Vehicle Inspectorate v T. D. Company Kelly Ltd
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 02 December 1997 |
| Date | 02 December 1997 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Civil Division) |
Queen's Bench Divisional Court
Before Lord Justice McCowan and Mr Justice Collins
Road traffic - vehicle operator's licence - exemption for emergency vehicles
Owners of a vehicle kept for use in an emergency were exempt from the need to obtain an operator's licence only if they were a business for the supply of water, gas, electricity or telephone services.
The Queen's Bench Divisional Court so stated when allowing an appeal by Elaine Wing on behalf of the Vehicle Inspectorate by way of case stated from the acquittal by Prestatyn Justices on May 11, 1995 of T D & C Kelly Ltd on a charge of unlawfully using a goods vehicle contrary to section 60 of the Transport Act 1968. The court took account of delay in bringing the matter to appeal and did not remit the case to the justices.
Mr Mark Bishop for the prosecutor; Mr Tim Swan for the defendants.
MR JUSTICE COLLINS said that a preliminary issue arose in relation to failure to comply with rules for time limits in stating a case. Reference was made to R v Croydon Justices, Ex parte Lefore HoldingsWLR ([1980] 1 WLR 1465) and Parsons v F W Woolworth & Co LtdWLR ([1980] 1 WLR 1472).
His Lordship would not wish to detract from the concern in both those cases that rules should be obeyed and cases brought forward as quickly as possible. However, each case should be considered on its facts.
In the present case the justices' clerk had accepted responsibility for the most substantial part of the delay. The other parties had also contributed to delay.
When dealing with cases giving rise to points of law going beyond the facts of the case, it was generally speaking, right that the matter should be decided on by the court. The respondent could be protected, if the court decided that was the proper course to take, by the court not remitting the case to the justices.
In the present case, the justices had found that the company's vehicle was exempt from the need to obtain an operator's licence for its use as an emergency vehicle because it fell within the definition in paragraph 27 of Schedule 5, Part I to the Goods Vehicles (Operators' Licences, Qualifications and Fees) Regulations (SI 1984 No 176).
That definition...
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