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Traffic Act 1925
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to vehicular and other traffic
[Royal Assent 11 December 1925]
Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:
PART I - Preliminary
1. Short title and commencement
This Act may be cited as the Traffic Act 1925 , and shall come into force on 1st January 1926.
2. Act does not apply to aircraft
This Act does not apply to aircraft.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –authorised officer, when used in relation to any power, right or other matter, means an officer of the Commission or a local authority authorised in that behalf under section 9 (2) ;Commission means the Transport Commission incorporated under the Transport Act 1981 ;council clerk means a general manager within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1993 ;horses include asses, mules, and other draught animals or beasts of burden;motor vehicle race has the same meaning as it has for the purposes of Division III of Part VI of the Police Offences Act 1935 ;officer of the Commission means a person appointed or employed pursuant to section 8 of the Transport Act 1981 ;parking offence means an offence arising by reason of a vehicle being placed, left, or allowed to remain in a stationary position in any street or part of a street contrary to the regulations made under this Act;photographic detection device means an apparatus that is capable of being used for the detection and recording of offences of exceeding a prescribed speed limit and that is specified in a notice in force under subsection (3) ;public passenger vehicle means a public passenger vehicle within the meaning of the Passenger Transport Act 1997 ;public street means any street, road, lane, thoroughfare, footpath, bridge, or place open to or used by the public, or to which the public have or are permitted to have access, whether on payment of a fee or otherwise;registered operator of a motor vehicle or a trailer means the registered operator for the purposes of the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 or a corresponding law and includes –(a) in the case of a vehicle to which a trade plate under the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 or a similar device under a corresponding law is affixed – the person to whom the trade plate or similar device was issued; or(b) in the case of a vehicle for which a short term unregistered vehicle permit under the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 or a similar authorisation under a corresponding law has been issued – the person to whom the permit or authorisation was issued;the regulations means regulations made and in force under this Act;reliability trial has the same meaning as it has for the purposes of Division III of Part VI of the Police Offences Act 1935 ;traffic infringement notice has the meaning assigned to that expression by section 43H (1) ;vehicle includes any description of vehicle designed to move or to be moved on one or more wheels or revolving runners, and any truck, barrow, or similar vehicle, but, except as may be expressly prescribed by regulations, does not include a vehicle constructed or adapted for propulsion on rails only;withdrawal notice has the meaning assigned to that expression by section 43J (1) ;(2) This Act is to be read together with the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 as a single Act and accordingly –(a) words and expressions used in this Act that are defined under the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 (and not in this Act) have, unless the contrary intention appears, the same respective meanings; and(b) a reference to "this Act" extends, unless the contrary intention appears, to both Acts.(3) The Minister may, by notice published in the Gazette, declare that a device specified in the notice is a photographic detection device for the purposes of this Act.
(1) This Act shall be administered by the Commission, all police officers, and such other employees, within the meaning of the Tasmanian State Service Act 1984 , if any, as shall be appointed for that purpose.(2) Where, under this Act or the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 , any power or right may be exercised by an authorised officer, or any act is authorised or required to be done by or in respect of an authorised officer that power may be exercised by, and that act may be done by or in respect of, an officer of the Commission or of a local authority authorised in writing by the Commission in that behalf.(3) The Commission may only authorise an officer of a local authority to exercise a power or right in respect of, or in respect of the prevention of, prescribed offences within the municipal area of that local authority.
PART II - Motor Vehicles
10. Regulations: Application to the Crown
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1AA) . . . . . . . .(1) The Governor may make regulations –(a) . . . . . . . .(b) . . . . . . . .(ba) . . . . . . . .(bb) . . . . . . . .(bc) . . . . . . . .(bd) . . . . . . . .(be) . . . . . . . .(c) . . . . . . . .(ca) . . . . . . . .(d) . . . . . . . .(daa) . . . . . . . .(da) . . . . . . . .(db) . . . . . . . .(e) . . . . . . . .(f) . . . . . . . .(g) . . . . . . . .(h) . . . . . . . .(i) . . . . . . . .(j) . . . . . . . .(ja) . . . . . . . .(jb) providing for and regulating the placement and display of identifying information, such as the name and address of a registered operator and business names, on public passenger vehicles, freight carrying vehicles and other kinds of vehicle specified in the regulations;(k) . . . . . . . .(l) regulating and controlling the speed of motor vehicles in the public streets;(m) providing for preventing or minimizing noise from the action or working of the machinery or engine of any motor vehicle, whether by the use of a silencer or otherwise, or for preventing or minimizing smoke, smells, or fumes from any motor vehicle;(ma) providing for preventing or minimizing noise arising from the operation or driving of a motor vehicle;(n) providing for and regulating the affixing and maintenance of efficient brakes on motor vehicles;(o) with respect to the construction of motor vehicles, or the construction of the machinery, engine, or wheels, or other part thereof;(oa) providing for –(i) the inspection of motor vehicles and trailers (other than motor vehicles and trailers liable to inspection under the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 ); and(ii) the granting of certificates as to the result of those inspections; and(iii) the recovery of the cost of any such inspection or the granting of any such certificate from the registered operator of, or any other person having a right to the possession of, or the right to use, the vehicle in respect of which the inspection is made or the certificate granted;(p) . . . . . . . .(q) regulating or restricting the use of vehicles attached to or drawn by motor vehicles, and limiting the number of vehicles which may be so attached or drawn, and prohibiting the use of tyres, other than rubber tyres, on vehicles so attached or drawn;(qa) providing for and regulating any matter relating to alternative compliance schemes under Part VII and the accreditation of persons under or in connection with those schemes;(qb) . . . . . . . .(r) . . . . . . . .(ra) prescribing the manner in which the mass of the vehicle and the load which the vehicle may carry may be determined;(rb) regulating the size and other details of the tyres to be used on motor vehicles and trailers;(rc) providing, either generally or in particular cases, requirements to be met in relation to the construction and equipment of public passenger vehicles, freight carrying vehicles and other kinds of vehicle specified in the regulations, including the accommodation to be provided and the number of passengers, and the amount or mass of luggage or goods, that may be carried;(rd) providing for and regulating the operation of public passenger vehicles generally;(re) providing for and regulating the use of stands for the use of public passenger vehicles and freight carrying vehicles;(rf) . . . . . . . .(s) prescribing any matter or thing in connection with the use, possession, or ownership of motor vehicles which the Governor may deem necessary or expedient for the safety of the public, for the protection of property, or otherwise in the public interest;(sa) . . . . . . . .(t) regulating the keeping and use of petroleum, or any other inflammable or explosive liquid or fuel used for the purpose of motor vehicles, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any enactment relating to petroleum or to any other inflammable or explosive liquid or fuel.(u) . . . . . . . .(1A) . . . . . . . .(1B) . . . . . . . .(2) . . . . . . . .(3) . . . . . . . .(3A) . . . . . . . .(4) . . . . . . . .(4A) . . . . . . . .(4AB) . . . . . . . .(4B) . . . . . . . .(5) . . . . . . . .(6) . . . . . . . .(7) Any regulations under subsection (1) (ra) may provide that it is an offence, punishable on summary conviction, for a person to contravene any of those regulations and may provide in respect of any such offence a penalty not exceeding 20 penalty units for a first offence and a penalty not exceeding 40 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence.(8) . . . . . . . .(9) Regulations made under this section may –(a) apply generally or be limited in their application by reference to specified exemptions or specified factors; and(b) apply differently according to different factors, limitations or restrictions of a specified kind.
