Traffic Management Bill

House of Commons

Session 2003 - 04
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Traffic Management Bill

Traffic Management Bill
Part 1 — Traffic Officers
1

A
Bill
To
Make provision for and in connection with the designation of traffic officers
and their duties; to make provision in relation to the management of road
networks; to make new provision for regulating the carrying out of works and
other activities in the street; to amend Part 3 of the New Roads and Street
Works Act 1991 and Parts 9 and 14 of the Highways Act 1980; to make new
provision in relation to the civil enforcement of traffic contraventions; to
amend section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984; 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:—
Part 1
Traffic Officers
Traffic officers for England and for Wales
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Traffic officers: introduction
(1)
This Part makes provision for the designation of individuals as traffic officers
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by, or under an authorisation given by, the Secretary of State or the Assembly.
(2)
The duties assigned to traffic officers must be connected with, or intended to
facilitate or to be conducive or incidental to—
(a)
the management of traffic on the relevant road network; or
(b)
the performance of any other functions of the appropriate national
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authority (in its capacity as a traffic authority or highway authority).
(3)
In subsection (2) “the relevant road network” means—
(a)
the network of relevant roads in England (in the case of traffic officers
designated by, or under an authorisation given by, the Secretary of
State); or
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Part 1 — Traffic Officers
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(b)
the network of relevant roads in Wales (in the case of traffic officers
designated by, or under an authorisation given by, the Assembly).
(4)
Traffic officers shall have such special powers (for use in connection with the
performance of their duties) as are provided for by section 5.
(5)
In this Part “relevant road” means a road in England for which the Secretary of
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State is the traffic authority or a road in Wales for which the Assembly is the
traffic authority.
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Designation of traffic officers
(1)
The appropriate national authority may—
(a)
designate individuals as traffic officers; and
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(b)
authorise another person to designate individuals as traffic officers.
(2)
An authorisation under subsection (1)—
(a)
must be given (and may be varied or withdrawn) in writing; and
(b)
may be given subject to such limitations and conditions as the
appropriate national authority thinks appropriate.
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(3)
The designation of an individual as a traffic officer must be made (and may be
withdrawn) in writing.
(4)
A designation may provide that it is to remain in force (unless it is withdrawn
or otherwise ceases to have effect) for a specified period.
(5)
A traffic officer designated under an authorisation must be employed by, or by
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a person providing services to, the authorised person.
(6)
An individual designated under an authorisation shall cease to be a traffic
officer if the person who appointed him either withdraws his designation or
ceases to be authorised.
(7)
The appropriate national authority may direct an authorised person to
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withdraw immediately the designation of all or any of the individuals who
have been designated by that person.
Jurisdiction and powers of traffic officers
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Jurisdiction of traffic officers
(1)
A traffic officer has jurisdiction—
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(a)
over any relevant road in England (if he was designated by, or under
an authorisation given by, the Secretary of State); or
(b)
over any relevant road in Wales (if he was designated by, or under an
authorisation given by, the Assembly),

unless his designation provides that this subsection does not apply to him.
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(2)
If subsection (1) does not apply to a traffic officer, he has jurisdiction only over
such relevant roads, or relevant roads of such descriptions, as may be specified
in his designation.

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Part 1 — Traffic Officers
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Powers to direct traffic officers
(1)
A traffic officer shall, when carrying out his duties, comply with any direction
of a constable.
(2)
Subject to that, a traffic officer designated by an authorised person shall, when
carrying out his duties, comply with any direction of the appropriate national
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authority.
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The special powers of a traffic officer
(1)
For the purposes of this Part the special powers of a traffic officer are the
following—
(a)
powers conferred by sections 6 and 7;
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(b)
powers conferred by regulations under section 8; and
(c)
powers conferred by or under any other Act which are expressed to be
special powers for the purposes of this section.
(2)
The exercise of those powers is subject to the following restrictions.
(3)
Those powers may only be exercised for one or more of the following
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purposes—
(a)
maintaining or improving the movement of traffic on a relevant road
over which the traffic officer has jurisdiction by virtue of section 3;
(b)
preventing or reducing the effect of anything causing (or which has the
potential to cause) congestion or other disruption to the movement of
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traffic on such a road;
(c)
avoiding danger to persons or other traffic using such a road (or
preventing risks of any such danger arising);
(d)
preventing damage to, or to anything on or near, such a road;

or for a purpose incidental to any of those purposes.
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(4)
Subject to that, those powers may be exercised—
(a)
on or in relation to any relevant road over which the traffic officer has
jurisdiction to act by virtue of section 3; or
(b)
if the condition specified in subsection (5) is met, on or in relation to any
other road in England and Wales.
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(5)
The condition is that the traffic officer is acting—
(a)
at the direction of the chief officer of police for the area in which the
road is situated; or
(b)
with the consent of the traffic authority for the road.
(6)
A traffic officer may not exercise his special powers on a road unless he is in
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uniform.
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Powers to stop or direct traffic etc.
(1)
A traffic officer, when engaged in the regulation of vehicular traffic in a road,
has—
(a)
the power of a constable under section 35(1) of the Road Traffic Act
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1988 (c. 52) (“the 1988 Act”) to direct a person driving or propelling a
vehicle to stop the vehicle or to proceed in, or keep to, a particular line
of traffic;

