Road Traffic Act 1956
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1956 c. 67 |
Road Traffic Act , 1956
(4 & 5 Eliz. 2) 67
An Act to amend the law relating to road traffic (including driving licences, lighting and insurance), the provision of parking places, the regulation of public service vehicles and the licensing of goods vehicles; and for purposes connected therewith.
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
General provisions relating to road traffic
1 Tests of satisfactory condition of vehicles.
(1) The provisions of this and the next following section shall have effect for the purpose of ascertaining whether the prescribed statutory requirements relating to the construction and condition of motor vehicles or their accessories or equipment are complied with.
(2) The Minister may by regulations make provision for the examination of vehicles submitted for examination under this section and for the issue, where it is found on such an examination that the said requirements are complied with, of a certificate (hereinafter referred to as a ‘test certificate’) that at the date of the examination the requirements were complied with in relation to the vehicle.
(3) Examinations for the purposes of this section shall be carried out by persons, not being officers of the Minister, authorised for those purposes by the Minister (hereinafter referred to as ‘authorised examiners’), by inspectors appointed by the Minister, or by inspectors appointed by any council designated by the Minister for the purposes of this section, being the council of a county, of a borough, or of a large burgh (within the meaning of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1947).
(4) Where a test certificate is refused, the inspector or examiner shall issue a notification of the refusal stating the grounds thereof, and any person aggrieved by the refusal or the grounds thereof may appeal to the Minister; and on any such appeal the Minister shall cause a further examination to be made and either issue a test certificate or issue such a notification as aforesaid.
(5) For the purposes of their functions under this section the Minister or a council designated for the purposes of this section may provide and maintain—
(a ) stations where examinations under this section may be carried out, and
(b ) apparatus for carrying out such examinations.
(6) The Minister may make regulations for the purpose of giving effect to the foregoing provisions of this section and for prescribing anything authorised by this section to be prescribed, and in particular as to—
(a ) the authorisation of examiners, the imposition of conditions to be complied with by authorised examiners and the withdrawal of authorisations;
(b ) the manner in which, conditions under which, and apparatus with which examinations are carried out, the maintenance of that apparatus in an efficient state, and the inspection of premises at which and apparatus with which examinations are being, or are to be, carried out;
(c ) the manner in which applications may be made for the examination of vehicles under this section, the manner in which and time within which appeals may be brought under subsection (4) of this section, the information to be supplied and documents to be produced on such an application, examination or appeal, the fees to be paid on such an application or appeal, and the repayment of the whole or a part of the fee paid on such an appeal where it appears to the Minister that there were substantial grounds for contesting the whole or part of the decision appealed against;
(d ) the form of, and particulars to be contained in, test certificates and notifications of the refusal thereof, and the supply by the Minister of forms for such certificates and notifications and the charges to be made for the supply thereof;
(e ) the issue of duplicates of test certificates lost or defaced and the fee to be paid for the issue thereof;
(f ) the keeping by designated councils and authorised examiners of registers of test certificates in the prescribed form and containing the prescribed particulars, and the inspection of such registers by such persons and in such circumstances as may be prescribed;
(g ) the keeping of records by designated councils and authorised examiners and the furnishing by them of returns and information to the Minister;
and regulations under this section may make different provision in relation to different cases or classes of cases.
(7) If any person with intent to deceive falsely represents himself to be, or to be employed by, an authorised examiner he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both such fine and such imprisonment.
(8) Subsections (1), (3) and (4) of section one hundred and twelve of the Act of 1930 (which relate to forgery and other offences committed as respects certificates of insurance and other documents) shall apply to test certificates as they apply to certificates of insurance.
(9) The powers conferred by this section to make regulations shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
2 Obligatory test certificates.
(1) Any person who uses on a road at any time, or causes or permits to be so used, a motor vehicle to which this section applies, and as respects which no test certificate has been issued within the appropriate period before the said time, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, or in the case of a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months.
(2) The motor vehicles to which this section applies at any time are those first registered under the Vehicles (Excise) Act, 1949, or the Roads Act, 1920, not less than ten years before that time:
Provided that this section shall not apply to public service vehicles adapted to carry eight or more passengers, to tramcars, to trolley buses, or to vehicles of such classes or descriptions as may be prescribed, and the Minister may by order made by statutory instrument provide that this section shall apply only to vehicles for the time being registered as aforesaid with such councils as may be specified in the order.
(3) The Minister may by order made by statutory instrument direct that the last foregoing subsection shall have effect with the substitution for ten years of such shorter period as may be specified in the order.
An order under this subsection shall not have effect unless approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.
(4) The Minister may by regulations exempt from subsection (1) of this section the use of vehicles for such purposes as may be prescribed.
(5) The Minister may by regulations exempt from subsection (1) of this section the use of vehicles in any such area as may be prescribed.
(6) The Minister may by regulations provide that where application is made for a licence under the Vehicles (Excise) Act, 1949, for a vehicle to which this section applies, the licence shall not be granted except after either—
(a ) the production of such evidence as may be prescribed of the granting of an effective test certificate or (if it is so prescribed) the production of such a certificate, or
(b ) the making of such a declaration as may be prescribed that the vehicle is not intended to be used during the period for which the licence is to be in force except for a purpose prescribed under subsection (4), or in an area prescribed under subsection (5), of this section.
In paragraph (a ) of this subsection the expression ‘effective test certificate’ means, in relation to an application for a licence for a vehicle, a test certificate relating to the vehicle and issued within the appropriate period before the date from which the licence is to be in force.
(7) In this section the expression ‘appropriate period’ means a period of twelve months or such shorter period as may be prescribed.
(8) In this section the expression ‘prescribed’ means prescribed by regulations of the Minister, and the power to make regulations conferred by this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(9) Where within the appropriate period after the issue of a test certificate, but not earlier than one month before the end of that period, a further test certificate is issued as respects the same vehicle, the further certificate shall be treated for the purposes of this section as if issued at the end of the said appropriate period.
(10) For the purpose of spreading the work of issuing certificates in contemplation of the coming into operation of this section or of a change in the length of the appropriate period—
(a ) the order appointing a day for the coming into operation of this section may appoint different days as respects vehicles registered as mentioned in subsection (2) of this section at different times;
(b ) the regulations changing the length of the appropriate period may be made so as to come into operation on different days as respects vehicles first registered under either of the enactments mentioned in the said subsection (2) at different times.
3 Testing of condition of vehicles on roads.
(1) Any authorised examiner may test a motor vehicle on a road for the purpose of ascertaining whether the requirements imposed by law (whether generally or at specified times or in...
To continue reading
Request your trial