12. Certain vehicles to be fitted with seat belts, &c.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1) No person shall, on or after the appointed day, drive a motor vehicle to which this section applies unless –(a) the vehicle is fitted as prescribed with such seat belts and anchorages for seat belts as are prescribed; and(b) those seat belts and anchorages –(i) comply in all respects with the provisions of the regulations made for the purposes of this section; and(ii) are in sound condition and good working order.(2) No person shall, on or after the appointed day, sell or offer for sale a seat belt or an anchorage for a seat belt that does not comply in all respects with the regulations made for the purposes of this section.(3) . . . . . . . .(4) For the purposes of this section, the Governor may make regulations –(a) prescribing specifications as to the design, materials, strength, construction, and mode of fitting or installing seat belts and anchorages for seat belts and as to any other matters relating to seat belts and anchorages therefor as he deems necessary;(b) prescribing optional or alternative specifications as to any matters referred to in paragraph (a) ;(c) prescribing the number and position of seat belts and anchorages for seat belts required to be fitted to vehicles to which this section applies or to any particular kind or class of those vehicles;(d) exempting, or authorising the Registrar of Motor Vehicles or a designated officer to exempt, any vehicle or kind or class of vehicle from the requirements of this section, either generally or in prescribed circumstances or when used for prescribed purposes; and(e) authorising the Registrar of Motor Vehicles or a designated officer to approve, either unconditionally or subject to the observance of conditions imposed by the Registrar or that officer and either for a limited period or without limitation as to time, of seat belts or anchorages for seat belts fitted to any particular vehicle notwithstanding that they do not comply with the prescribed specifications as to the design, materials, strength, construction, or mode of fitting or installation thereof.(5) The regulations made for the purposes of this section may make different provision with respect to different kinds or classes of vehicles to which this section applies.(6) Where, pursuant to the regulations, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles or a designated officer approves of the seat belts or anchorages for seat belts fitted to a particular motor vehicle those seat belts and anchorages shall, so long as the approval continues in force and subject to the observance of the conditions (if any) imposed by the Registrar or that officer, be deemed for the purposes of this section to comply with the provisions of the regulations.(7) In this section –appointed day means such day as is declared by the Minister, by order, to be the appointed day for the purposes of this section;designated officer means any police officer or officer of the Commission who is authorised in that behalf, in writing, by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to exercise the powers conferred on a designated officer by this section;motor vehicle to which this section applies means a motor vehicle of such kind or class as may be prescribed, being a motor vehicle that has not at any time before the appointed day been registered in this State or in a prescribed State or Territory.
PART III - . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PART IIIA - Provisions Relating to Appeals from Decisions of the Commission
30A. Public Vehicles Licensing Appeal Tribunal
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1) For the purposes of this Act, there shall be constituted a tribunal to be called the Public Vehicles Licensing Appeal Tribunal (in this Part referred to as "the tribunal").(2) The tribunal shall consist of –(a) one member and one deputy member appointed by the Governor, who shall be magistrates;(b) one member and one deputy member appointed by the Governor on the nomination of the Commission; and(c) 4 members and 4 deputy members appointed by the Governor on the nomination of the Minister, of whom –(i) one member and one deputy member shall be experienced in the field of the carriage of goods by road;(ii) one member and one deputy member shall be experienced in the field of the carriage of passengers by road;(iii) one member and one deputy member shall be experienced in the field of cab and hire-car operations; and(iv) one member and one deputy member shall be experienced in the field of the carriage of passengers and goods by aircraft.(3) The member of the tribunal referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) shall be the chairman of the tribunal and the deputy member of the tribunal referred to in that paragraph shall be the deputy chairman of the tribunal.(3A) For the purpose of hearing any proceedings the tribunal shall be constituted of 3 persons, of whom –(a) one shall be the chairman of the tribunal;(b) one shall be a member or a deputy member referred to in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) ; and(c) one shall be a member or a deputy member referred to in paragraph (c) of subsection (2) appointed pursuant to subsection (3AB) .(3AB) The chairman of the tribunal shall –(a) select a field referred to in subsection (2) (c) as being the field that is most appropriate to the subject-matter of the proceedings to be heard by the tribunal; and(b) direct the member or deputy member experienced in that field to sit on the tribunal for the purpose of hearing those proceedings.(3B) Whenever the chairman of the tribunal –the deputy chairman of the tribunal shall carry out those duties and, while so doing, shall be deemed to be the chairman of the tribunal for the purposes of, and in connection with, the hearing and determination of that appeal.(a) is by reason of illness or for any other reason unable to carry out his duties with respect to the hearing and determination of an appeal under section 30B ; or(b) directs the deputy chairman of the tribunal to carry out those duties in his place –(3C) The deputy chairman of the tribunal shall not act as a member of the tribunal except as provided in subsection (3B) , and a deputy member, other than the deputy chairman of the tribunal, shall not act as a member of the tribunal unless directed to do so by the chairman of the tribunal or, where the deputy chairman of the tribunal is acting in place of the chairman, by the deputy chairman.(4) Each member and deputy member of the tribunal shall hold office for such period as the Governor may determine and as may be specified in the instrument of his appointment.(5) The members and deputy members of the tribunal (other than the chairman and deputy chairman) shall be entitled to be paid such remuneration and such travelling and other expenses, if any, as the Governor may determine.(6) The tribunal may, with the approval of the Secretary of the Department appoint an employee employed in the Department to be secretary of the tribunal.(7) The tribunal may, with the approval of the Head of an Agency within the meaning of the Tasmanian State Service Act 1984 , appoint an employee employed in that Agency to be secretary of the tribunal, and that employee may hold that office in conjunction with his position in the State Service.(8) The Commission shall pay to the Public Account such sum as may be determined by the Treasurer for the service of an employee, within the meaning of the Tasmanian State Service Act 1984 , appointed under subsection (7) , and the Treasurer may reimburse that sum to the Agency in which the employee is employed.
