Appendix. Road Traffic Act 1988, Sections 3A to 11; Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, ss 15, 16, 34
| Author | Pauline M Callow |
| Pages | 607-624 |
Road Traffic Act 1988, ss 3A to 11
Appendix
Road Traffic Act 1988, Sections 3A to 11
(1) If a person causes the death of another person by driving a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other public place without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or place, and—
(a) ! he is, at the time when he is driving, unfit to drive through drink or drugs, or
(b)! he has consumed so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath, blood or urine at that time exceeds the prescribed limit, or
(c)! he is, within 18 hours after that time, required to provide a specimen in pursuance of section 7 of this Act, but without reasonable excuse fails to provide it, [or
(d) ! he is required by a constable to give his permission for a laboratory test of a specimen of blood taken from him under section 7A of this Act, but without reasonable excuse fails to do so,
he is guilty of an offence.
(2) For the purposes of this section a person shall be taken to be unfit to drive at any time when his ability to drive properly is impaired.
(3) Subsection (1)(b) [,(ba)
4.— Driving, or being in charge, when under influence of drink or drugs
(1) A person who, when driving or attempting to drive a [mechanically propelled vehicle
3 Words in square brackets inserted by Road Safety Act 2006, s 31(2), in force 24 September 2007.
4 Paragraph number in square brackets inserted by Crime and Courts Act 2013, sch 22, para 2(3), in force in England and Wales 2 March 2015.
5 Words in square brackets substituted by Road Safety Act 2006, s 31(3), in force 24 September 2007.
6 Words in square brackets substituted by Road Traffic Act 1991, s 4, in force 1 July 1992.
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(2) Without prejudice to subsection (1) above, a person who, when in charge of a [mechanically propelled vehicle
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) above, a person shall be deemed not to have been in charge of a [mechanically propelled vehicle
(4) The court may, in determining whether there was such a likelihood as is mentioned in subsection (3) above, disregard any injury to him and any damage to the vehicle.
(5) For the purposes of this section, a person shall be taken to be unfit to drive if his ability to drive properly is for the time being impaired.
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5.— Driving or being in charge of a motor vehicle with alcohol concentration above prescribed limit
(1) If a person—
(a)! drives or attempts to drive a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, or
(b)! is in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place,
after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath, blood or urine exceeds the prescribed limit he is guilty of an offence.
(2) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1)(b) above to prove that at the time he is alleged to have committed the offence the circumstances were such that there was no likelihood of his driving the vehicle whilst the proportion of alcohol in his breath, blood or urine remained likely to exceed the prescribed limit.
(3) The court may, in determining whether there was such a likelihood as is mentioned in subsection (2) above, disregard any injury to him and any damage to the vehicle.
(1) This section applies where a person (“D”)—
(a) ! drives or attempts to drive a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, or
(b)! is in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, and there is in D’s body a specified controlled drug.
(2) D is guilty of an offence if the proportion of the drug in D’s blood or urine exceeds the specified limit for that drug.
(3) It is a defence for a person (“D”) charged with an offence under this section to show that—
(a)! the specified controlled drug had been prescribed or supplied to D for medical or dental purposes,
(b)! D took the drug in accordance with any directions given by the person by whom the drug was prescribed or supplied, and with any
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Subsections (6) to (8), and an earlier version of s 4 applying to Scotland only, repealed by Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, sch 7(1), para 27(2), in force 1 January 2006.
10 Section 5A inserted by Crime and Courts Act 2013, s 56, in force in England and Wales 2 March 2015.
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Road Traffic Act 1988, ss 3A to 11
accompanying instructions (so far as consistent with any such directions) given by the manufacturer or distributor of the drug, and
(c)" D’s possession of the drug immediately before taking it was not unlawful under section 5(1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (restriction of possession of controlled drugs) because of an exemption in regulations made under section 7 of that Act (authorisation of activities otherwise unlawful under foregoing provisions).
(4) The defence in subsection (3) is not available if D’s actions were—
(a)! contrary to any advice, given by the person by whom the drug was prescribed or supplied, about the amount of time that should elapse between taking the drug and driving a motor vehicle, or
(b)! contrary to any accompanying instructions about that matter (so far as consistent with any such advice) given by the manufacturer or distributor of the drug.
(5) If evidence is adduced that is sufficient to raise an issue with respect to the defence in subsection (3), the court must assume that the defence is satisfied unless the prosecution proves beyond reasonable doubt that it is not.
(6) It is a defence for a person (“D”) charged with an offence by virtue of subsection (1)(b) to prove that at the time D is alleged to have committed the offence the circumstances were such that there was no likelihood of D driving the vehicle whilst the proportion of the specified controlled drug in D’s blood or urine remained likely to exceed the specified limit for that drug.
(7) The court may, in determining whether there was such a likelihood, disregard any injury to D and any damage to the vehicle.
(8) In this section, and in sections 3A, 6C(1), 6D and 10, “specified” means specified in regulations made—
(a)! by the Secretary of State, in relation to driving or attempting to drive, or being in charge of a vehicle, in England and Wales;
(b)! by the Scottish Ministers, in relation to driving or attempting to drive, or being in charge of a vehicle, in Scotland.
(9) A limit specified under subsection (2) may be zero.
(1) If any of subsections (2) to (5) applies a constable may require a person to cooperate with any one or more preliminary tests administered to the person by that constable or another constable.
(2) This subsection applies if a constable reasonably suspects that the person–
(a) ! is driving, is attempting to drive or is in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, and
(b) ! has alcohol or a drug in his body or is under the influence of a drug.
(3) This subsection applies if a constable reasonably suspects that the person–
(a)! has been driving, attempting to drive or in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place while having alcohol or a drug in his body or while unfit to drive because of a drug, and
(b)! still has alcohol or a drug in his body or is still under the influence of a drug.
(4) This subsection applies if a constable reasonably suspects that the person–
(a) ! is or has been driving, attempting to drive or in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, and
(b) ! has committed a traffic offence while the vehicle was in motion.
(5) This subsection applies if–
11 Sections 6 to 6E were substituted by Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, sch 7, para 1, in force in part 29 March 2004, the remainder, 30 March 2004.
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(a) ! an accident occurs owing to the presence of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, and
(b) ! a constable reasonably believes that the person was driving, attempting to drive or in charge of the vehicle at the time of the accident.
(6) A person commits an offence if without reasonable excuse he fails to cooperate with a preliminary test in pursuance of a requirement imposed under this section.
(7) A constable may administer a preliminary test by virtue of any of subsections
(2) to (4) only if he is in uniform.
(8) In this section–
(a) ! a reference to a preliminary test is to any of the tests described in sections 6A to 6C, and
(b) " “traffic offence” means an offence under–
(i) ! a provision of Part II of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 (c.
14),
(ii) ! a provision of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (c. 27),
(iii) ! a provision of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (c. 53) other than a provision of Part III, or
(iv) ! a provision of this Act other than a provision of Part V.
6A.— Preliminary breath test
(1) A preliminary breath test is a procedure whereby the person to whom the test is administered provides a specimen of breath to be used for the purpose of obtaining, by means of a device...
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