections 86A and 86B if it would be obvious to a competent and | |
careful driver that driving the vehicle in its current state would be | |
dangerous. | |
(3) In subsections (1) and (2) “dangerous” refers to danger either of injury | |
to any person or of serious damage to property; and in determining for | 10 |
the purposes of those subsections what would be expected of, or | |
obvious to, a competent and careful driver in a particular case, regard | |
shall be had not only to the circumstances of which he could be | |
expected to be aware but also to any circumstances shown to have been | |
within the knowledge of the accused. | 15 |
(4) In determining for the purposes of subsection (2) the state of a vehicle, | |
regard may be had to anything attached to or carried on or in it and to | |
the manner in which it is attached or carried. | |
86D Careless and inconsiderate driving of a horse-drawn vehicle etc. | |
If a person drives a vehicle drawn by a horse or other animal on a road | 20 |
or in another public place without due care and attention, or without | |
reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or place, he | |
shall be guilty of an offence. | |
Danger to road users | |
86E Interference with a horse-drawn vehicle etc. | 25 |
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if he intentionally and without lawful | |
authority or reasonable cause interferes with a vehicle drawn, or likely | |
to be drawn, by a horse or other animal in such circumstances that it | |
would be obvious to a reasonable person that to do so would be | |
dangerous. | 30 |
(2) In subsection (1) “dangerous” refers to danger either of injury to any | |
person while on or near a road, or of serious damage to property on or | |
near a road; and in determining for the purposes of that subsection | |
what would be obvious to a reasonable person in a particular case, | |
regard shall be had not only to the circumstances of which he could be | 35 |
expected to be aware but also to any circumstances shown to have been | |
within the knowledge of the accused. | |
(3) This section does not extend to Scotland. | |
Using horse-drawn vehicle etc. in dangerous condition | |
86F Using horse-drawn vehicle etc. in dangerous condition | 40 |
A person shall be guilty of an offence if he uses, or causes or permits | |
another to use, a vehicle drawn by a horse or other animal on a road or | |
in another public place when— | |
(a) the condition of the vehicle, or of its accessories or equipment; | |
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(b) the purpose for which it is used; | |
(c) the number of passengers carried by it, or the manner in which | |
they are carried; or | |
(d) the weight, position or distribution of its load, or the manner in | |
which it is secured, | 5 |
is such that the use of the vehicle involves a danger of injury to any | |
person.” | |
Powers of constables and duties of drivers | |
3 Further amendment of the Road Traffic Act 1988 | |
(1) The Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52) shall be further amended as follows. | 10 |
(2) In section 163 (power of police to stop vehicles), after subsection (1) there shall | |
be inserted— | |
“(1A) A person driving a vehicle drawn by a horse or other animal on a road | |
or in another public place must stop the vehicle on being required to do | |
so by a constable in uniform.” | 15 |
(3) After section 165 (power of constables to obtain names and addresses of drivers | |
and others, and to require production of evidence of insurance or security and | |
test certificates) there shall be inserted— | |
“165A Power of constables to obtain names and addresses of drivers of | |
horse-drawn vehicles etc. and others | 20 |
(1) Any of the following persons— | |
(a) a person driving a vehicle drawn by a horse or other animal on | |
a road or in another public place; | |
(b) a person whom a constable has reasonable cause to believe to | |
have been the driver of such a vehicle at a time when an | 25 |
accident occurred owing to its presence on a road or in another | |
public place; or | |
(c) a person whom a constable has reasonable cause to believe to | |
have committed an offence in relation to the use of such a | |
vehicle on a road or in another public place, | 30 |
must, on being so required by a constable, give his name and address | |
and the name and address of the owner of the vehicle. | |
(2) A person who fails to comply with a requirement under subsection (1) | |
shall be guilty of an offence. | |
(3) In this section “owner”, in relation to a vehicle which is the subject of a | 35 |