PART IV - Traffic
31. Regulations on recommendation of committee or council
(1) The Governor may make regulations prescribing all matters and things which may be necessary or desirable for regulating and controlling the driving, using, and having in possession of any vehicle or class of vehicle in any public street or any specified part thereof; and prohibiting in any such street or part any act, matter, or thing calculated to cause damage to such street or to cause injury, danger, inconvenience, or annoyance to the public or any person or to any property; or regulating the doing of any such act, matter, or thing, for the purpose of obviating or minimizing such damage, injury, danger, inconvenience, or annoyance as aforesaid; and in addition to any other powers hereby conferred may make regulations –(a) . . . . . . . .(b) prohibiting or restricting the use of any vehicle, or any kind or class of vehicle, upon any specified public streets, or within the public streets in any specified area, either generally or within certain hours;(c) providing for the erection of uniform signs and notices for the guidance of drivers of vehicles or any kind or class of vehicles;(d) regulating the traffic and standing of vehicles and horses, or either of them, in public streets, and prescribing what routes shall be followed, the pace of vehicles and horses, and where and under what conditions they may stand, in public streets;(e) prescribing and regulating the carrying of lights in public streets;(f) regulating the carrying on vehicles in public streets of long, large, heavy, or projecting articles;(g) prohibiting or regulating the carrying or displaying of advertisements or placards by any person, or on any vehicles, or the carrying or using of noisy instruments on vehicles or horses in public streets;(h) . . . . . . . .(i) prescribing and regulating the affixing and use of bells or alarms on vehicles;(j) prescribing and regulating the seizure and custody of unattended vehicles and horses in public streets, and providing for the recovery of the expenses of the custody and keep of the same, and the disposal of such vehicles and horses after failure within the time prescribed to claim the same, or to pay such expenses;(k) prohibiting the use in public streets of horses that are unfit for use, vicious, or likely to cause any accident or injury to any person or property in such streets; providing that vehicles, harness, and equipment used in public streets shall be so constructed and in such condition as to be suitable for safe use in such streets; and providing that the owner and driver of any horse, vehicle, harness, or equipment used in contravention of any regulation made under this paragraph, and the holder of a licence in respect of any such vehicle, shall each be guilty of an offence against this Act;(l) prohibiting or regulating the setting up and use of stalls, stands, and vehicles for the sale of goods, or for the pursuit of any business, calling, or employment in any public street;(m) prohibiting loitering and the obstruction of traffic in public streets, and the projection of any goods into or over any footway beyond the line of any building, and providing that any vehicle left unattended on a public street shall be deemed an obstruction, whether in fact it interferes with other vehicles or persons or not;(n) preventing cruelty to horses in public streets;(o) regulating the driving and leading of any kind of animals in public streets, and prescribing routes therefor;(p) regulating pedestrian traffic upon, or the standing of persons in, the public streets;(q) prohibiting the use of any public street for the passage of vehicles exceeding masses prescribed according to the class or equipment and load thereof, except upon conditions to be prescribed, and providing for the cases in which, and the manner in which, such use may be permitted by a prescribed officer, or otherwise, upon a guarantee by the user to repair any damage thereby caused to such streets, and how and to whom such guarantee shall be given;(r) regulating and controlling processions in public streets;(s) prescribing the time or period during which any vehicle may be left standing or unattended in the public street;(t) prohibiting the leaving on the public street of any block or stone used to chock the wheels of vehicles;(u) prohibiting or regulating the drawing or hauling, otherwise than upon a wheeled vehicle, of any timber, iron, stone, article, or other thing on any public street;(v) prohibiting any article, drawn or trailed on any public street, from coming into contact with the surface of such public street;(w) regulating and controlling, in the case of any specified road generally or during any specified period, any specific traffic, with power in particular to prescribe and regulate the kind and mass of loads to be carried or taken, having regard to the nature, condition, or class of road, with power to prohibit traffic of prescribed classes;(x) prohibiting or regulating the use of any instrument for retarding the descent downhill of any vehicle which may injure the surface of the road; prohibiting the running of the wheels of any vehicle in any drain by the side of any road;(y) regulating the speed at which vehicles, or any particular class of vehicles, of any specified weight, laden or unladen, may be driven in any public street, or within any specified area or part of a public street;(z) regulating –(i) the mass of the goods carried on a vehicle;(ii) the mass supported by any tyre, wheel, axle, or other part of a vehicle; or(iii) the mass transmitted to the road by a vehicle or part of the vehicle;(zaa) providing for the charging of fees for or in relation to the granting of authorities for specified vehicles exceeding specified weights, masses or dimensions to be used on public streets and providing that such fees may be as specified in the regulations;(za) regulating the manner in which heavy or heavily laden vehicles may use the public street, and prescribing the width of tyres to be used on any vehicle or any kind or class of vehicle;(zb) prescribing the persons by, and to whom, the times at which, and the manner in which, notification of accidents in respect of vehicles shall be given;(zc) prescribing any matter in connection with the use of, or traffic upon, the public streets which the Governor may deem necessary or expedient for the safety or convenience of the public, or otherwise in the public interest;(zd) prescribing the mechanical instruments or devices which may be used to determine the mass, or relative proportion of mass, carried on or transmitted to the road by the axles or wheels of motor vehicles and trailers respectively; the persons by whom, and the conditions under which, the same may be so used; the testing of such instruments or devices; and the percentage of error which may be allowed therein; and generally regulating the use thereof;(ze) prescribing the methods to be adopted for ascertaining the mass of any vehicle or any load carried therein, respectively, according to the nature and class of vehicle and the load carried; and how, when, and by whom the same shall be applied, and regulating the ascertainment and recording of such masses, and providing how, when, and to what extent such records or certified copies thereof or extractstherefrom shall be received as evidence of the facts therein stated;(zf) . . . . . . . .(zg) requiring the keeping of records in a vehicle about loads carried on the vehicle and providing for the inspection of such records; and(zh) providing for the operation and testing of a photographic detection device; and(zi) conferring on persons charged with an offence detected by a photographic detection device a right to inspect, or to receive a copy of, any photographic evidence before the hearing of the charge; and(zj) applying to offences specified in the regulations that are detected by means of a photographic detection device; and(zk) in the case of an offence committed by a body corporate, requiring the body corporate to give the name and address of the place of residence of the driver of the vehicle at the time of the offence.(2) Where, in the case of a road under its control, a council is of opinion that regulations should be made prohibiting the traffic, either generally, or for any specified time, or for any specified period of the year, upon any particular road, of vehicles carrying loads –the council may notify the Commission of such its opinion, and the Commission shall make a recommendation to the Governor that regulations be made accordingly.(a) of any specified kind of goods;(b) exceeding any specified mass; or(c) exceeding any specified mass, of any particular class of goods –(3) Where the Commission is of the opinion that regulations should be made with respect to any matter referred to in subsection (2) , it shall recommend to the Governor that regulations be made accordingly.(4) Any regulations under this section regulating or restricting the mass of a vehicle and load (either generally or on a particular street or in any particular circumstance) –(a) may provide that it is an offence, punishable on summary conviction, for a person to contravene any of those regulations and may provide in respect of any such offence a penalty not exceeding 20 penalty units for a first offence and a penalty not exceeding 40 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence; and(b) may provide that, where a court convicts a person for a breach of those regulations, it shall impose an additional penalty calculated in the manner prescribed in the regulations with reference to the amount by which the mass transmitted to the road by the vehicle or part thereof exceeds that permitted by those regulations.(5) . . . . . . . .(5A) . . . . . . . .(6) Any penalty imposed by virtue of subsection (4) on the conviction of a person for an offence shall –(a) if the offence was committed on a State highway or subsidiary road within the meaning of the Roads and Jetties Act 1935 , be paid into the State Highways Trust Fund; and(b) if the offence was committed elsewhere, be paid into the municipal fund of the council of the municipal area in which the place at which the offence was committed is situated.