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(b)
the power of a constable under section 37 of that Act to direct persons
on foot to stop.
(2)
A traffic officer has the power of a constable under section 35(2) of the 1988 Act
(for the purposes of a traffic survey of any description being carried out on or
in the vicinity of a road) to direct a person driving or propelling a vehicle to
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stop the vehicle, to make it proceed in or keep to a particular line of traffic or
to proceed to a particular point.
(3)
A traffic officer has the powers of a constable under 163(1) and (2) of the 1988
Act (powers to stop vehicles and cycles on a road).
(4)
The special powers conferred by this section are enforceable in the same way
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as the corresponding powers of a constable and, accordingly, each reference to
a constable in—
(a)
section 35(1) and (2), 37 and 163 of the 1988 Act (offences relating to
those corresponding powers); or
(b)
any provision of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (c. 53) which
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refers to any of the provisions mentioned in paragraph (a),

includes a reference to a traffic officer.
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Powers to place temporary traffic signs
(1)
A traffic officer has the powers of a constable under section 67(1) of the Road
Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (c. 27) (power in the case of emergencies and
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temporary obstructions etc to place and temporarily maintain traffic signs on a
road or on any structure on a road).
(2)
The references in section 67(1) and (2) to powers conferred by subsection (1) of
that section include a reference to the corresponding powers of a traffic officer
by virtue of this section.
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Power to confer further special powers on traffic officers
(1)
The appropriate national authority may by order made by statutory
instrument confer further special powers on traffic officers.
(2)
The national authority may not confer a further special power on traffic officers
unless it is satisfied that the power is necessary for the purpose of facilitating
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the performance of any duties which may be assigned to traffic officers.
(3)
The order may—
(a)
provide for the enforcement of any special power conferred by the
order (whether by the creation of a summary offence or otherwise);
(b)
make supplemental, incidental, transitional or consequential provision
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(including provision amending any Act or subordinate legislation).
(4)
An order under this section may not be made by the Secretary of State unless a
draft of the order has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each
House of Parliament.
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Removal of certain vehicles by traffic officers
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(1)
The power to make regulations under section 99 of the Road Traffic Regulation
Act 1984 includes, in relation to the removal of vehicles by traffic officers,
power to make consequential provision.

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Part 1 — Traffic Officers
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(2)
The provision which may be made by virtue of subsection ( 1) includes in
particular provision—
(a)
amending, or
(b)
applying in relation to vehicles removed by traffic officers (with or
without modifications),
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any provision of sections 100 to 102 of the 1984 Act (disposal of vehicles
removed under section 99).
Miscellaneous and supplementary
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Offences
(1)
A person who assaults a traffic officer in the execution of his duties is guilty of
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an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 51 weeks or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (or
both).
(2)
A person who resists or wilfully obstructs a traffic officer in the execution of his
duties is guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to
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imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks or to a fine not exceeding
level 3 on the standard scale (or both).
(3)
A person who, with intent to deceive—
(a)
impersonates a traffic officer,
(b)
makes any statement or does any act calculated falsely to suggest that
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he is a traffic officer, or
(c)
makes any statement or does any act calculated falsely to suggest that
he has powers as a traffic officer that exceed the powers he actually has,

is guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for
a term not exceeding 51 weeks or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard
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scale (or both).
(4)
A person to whom this subsection applies who fails to give his name and
address to a traffic officer in uniform on being required to do so by that officer
is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
level 3 on the standard scale.
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(5)
Subsection (4) applies to a person whom the traffic officer reasonably believes
to have been the driver of a vehicle at a time of a failure to comply with a
direction given in relation to that vehicle under a power conferred by section 6.
(6)
In the case of offences committed before the commencement of section 281(5)
of the Criminal Justice Act 2003—
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(a)
subsections (1) and (3) apply as if for “51 weeks” there were substituted
“six months”; and
(b)
subsection (2) applies as if for “51 weeks” there were substituted “one
month”.
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Uniform
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The appropriate national authority may determine the uniform for traffic
officers designated by, or under an authorisation granted by, that authority.