Quarter Sessions
| Date | 01 January 1953 |
| Published date | 01 January 1953 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201835301700102 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Quarter Sessions
ACONTINGENCY OVERLOOKED
IN
S. 21 OF
THE
ROAD
TRAFFIC ACT, 1930
At recent Quarter Sessions for
the
Borough of Scar-
borough counsel successfully argued
that
certain counts
in an indictment failed as section 21 of
the
Road Traffic
Act 1930 (which requires notice to be given to a person
that
he is likely
to
be prosecuted under certain conditions)
had
not
been complied with. The circumstances under which
the
matter
arose disclose a
trap
for
the
unwary, which must
surely exist because
the
situation which here existed has
not
been anticipated
by
the parliamentary draughtsmen.
A
man
had
previously appeared before
the
Scarborough
Borough Justices charged under section 15 of
the
Road
Traffic Act 1930 with driving amotor-car whilst under
the
influence of drink to such an extent as to be incapable of
having proper control of the vehicle,
and
had
elected a
committal for trial by jury. The examining justices found
a
prima
facie case
and
he was duly committed for trial upon
that
charge alone. The circumstances of
the
offence were
in no sense unusual, the
man
having driven through streets
in
the
town in such a manner and
at
such a speed as to
attract
the
attention of police officers, who stopped him
and
after examination came to
the
conclusion
that
acharge
under section 15 ante was appropriate. The nature of
the
evidence recorded in the depositions was such
that
had
the
examining justices thought fit they could justifiably have
committed him for trial on charges of dangerous driving
and
reckless driving in addition to the charge under section 15,
but
they
did
not
do so. Their authority to do so is un-
doubted
by
virtue of section 25 of
the
Indictable Offences
Act 1848,dangerous driving and reckless driving being made
indictable offences by section 11 of the Road Traffic Act
1930.
Counsel charged with
the
responsibility of drawing
the
indictment, however, thought
it
desirable
that
there should
be included in
the
indictment counts relating
to
the charges
22
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