31A. Nationally uniform road traffic laws
(1) The Governor may, to further any scheme or agreement aimed at promoting or creating uniform or consistent national road transport legislation, make regulations prescribing –(a) rules on road traffic matters that are uniform or essentially uniform, in content and style, with the road traffic legislation of other Australian jurisdictions; and(b) all matters necessary or convenient to be prescribed for explaining, administering, enforcing or otherwise giving effect to or complementing those rules.(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1) , the regulations may apply to or provide for any matter that regulations under Part 2 of the Road Transport Reform (Vehicles and Traffic) Act 1993 of the Commonwealth may apply to or provide for.(3) The regulations may, for the purpose of consolidating the State's road traffic laws, include regulations prescribing road traffic laws that are peculiar to the State.(4) The regulations may –(a) be referred to in those regulations, and in this Act or in any other Act or for any other purpose, as rules or road rules; and(b) provide that any guide, diagram, example, note or other explanatory or illustrative item set out in those regulations is, or is not, a part of the regulations.(5) The regulations may –(a) be of limited or general application; and(b) be made so as to apply differently according to matters, limitations or restrictions, whether as to time, circumstance or otherwise, specified in the regulations; and(c) impose a duty or confer a power on a specified person or a specified class of persons; and(d) authorise any matter to be from time to time determined, applied or regulated by the Commission, the Commissioner of Police or a specified person; and(e) provide for exemptions from the regulations; and(f) provide for any transitional matters; and(g) provide for the seizure and disposal of –(i) abandoned vehicles; and(ii) radar detectors, laser detectors and other devices that may hinder the proper enforcement of the regulations.(6) The regulations may –(a) provide that a contravention of, or a failure to comply with, any of the regulations is an offence; and(b) in respect of such an offence, provide for the imposition of a fine not exceeding 20 penalty units and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding 2 penalty units for each day during which the offence continues.
(1) A person who drives a motor vehicle on a public street recklessly, or at a speed or in a manner that is dangerous to the public, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, including the nature, condition, and use of the public street and the amount of traffic that actually is at the time or that might reasonably be expected to be on the public street, is guilty of an offence against this Act and is liable on summary conviction to –(a) a penalty not exceeding 20 penalty units, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or both, for a first offence; and(b) a penalty not exceeding 40 penalty units, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 4 years, or both, for a second or subsequent offence.(2) A person must not drive a motor vehicle on a public street negligently.Penalty: Fine not exceeding 5 penalty units.(2A) A person must not cause the death of another person by driving a motor vehicle on a public street negligently.(2B) A person must not cause grievous bodily harm to another person by driving a motor vehicle on a public street negligently.(2C) For the purpose of determining whether a person is driving a motor vehicle on a public street negligently, the following are to be taken into account:(a) the circumstances of the case;(b) the nature, condition and use of the public street;(c) the amount of traffic that is actually at the time, or that might reasonably be expected to be, on the public street.(3) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, proceedings in respect of offences under subsection (1) shall be heard and determined by a magistrate sitting alone.(4) . . . . . . . .(4AA) . . . . . . . .(4A) . . . . . . . .(4B) . . . . . . . .(5) A person may lawfully be charged and convicted of an offence under this section notwithstanding that death or bodily harm has resulted from the driving of the motor vehicle in the circumstances that are the subject of the charge and that he might have been charged with a crime under the Criminal Code arising out of the same circumstances.(6) A police officer may apprehend without warrant the driver of a motor vehicle who commits an offence under subsection (1) within his view if the driver refuses to give his name and address when required so to do by the police officer.(7) If the driver of a motor vehicle who commits an offence under subsection (1) refuses to give his name and address when required so to do, or gives a false name or address, he is guilty of an offence against this Act, and it is the duty of the owner or the registered operator of the vehicle, if required by a police officer, to give any information that it is within his power to give, and that may lead to the identification and apprehension of the driver, and if the owner or the registered operator fails to do so he also is guilty of an offence against this Act.
33. Duty of driver to stop and assist in case of accident
(1) In this section –crash includes –(a) a collision between 2 or more vehicles; or(b) any other accident or incident in which a person is or may have been killed or injured, property is or may have been damaged, or an animal in someone's charge is or may have been injured;driver means a person –(a) driving a vehicle; or(b) riding, leading or otherwise in charge of an animal.(2) A driver who is involved in a crash must –(a) stop immediately; and(b) stay at the scene of the crash; and(c) give any assistance which may be necessary or practicable in the circumstances and which it is in the driver's power to give.Penalty: Fine not exceeding 80 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or both.(3) The driver is not guilty of an offence under this section if he or she leaves the scene of the crash solely for the purposes of seeking medical, police or other emergency assistance in connection with the crash.(4) It is a defence to a charge under this section that the driver was unaware that the crash had occurred and that the lack of awareness was not due to carelessness or recklessness.
33A. Overtaking restive horses, &c.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1) In this section –animals means horses, or cattle, that are being led or ridden on a public street or are drawing a load on a public street;approaching means approaching from any direction.(2) A person in charge of animals that have become restive or alarmed may direct the driver of an approaching motor vehicle to stop and remain stationary until the animals are under control and settled and it is safe for the driver to proceed.(3) The direction may be given by words or gestures or by a combination of words and gestures.(4) A person driving a motor vehicle on a public street must obey a direction given to the person under subsection (2) .Penalty: Fine not exceeding 20 penalty units.(5) A person in charge of animals on a public street must not give a direction under subsection (2) without reasonable cause.Penalty: Fine not exceeding 20 penalty units.
40. Temporary closure of public streets
(1) The Commissioner of Police where he considers it desirable so to do for the purpose of facilitating the holding of any public event or the carrying out of any arrangements in connection therewith may, by notice in a newspaper circulating in the area in which the public event is to be held, give authority for –at or during such times as may be specified in the notice and subject to such conditions, restrictions, or exceptions as may be so specified.(a) the closing of any street; or(b) the prohibition of the use of any public street by traffic of any class or kind –(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of subsection (1) the holding of any motor vehicle race or reliability trial wholly or partly on a public street shall, for the purposes of this section, be regarded as the holding of a public event.(3) An authority granted under this section in relation to a public event may be granted on the condition that there is entered into such a policy of insurance with respect to any death or bodily injury, or any damage or injury to property, that may arise from the holding of that public event as the Commissioner of Police may approve or direct.(4) For the purpose of giving effect to an authority given under this section a police officer or, with the approval of the Commissioner, any other person, may place or erect in a public street any barriers, signs, or other devices or things and may give directions to any person in relation to the use of the public street to which the authority relates.(5) Where the Commissioner of Police or a police officer is satisfied that there exists in a public street an obstruction or danger to traffic or that such an obstruction or danger is likely to arise, he may give, or cause to be given, such directions, or take, or cause to be taken, such action, as he considers necessary or desirable in the circumstances to close that street or to prevent or restrict its use.(6) A person who disobeys or fails to comply with any directions given to him by a police officer in pursuance of subsection (4) or (5) is guilty of an offence under this Act.(7) In this section public event includes any event that the public are intended or are invited to view or in which the public are invited to take part, whether on payment or otherwise.(8) An authority shall not be given under subsection (1) in respect of a street in the city of Hobart or the city of Launceston.
