Recent Book: A Practical AID for Magistrates: Road Traffic
| Published date | 01 July 1981 |
| Date | 01 July 1981 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X8105400317 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
contributing agencies is reflected in the
quality of the book.
A book of precedents needs two
attributes: I. a tist of relevant accurately
formulated headings and 2. a means of
finding the correct headings quickly,
Brian Coase has satisfied both these
requirements.
The charges are concise and clearly set
out: those selected for inclusion cover the
mainstream of Police activity as wellas a
wide variety of less used charges. Some.
such as "Advertising reward for goods
stolen" seem a little obscure, but.
generally. the list is quite acceptable.
Accurate and well set out indices
enhance the usefulness of the book.
These are at the front and consist of
chronological tables of statutes and
statutory instruments together with an
alphabetical index of subjects. Major
areas such as Property, Road Traffic and
Theft are in bold capitals with sub
headings in lowercase letters. Precedents
can be easily found by using the
appropriate Act and section of the
named title of the subject. A small
experiment was carried out to attempt to
beat these indices, but this failed: on each
occasion the appropriate precedent was
found with ease.
There are 10 parts to this book. each
dealing with a major aspect of the
criminal law, e.g, Part Icontains all
precedents relating to "Offences Against
Property", Part 7
"Road
Traffic
Offences", This is a further aid to the
rapid location of precedents,
Being in hard back should make the
book suitable for use in police stations
where it is likely to receive rugged
treatment. At £12 the book is good value
for money and in these days of financial
restraint may prove to be a suitable
alternative to more expensive volumes of
a similar nature. J. D.
CHlDWICK
A
PRACTICAL
AID FOR MAGISTRATES
PATRICK
HALNAN:
Road Traffic.
Chichester: Barry Rose Publishers Ltd. £2.50.
PART
I of this booklet begins with
observations and comparisons between
traffic and other criminal offences, and
emphasizes the seriousness of many. The
number of lives lost and injuries
sustained on the roads compared with
those elsewhere in the field of crime are
often overlooked by magistrates and
offenders alike.
In dealing with traffic offences, advice
is offered on guilty plea by post and the
use of the court clerk. It continues into
Notices of Intended Prosecution where
some very salient points are made. Two
recent cases Gibson v. Dalton and Offen
v.
Ransom.
apparently
opposing
decisions of the High Court. indicate the
care that needs to be exercised when
dealing with what would seem to be a
very straightforward piece of legislation.
PART
II deals individually with the
more serious offences and those which
come before the courts most often.
Drink/ Driving iscovered ina basicform
but points out some of the problems that
have faced the courts. Although
primarily intended for the guidance of
new magistrates, it could be misleading
to the average motorist who finds himself
in trouble with the lawand may produce
July
1981
a few "barrack room lawyers", The
section on failing to stop and report
accidents sets out some of the various
reasons why drivers do not comply with
this law. all of which have to be
considered by a bench when deciding on
a penalty. A similarity' exists with
careless driving in that this type of
offence varies greatly in gravity from a
technical breach of the law to cases
ofthe
utmost severity in which, occasionally,
persons are killed or maimed for life.
These offences are increasing in number
and present problems to all who
administer the law: it is to be hoped that
the new Transport Act will substantially
increase the penalty for this type of
offence.
Coverage
ofthe
Construction and Use
Regulations, although brief. deals with
the more serious and common breaches
of the Regulations. The remarks in
respect of overweight vehicles are
particularly important.
In
PART
III are highlighted some of
the pitfalls involved with 'Sentences and
Orders' and clear and concise guides are
provided through the complexities of
endorsement, disqualifications. special
reasons and mitigating circumstances.
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