Divisional Court Cases
| Date | 01 October 1951 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201835101500403 |
| Published date | 01 October 1951 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Divisional Court Cases
WHEN
IS A
FORECOURT
A ROAD
Thomas v. Dando
Bysec. 15 of
the
Road Transport Lighting Act 1927 a
road is defined as
"any
public highway
and
any
other
road
to
which
the
public has access."
Sec. 1 of
the
above Act provides
that
"It
shall be
the
duty
of
any
person who causes or permits a vehicle to be
on
any
road during
the
hours of darkness to provide
the
vehicle
with
lamps in accordance with
the
require-
ments of this Act . . . ."
In
Bugge v. Taylor
(1941
].C.L. 319)
the
Divisional
Court
had
to consider
the
case of a
private
carriage-way
in
the
forecourt of a hotel
at
aroad junction.
The
evidence
was
that
the
forecourt was separated from
the
public
carriage-way
by
pavement,
but
that
members of
the
public
habitually
'cut'
the
corner
by
walking across
the
fore-court
carriage-way.
The
Court held
that
there was sufficient
evidence
to
justify
the
magistrates in holding
that
the
carriage-way of
the
forecourt was a
"road".
Inthe
present case
(1951
1
A.E.R.
1010)
the
defendant
was charged before
the
deputy
stipendiary magistrate for
Cardiff
with
breach of sec. 1 of
the
Road Transport Lighting
Act 1927 on
the
following facts. The defendant was
the
owner'of a house
and
shop. Separating
the
defendant's
shop from
the
public footpath was a small unpaved fore-
court
on which a wall
had
at
one time stood
at
the
boundary
between
the
public footway
and
the
defendant's land.
Members of
the
public
had
to cross
the
forecourt to
get
to
the
shop
but
did
not
use
it
for-any other purpose. On
the
night of
the
alleged offence
the
defendant:
had
left an
unlighted motor-car on
the
forecourt. The magistrate
dismissed
the
information.
On
the
20th April 1951 an appeal
by
way of case
stated
was
heard
by
aDivisional Court consisting of Lord Goddard
y3ID
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