41. Refusing to give name and address, &c.
(1) A person who, when required by a police officer or an authorised officer in the execution of his duty under this Act or the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 –fails or refuses to do so, or gives particulars which he knows are likely to mislead the police officer or authorised officer, is guilty of an offence against this Act.(a) to give that person's name, age, or the address of his place of residence; or(ab) where that person is the owner or registered operator of a vehicle, to give –(i) the name and address of the place of residence of any person who on a specified occasion was the driver of the vehicle; or(ii) if that person held an Australian driver licence, the number of the licence and the State or Territory in which it was issued; or(b) where that person is the driver of a vehicle and is not the owner or registered operator of the vehicle – to give the name and the address of the place of residence of the owner or registered operator of the vehicle –(2) Where a request is made of a person by a police officer or authorised officer under subsection (1) (ab) or (b) , that person is not guilty of an offence under this Act by reason of his failure to give the name and address of the place of residence of the owner or registered operator of the vehicle he is driving if he proves to the satisfaction of the court before which he is prosecuted for that offence that he did not know, and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained and given, the particulars requested.(3) A police officer may arrest a person without warrant if that person, in response to a request made by the officer under subsection (1)(a) –(a) refuses to give his name or the address of his place of residence; or(b) gives a name or an address of a place of residence that the officer has reasonable grounds for believing is false or misleading.(4) A police officer or authorised officer in the execution of his or her duty under this Act or the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 may require a person giving particulars under this section –and a person who fails to comply with any such requirement is guilty of an offence against this Act.(a) to sign his or her name; or(b) to provide any such particulars in writing supported by statutory declaration –(5) In the application of subsection (4) to a body corporate, the statutory declaration is to be made by –(a) a director, secretary or manager of the body corporate; or(b) any other person who, in the opinion of the police officer or authorised officer –(i) substantially controls its affairs; or(ii) is able to provide any information relating to the use of the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence.
41A. Power of police officer to forbid incapable person to drive, &c.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1) Where a police officer is of the opinion that a person who is for the time being in charge of a motor vehicle is, by reason of his physical or mental condition, however arising, incapable of having proper control of the motor vehicle, the police officer may –(a) forbid that person to drive the motor vehicle;(b) direct that person to deliver up to the police officer forthwith all ignition keys and other keys of the motor vehicle that are in that person's possession; and(c) take such steps as may be necessary to render the motor vehicle immobile or to remove it to a place of safety.(2) A person who fails to comply with a direction given to him under subsection (1) or does an act that is for the time being forbidden under that subsection is guilty of an offence against this Act, but no person shall be convicted of an offence under this subsection unless the court before which he is charged is satisfied that the police officer had reasonable grounds for believing that, in all the circumstances of the case, the direction or prohibition was necessary in the interests of the defendant, or of any other person, or of the public.(3) Subject to subsection (4) , where a police officer exercises the powers conferred by subsection (1) , he shall retain the ignition keys and other keys of the motor vehicle and cause the motor vehicle to be kept immobile or in a place of safety until such time as, in his opinion, the person referred to in the last-mentioned subsection is capable of having proper control of the motor vehicle.(4) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (3) , a person who is directed or forbidden to do anything, pursuant to subsection (1) , may, at the time when the direction or prohibition is given or imposed or at any time thereafter, request that –and if it is reasonably practicable that the request be granted the police officer who gave the direction or imposed the prohibition shall make the necessary arrangements accordingly, and if the senior police officer or the medical practitioner, as the case may be, certifies that he is of the opinion that that person is capable of having proper control of the motor vehicle, the police officer who has possession of the ignition keys and other keys of the motor vehicle shall forthwith return them to that person and, if the motor vehicle has been rendered immobile, shall also without further delay cause it to be again returned to running order.(a) his capacity to have proper control of the motor vehicle be determined by a police officer (in this subsection referred to as "the senior police officer") of a higher rank than the police officer who gave the direction or imposed the prohibition, if the last-mentioned police officer is of a rank lower than inspector; or(b) he be permitted to submit himself for examination by a legally-qualified medical practitioner –
42. Power of Commission to make orders regulating traffic on special occasions
The Commission may, by order published in a newspaper, prescribe the route of vehicles, horses, and persons on the occurrence of any public procession or demonstration, or on any occasion when public streets are likely to be thronged or obstructed, and regulate the traffic of vehicles, horses, and persons, in public streets on such occasions; and any such order shall have the effect of a regulation under this Act.
43. Removal of rubbish in public street
If any goods or rubbish, or other article or thing whatever, is placed or allowed to remain in any public street, to the obstruction, annoyance, or danger of the residents or other persons, it shall be lawful for any police officer to remove or cause the same to be immediately removed and carried to any place of safety, and to detain the same until the expenses of removal and detention are paid, and if such expenses shall not be paid within 7 days after such removal, to sell or dispose of the same, and apply the proceeds as the Commission may direct.. . . . . . . .
PART IVA - The Demerit Points System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PART IVB - Traffic Infringement Notices. . . . . . . .
43H. Service and acceptance of traffic infringement notices
(1) Where a police officer or an authorised officer is satisfied that a person has committed a prescribed offence or offences he may serve on that person a notice (in this Act referred to as a "traffic infringement notice") in respect of that offence or those offences.(1A) . . . . . . . .(2) A traffic infringement notice shall –(a) indicate the offence or offences in respect of which it is served; and(b) specify the number of demerit points (if any) prescribed in respect of that offence or each of those offences, as the case may be, and the prescribed penalty or penalties that is or are applicable.(3) A traffic infringement notice served on any person shall clearly indicate to him that he may disregard the notice, but if he does so he may be prosecuted before a court for the offence to which it relates.(4) Unless it has been withdrawn, a traffic infringement notice served on a person in respect of any offence may, subject to subsection (4A) , be accepted by him either –(a) by the payment, within 21 days of the service of the notice, of the prescribed penalty to the designated clerk of petty sessions or council clerk specified in that behalf in the notice; or(b) by lodging with that clerk of petty sessions or council clerk, within 21 days of the service of the notice, a written undertaking by that person to pay the penalty by such instalments or within such time as that clerk may direct.(4A) Where a traffic infringement notice served on a person has not been accepted by him in either of the ways prescribed in subsection (4) at the expiry of the appropriate period prescribed in that subsection, the designated clerk of petty sessions or council clerk specified in that behalf in the notice may, by written notification to that person, allow him an additional period of 14 days commencing on the expiry of the first-mentioned period in which to accept the traffic infringement notice.(5) Where a traffic infringement notice in respect of a prescribed offence has been served on a person no proceedings shall be brought against that person for that offence if the notice has been accepted and has not been withdrawn, and (whether or not the notice is accepted) no such proceedings shall be brought within the period of –unless the notice has been withdrawn.(a) 28 days following the service of the notice, if the person has not been allowed an additional period pursuant to subsection (4A) ; or(b) 42 days following the service of the notice, if the person has been allowed such an additional period –(5A) Where a traffic infringement notice in respect of a prescribed offence has been served on a person and proceedings are brought against that person for that offence, he or she is not entitled to dispute the date of service of the notice unless, within 21 days after the date of service of the complaint and summons, he or she has given notice in writing of his or her intention to do so to the designated clerk of petty sessions or council clerk specified in that behalf in the notice.(5B) A complaint and summons issued against a person as mentioned in subsection (5A) is to contain a statement as to the effect of that subsection.(6) Where a traffic infringement notice in respect of an offence has been accepted by a person and has not been withdrawn that acceptance shall, in relation to proceedings for any other offence, be treated as a conviction for the offence in respect of which the notice was served unless the court before which those proceedings are taken is satisfied that it is unjust that it should be so treated.(6A) A traffic infringement notice served on a person who holds a learner licence (and no other Australian driver licence of a different type) is of no effect (and accordingly any sum paid under a traffic infringement notice by a person who held such a licence when the notice was served must be refunded), unless the offence to which the notice relates is –(a) a parking offence; or(b) a speeding offence.(7) Acceptance of a traffic infringement notice shall not be regarded as an admission of liability for the purpose of, nor in any way affect or prejudice, any civil claim, action, or proceeding.(8) The Governor may, by order, declare the districts the clerks of petty sessions of which are to be designated clerks of petty sessions for the purpose of this section, and the clerk of petty sessions for any district so declared is a designated clerk of petty sessions for the purposes of this section.