hiring agreement, includes each party to the agreement.” | |
(4) In section 167 (power of arrest in Scotland for dangerous, careless or | |
inconsiderate driving or cycling)— | |
(a) at the end of paragraph (a) the word “and” shall be omitted; and | |
(b) at the end of paragraph (b) there shall be inserted— | 40 |
“, and | |
(c) may arrest without warrant the driver of a vehicle who | |
within his view commits an offence under section 86B or | |
86D unless the driver gives his name and address.” | |
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(5) In section 168 (failure to give, or giving false, name and address in case of | |
dangerous or careless or inconsiderate driving or cycling), after paragraph (b) | |
there shall be inserted— | |
“or | |
(c) the driver of a vehicle who is alleged to have committed an | 5 |
offence under section 86B or 86D,”. | |
(6) After section 170 (duty of driver to stop, report accident and give information | |
or documents) there shall be inserted— | |
“170A Duty of driver of horse-drawn vehicle etc. to stop after accident and | |
give particulars or report accident | 10 |
(1) This section applies in a case where, owing to the presence of a vehicle | |
(in this section referred to as “the vehicle”) drawn by a horse or other | |
animal on a road or in another public place, an accident occurs by | |
which— | |
(a) personal injury is caused to a person other than the driver of the | 15 |
vehicle; or | |
(b) damage is caused— | |
(i) to an animal within the meaning of section 170(8), not | |
being an animal drawing, or being carried in or on, the | |
vehicle, | 20 |
(ii) to another vehicle, or | |
(iii) to any other property constructed on, fixed to, growing | |
in or otherwise forming part of the land on which the | |
road or public place in question is situated or land | |
adjacent thereto. | 25 |
(2) The driver of the vehicle must stop and, if required to do so by any | |
person having reasonable grounds for so requiring, give his name and | |
address and also the name and address of the owner of the vehicle. | |
(3) If for any reason the driver of the vehicle does not give his name and | |
address under subsection (2), he must report the accident. | 30 |
(4) A person who fails to comply with subsection (2) or (3) shall be guilty | |
of an offence. | |
(5) To comply with a duty under this section to report an accident, the | |
driver— | |
(a) must do so at a police station or to a constable; and | 35 |
(b) must do so as soon as is reasonably practicable and, in any case, | |
within 24 hours of the occurrence of the accident. | |
(6) In this section “owner”, in relation to a vehicle which is the subject of a | |
hiring agreement, includes each party to the agreement.” | |
Trial | 40 |
4 Alternative verdicts | |
(1) Section 24 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (c. 53) (alternative verdicts: | |
general) shall be amended as follows. | |
(2) In the Table, after the entry relating to section 28 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 | |
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(c. 52), there shall be inserted— | |
| | “Section 86A (causing death by | Section 86B (driving | | | | | driving dangerously a horse- | dangerously a horse-drawn | | | | | drawn vehicle etc.) | vehicle etc.) | | | | | | Section 86D (careless and | | 5 | | | | inconsiderate driving of a | | | | | | horse-drawn vehicle etc.) | | | | | Section 86B (driving | Section 86D (careless and | | | | | dangerously a horse-drawn | inconsiderate driving of a | | | | | vehicle etc.) | horse-drawn vehicle etc.)” | | 10 |
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Penalties | |
5 Amendment of Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 | |
Schedule 1, which further amends Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act | |
1988 (c. 53) (prosecution and punishment of offences), shall have effect. | |
Miscellaneous | 15 |
6 Minor and consequential amendments | |
Schedule 2, which makes minor amendments and amendments consequential | |
on the preceding provisions of this Act, shall have effect. | |
Supplementary | |
7 Repeal | 20 |
The enactment mentioned in Schedule 3 is hereby repealed to the extent | |
specified in the second column of that Schedule. | |
8 Commencement | |
This Act shall come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning | |
with the day on which it is passed. | 25 |
9 Extent | |
This Act does not extend to Northern Ireland. | |
10 Short title | |
This Act may be cited as the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2003. | |
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