Divisional Court Cases
| Published date | 01 July 1961 |
| Date | 01 July 1961 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201836102500302 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Divisional Court Cases
UNFIT
TO DRIVE: SCOPE FOR PROVISO
John v. Bentley
THE above case (The Times z
rst
April 1961) appears to have
been
the
first occasion on which the
High
Court
has
considered
the
scope of
the
proviso to s. 9 (1) of
the
Road-
Traffic Act 1956 (now s. 6. (2) of
the
Road Traffic Act, 1960).
It
will be remembered
that
this proviso affords a special
defence to a person charged with being unfit to drive while in
charge of a motor vehicle.
It
is enacted by
the
proviso
that-
"a
person shall be deemed for
the
purposes of this section
not
to have beenin charge of a motor vehicle if he
proves-
(1)
that
at
the
material time
the
circumstances were
such
that
there was no likelihood of his driving the
vehicle so long as he remained unfit to drive;
and
(2)
that
between his becoming unfit to drive and
the
material time he had
not
driven
the
vehicle on a
road or public place."
On
the
z
rst
June
1960
the
defendant was charged at
Dunstable magistrates' court with being in charge of a motor
vehicle when unfit to drive by reason of his being
under
the
influence of drink to such an extent as to be incapable of
having proper control of the vehicle.
The
magistrates found
the
charge proved.
The
defendant appealed to Bedford
County Quarter Sessions who allowed the appeal
but
stated
a case for
the
opinion of
the
High Court.
On
the zoth April
1951 this appeal was heard by a Divisional Court consisting
of
Lord
Parker C.J., Gorman and Salmon
JJ.
who reluctantly
affirmed
the
decision of Quarter Sessions.
The
facts found in
the
case stated were
that
the defendant
and
two other
men
decided to go from Dunstable where they
worked to a public house at Eaton Bray and get
"dead
drunk."
The
defendant used his employer's motor vehicle to take all
three
men
to the public house.
They
had however agreed
that
they would either spend
the
night at the public house or get
lSI
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