43HA. Notification of driver by statutory declaration
Where a person on whom a traffic infringement notice has been served under section 43H –(a) within 28 days following the service of the notice, if that person has not been allowed an additional period under section 43H (4A) ; or(b) within 42 days following the service of the notice, if the person has been allowed such an additional period –provides a statutory declaration to the relevant police officer or authorised officer stating the name and address of the person who was in charge of the vehicle at all relevant times relating to the alleged offence, the statutory declaration, if produced in any proceedings against the person named in the declaration and in respect of the offence to which the declaration relates, is evidence –(c) in the case of a parking offence, that the person was in charge of the vehicle at all times relevant to that offence; or(d) in the case of any other prescribed offence, that the person was the driver of the vehicle at the time when the offence occurred.
43HB. Bodies corporate and joint registered operators
(1) Where a traffic infringement notice is served on a person who is a joint registered operator of a motor vehicle or trailer or on a body corporate–(a) that the service is taken to be a demand by a police officer under section 51 (3) ; and(b) the notice is to contain a statement of the obligations of that person or body corporate under section 51 (3) as affected by this subsection.(2) Where a traffic infringement notice is served on a person who is a joint registered operator of a motor vehicle or trailer, all such joint registered operators are required to make the relevant statutory declaration but it is sufficient compliance with this section if any one of them makes a statutory declaration disclosing the name and address of the driver of the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence.(3) For the removal of doubts it is declared that a traffic infringement notice may be served on a body corporate.
43J. Withdrawal of traffic infringement notices
(1) A traffic infringement notice that has been served on any person may, whether or not it has been accepted, be withdrawn as provided in subsection (1A) at any time within the period of –(a) 28 days following the service of the notice, if the person has not been allowed an additional period pursuant to section 43H (4A) ; or(b) 42 days following the service of the notice, if the person has been allowed such an additional period.(1A) For the purposes of subsection (1) , a traffic infringement notice served on a person shall be withdrawn by the service on that person of a notice in the prescribed form (in this Act referred to as a "withdrawal notice") signed by the Commissioner of Police, some police officer authorised by him in that behalf, or, as the case may require, the council clerk designated in the infringement notice, stating that the traffic infringement notice has been withdrawn.(2) Where a traffic infringement notice has been withdrawn under this section and any sums have been paid to a clerk of petty sessions or a council clerk by way of penalty in pursuance of that notice, that clerk shall repay the sum so paid to the person on whom the notice was served.(3) Where a traffic infringement notice has been served in respect of an offence and has been withdrawn no evidence of the service, acceptance, or withdrawal of the notice is admissible in any proceedings for that offence.(4) References in this Act to the withdrawal of a traffic infringement notice shall be construed as references to the withdrawal of that notice under this section.
43K. Effect of undertaking to pay a prescribed penalty
(1) Where such an undertaking as is referred to in section 43H (4) (b) is lodged with a clerk of petty sessions or a council clerk the clerk shall give directions to the person by whom the undertaking is given requiring him to pay the penalty to which the undertaking relates in such instalments or within such time as may be specified in the directions.(2) No directions shall be given under subsection (1) that would have the effect of allowing any part of the penalty to which they relate being paid after the expiration of 63 days from the date on which the infringement notice was served.(3) Before giving directions under subsection (1) with respect to any person the clerk shall consider any representations made to him by or on behalf of that person, whether at the time the undertaking is lodged or otherwise, with respect to his financial circumstances, and shall give such directions as, having regard to those representations and all the circumstances of the case, he considers just and reasonable.(4) Where a person fails to comply with any directions given to him under subsection (1) the like proceedings may be had in respect of so much of the penalty to which the directions relate as remains unpaid as if the penalty were a penalty imposed on him on his summary conviction for an offence.
(1) A traffic infringement notice is to be served by a police officer or an authorised officer delivering it to the person to whom it relates but the notice may be served –if in either case the regulations so provide.(a) by post; or(b) by fixing the notice to the vehicle or other thing in respect of which the offence occurred –(1AA) Where a traffic infringement notice relates to an offence of exceeding a prescribed speed limit and the offence has been detected by means of a photographic detection device, the notice is to be served within 21 days after the commission of the offence.(1AB) Where a traffic infringement notice relating to an offence for exceeding a prescribed speed limit as mentioned in subsection (1AA) is not served on the registered operator within 21 days after the commission of that offence, no prosecution may be brought in respect of that offence.(1A) . . . . . . . .(1B) A person who removes a traffic infringement notice affixed to a vehicle or other thing under subsection (1) so that its contents do not become known to the person in charge of the vehicle is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding 2 penalty units.(2) A withdrawal notice shall be served on a person by delivering it to him in person or by post.(3) A notification under section 43H (4A) by a clerk of petty sessions or a council clerk shall be served on a person by sending it by post addressed to him at the place shown as his address in the relevant traffic infringement notice.
43LA. Duties of clerks of petty sessions
Where, at the time when a statutory declaration is provided under this Part, payment of the relevant penalty is tendered to a clerk of petty sessions, the clerk must not accept the payment unless the person making the statutory declaration has identified himself or herself as the driver of the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence.
43M. Application of penalties in respect of traffic infringement notices
(1) Any sums paid to a clerk of petty sessions under this Part by way of penalty shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.(1A) Any sums paid to a council clerk under this Part by way of prescribed penalty or pursuant to subsection (2) shall constitute part of the fund mentioned in section 108 (1) of the Local Government (Highways) Act 1982 which is deemed to exist in respect of the local authority of which the council clerk is an officer, and shall only be expended in accordance with that section.(2) Where a person has been summarily convicted of an offence in respect of which a traffic infringement notice was served by an authorised officer who was an officer of a local authority, any penalty which is paid to a clerk of petty sessions in respect of that conviction shall be paid, out of the Consolidated Fund (which, to the necessary extent, is appropriated accordingly), to the relevant local authority.(3) . . . . . . . .
43N. Prescribed offences for Part IVB
(1) The Governor may make regulations prescribing offences for the purposes of this Part and the penalty applicable to each such offence.(2) An offence prescribed under subsection (1) may be an offence under –(a) this Act or any other Act dealing with vehicles or traffic; or(b) a regulation made under this Act or any other Act dealing with vehicles or traffic.
PART V - Miscellaneous and General
43P. Complaint for offence detected by speed camera
Where –a complaint in respect of that offence may, notwithstanding section 26 of the Justices Act 1959 , be laid at any time within 6 months after the date on which the identity of the driver is established.(a) an offence against this Act or the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 is detected by a photographic detection device; and(b) the driver of the vehicle at the relevant time was not the registered operator of the vehicle –
A statutory declaration under this Act is to be made as provided by the Evidence Act 1910 .
(1) The Governor may, in addition to any regulations which he is empowered to make under any other Part, make regulations –(a) conferring on police officers or authorised officers such powers as he may deem necessary or expedient for carrying out or giving effect to the provisions of this Act or the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 ; and(b) for any other purpose which he may deem necessary or expedient for carrying out the provisions of this Act.(2) . . . . . . . .
45. Local and other special provisions in regulations
Regulations under this Act may –. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(a) be of a local nature and limited in their application to a particular area, place, or public street;(b) exclude from the application of any provisions of the regulations, or make special provision with respect to, any public street during specified times or in specified circumstances;(c) be restricted to any specified class of vehicle or to vehicles generally with the exception of vehicles of any specified class;(d) exclude from the application of any provisions of the regulations, or make special provision with respect to, vehicles kept or used for any specified purpose and persons owning, registered as the operators of, in charge of, or driving such vehicles; and(e) adopt or incorporate, either wholly or in part and either specifically or by reference, any rules, codes, or specifications published or formulated by, or on behalf of, the Standards Association of Australia or the British Standards Association, or any other similar body specified in the regulations, or the Australian Design Rules for Motor Vehicle Safety as determined from time to time by the Motor Vehicles Design Advisory Panel and published in the Commonwealth Gazette.
48. Commission may post up notices on any building, &c.
(1) The Commission may cause to be affixed to or posted up on any building, post, or other structure or erection, a copy of any notice or regulation referring to any matter the subject of this Act.(2) Any person who shall tear down, destroy, injure, or remove any such copy, or hinder or obstruct any police officer or any other person from or whilst lawfully affixing or posting up any such copy as aforesaid, shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.
49. Erection of standards, &c., by Commission
(1) The Commission may, for the purpose of marking stands, safety zones, or parking areas or for the purpose of guiding, directing, or regulating traffic, place, erect, or install in public streets, posts, standards, domes, studs, and other contrivances and may make markings on or in the surface of a public street.(2) A person who wilfully or negligently damages any posts, standards, domes, studs, or other contrivances erected or installed under this section or who wilfully obliterates or defaces any markings made under this section is guilty of an offence against this Act.
49A. Installation of road humps: Special provisions
. . . . . . . .(1) The Commission may give its approval for a person to install a road hump in –(a) a car park which is a public street;(b) a public street leading to or from a car park;(c) an area set aside for recreational purposes which is a public street; or(d) a public street which is in a residential area.(2) A road hump installed pursuant to an approval given by the Commission under subsection (1) shall –(a) be of a design approved by the Commission;(b) be installed in a manner approved by the Commission; and(c) be installed in a specific location within the park, street, or area referred to in subsection (1) that is approved by the Commission.(3) No action, liability, claim, or demand lies or shall be allowed by or in favour of any person against the Commission or any person involved in the installation of a road hump in a public street in respect of any damage done to a vehicle or injury to a person or animal by reason of the installation of the road hump in the public street if the road hump –(a) was installed pursuant to an approval given under subsection (1) in accordance with subsection (2) ; and(b) was installed after the commencement of the Traffic Amendment Act (No. 2) 1987 .(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3) , if a road hump was installed in a public street on or before the commencement of the Traffic Amendment Act (No. 2) 1987 , no action, liability, claim, or demand lies or shall be allowed by or in favour of any person against the Commission or any person involved in the installation of the road hump in respect of any damage done to a vehicle or injury to a person or animal by reason of the installation of the road hump in the public street if the road hump –(a) was installed in a park, street, or area referred to in subsection (1) ; and(b) has been examined by the Commission and the Commission –(i) has approved the design and manner of the installation of the road hump; and(ii) has approved the specific location within the park, street, or area where the road hump has been installed.(5) In this section, road hump means a raised portion of the surface of the carriageway of a street.
50. Compensation may be allowed to defendant when complainant not a police officer
If a complaint is laid by any person other than a police officer for an offence punishable under this Act, and the complaint is dismissed or withdrawn, the court may, if it thinks fit, order such person to pay to the defendant in addition to any costs, such compensation for loss of time or otherwise as the court thinks reasonable.
51. Facilitation of proof of certain matters
. . . . . . . .(1) In any proceeding under this Act –(a) . . . . . . . .(b) . . . . . . . .(c) . . . . . . . .(d) . . . . . . . .(da) . . . . . . . .(e) . . . . . . . .(ea) . . . . . . . .(eb) . . . . . . . .(f) . . . . . . . .(g) . . . . . . . .(h) . . . . . . . .(i) the production of a certificate purporting to be signed by the Commissioner of Police or a commissioned police officer that a device specified in the certificate that was used on an occasion so specified in the detection of offences of exceeding a prescribed speed limit is evidence that that device was on that occasion a photographic detection device;(j) the production of a certificate in the prescribed form purporting to be signed by a person having the prescribed qualifications and specifying the time when a photographic detection device was tested is evidence of the facts stated in the certificate;(k) the production of a photograph that was taken by a photographic detection device and that contains such information as may be prescribed is evidence –(i) that at a particular time and place the speed of a motor vehicle or trailer shown in the photograph was the speed endorsed on that photograph; and(ii) that at a particular time and place a motor vehicle or trailer shown in the photograph was used on a public street, on a specified road or in a specified area or place; and(l) an averment in a complaint that on a specified day a specified person was –is evidence of the matter so averred; and(i) of, over or under a specified age; or(ii) had or had not attained a specified age –(m) an averment in a complaint that on a specified day a specified traffic sign or other device for the control of traffic applied to a specified length of road or area, or to another specified place, is evidence of the matter so averred; and(n) the production of a certificate purporting to be signed by the Commissioner or Deputy-Commissioner of Police, or by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, and certifying that on or by a specified day a specified person had failed to report to any police officer a specified collision between 2 or more vehicles, or another specified traffic accident or incident, is evidence that that person failed to make such a report on or by that day.(2) . . . . . . . .(3) Where any person is alleged to have committed any offence against this Act or the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 as the driver of any vehicle –and if any person fails to comply with any of the requirements of this subsection he shall be guilty of an offence.(a) the owner or registered operator of such vehicle, on demand by any police officer or an authorised officer, shall give to such officer all such information as such officer may require as to the identity and whereabouts of the driver of such vehicle at any time relevant to such charge;(b) if any information so required is not known to the owner or registered operator, he shall forthwith with all reasonable diligence (proof of which shall be upon him) take steps to obtain the same, and shall report to such officer within 7 days or sooner if practicable the result of the steps so taken;(c) upon demand being made to any person by a police officer or an authorised officer for any information within such person's knowledge as to the identity of such driver as aforesaid, or as to any fact which may lead to the identification of such driver, such person shall give such information to such officer–
(1) Except where elsewhere specially provided by this Act, a person who contravenes a provision of this Act is guilty of an offence against this Act.(2) Except where otherwise specially provided by this Act, a person who is guilty of an offence against this Act is liable on summary conviction to –(a) a penalty not exceeding 20 penalty units for a first offence; and(b) a penalty not exceeding 40 penalty units, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, for a second or subsequent offence.(3) The foregoing provisions of this section do not apply to contraventions of the regulations under this Act and, except as otherwise provided in this Act any regulations made under this Act may provide that it is an offence, punishable on summary conviction, for a person to contravene any of those regulations and may provide in respect of any such offence a penalty not exceeding 20 penalty units for an individual or 100 penalty units for a body corporate.
53. Proceedings against owner or registered operator in certain cases
(1) If in any proceedings in respect of an offence against this Act–the court, before disposing of the original proceedings, may direct that proceedings be taken against such owner or registered operator, and that a summons be issued calling upon him to show cause against the infliction upon him of a penalty for having caused or procured the commission of the offence charged in the original proceedings.(a) the offence charged is in relation to driving or using a motor vehicle or trailer which, or any prescribed equipment of which, is alleged to have been in an unsafe condition, or to have been lacking; and(b) the court is of opinion, on the evidence before it, that the offence has been caused by any neglect or default of the owner or registered operator of such vehicle –(2) Upon the hearing of such proceedings against such owner or registered operator, the court may impose on him any penalty which it might have imposed on the defendant in the original proceedings, unless such owner or registered operator satisfies the court that he had taken reasonable precautions to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Act in respect of the matter in relation to which such proceedings were initiated; and may order him to pay the costs of all or any of such proceedings as aforesaid.(3) Where the owner or registered operator is punished as aforesaid, the court may dismiss the complaint against the original defendant.
54. Proceedings in relation to certain offences
(1AA) This section applies to such offences under this Act or the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 as may be specified in the regulations.(1) Where an offence to which this section applies occurs in relation to a motor vehicle or trailer, the person who, at the time of the occurrence of the offence, was the registered operator of the motor vehicle or trailer, is, by virtue of this section, guilty of the offence as if he were the person driving or in charge of the motor vehicle or trailer at the time of the occurrence of the offence.(2) It is a defence to proceedings in relation to an offence under subsection (1) for the defendant to establish that he was not driving or in charge of the motor vehicle or trailer at the time of the occurrence of the offence.(3) A person is not entitled to rely on a defence under subsection (2) unless he gives, within 21 days of the service on him of a complaint and summons relating to the offence, to the clerk of the court specified in the summons, written notice of his intention to rely on that defence, together with a statutory declaration stating that at the time of the occurrence of the offence –(a) the motor vehicle or trailer was being driven by some other person without his knowledge or consent;(b) the motor vehicle or trailer was in the charge of another person and stating the name of that person; or(c) the person had completed as transferor an application for the transfer of the registration and stating the name of the transferee.(4) Proceedings shall not be heard in relation to an offence to which this section applies unless the defendant referred to in the complaint and summons relating to the offence was, at the time of the service of the complaint and summons on him, notified in writing of the provisions of this section.(5) A complaint and summons to which this section relates shall contain an address at which a notice under subsection (3) may be lodged.(5A) Where there are 2 registered operators of a motor vehicle or trailer –(a) a prosecution for an offence to which this section applies may be brought against one or both of them; and(b) if the court is satisfied that such an offence has been committed and a defence is not established under subsection (3) , the defendants, or any one of them who does not establish such a defence, may be found guilty of the offence.(5B) Where a fine is imposed on 2 registered operators of a motor vehicle or trailer who have been found guilty of an offence to which this section applies, the total of any fines imposed in respect of that offence is not to exceed the maximum fine that could have been imposed if only one of them had been found guilty of that offence.(6) Where –the statutory declaration is evidence that the person named in the statutory declaration as being in charge of the motor vehicle or trailer was in charge of the motor vehicle or trailer at all relevant times relating to the offence.(a) a person on whom a complaint and summons relating to an offence to which this section applies has been served gives to the clerk of the court specified in the summons written notice of his intention to rely on the defence under subsection (2) together with a statutory declaration stating that the motor vehicle or trailer was in the charge of another person and stating the name of that person; and(b) proceedings in respect of that offence are taken against the person named in the statutory declaration as being in charge of the motor vehicle or trailer –(7) Nothing in this section affects the liability of the actual offender but where a penalty has been imposed on or recovered from any person in relation to an offence to which this section applies, a further penalty shall not be imposed on or recovered from any other person in relation to the offence.(8) . . . . . . . .
55. Act to apply to Crown servants
This Act shall apply to persons in the public service of the Crown.
56. Liability under other Acts or at common law
Except as otherwise expressly provided, nothing in this Act or the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 shall affect the provisions of any other Act or any rule of common law, but the failure by any person to comply with any provision of this Act or the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 may be relied upon in any proceedings (civil or criminal) by any party to such proceedings, as tending to establish, or to negative, any liability which is in question in such proceedings.
PART VI - General Powers and Duties of the Transport Commission. . . . . . . .
58. Powers and duties of Commission
(1) The Commission may advise the Governor on any State transport or traffic matters.(2) . . . . . . . .(3) The Commission may, with the approval of the Minister, hold such public inquiries into any matter relating to State transport or traffic as it thinks fit.(4) For the purposes of any such public inquiry as aforesaid the Commission shall have and may exercise all the powers and authority conferred upon a Commission appointed by the Governor under Division 2 of Part II of the Evidence Act 1910 , and subject to any prescribed conditions may sit at such times and in such places as it thinks best.
(1) The Commission may issue to all or any highway authorities and such other authorities as may be prescribed general or particular directions as to the traffic signs to be used on public streets generally or on specified classes of such streets or in any specified cases.(2) The Commission may cause prescribed traffic signs to be made and supplied to highway authorities and such other authorities as may be prescribed.(3) Every highway authority and such other authority as may be prescribed shall cause all traffic signs supplied to it by the Commission to be used in conformity with the Commission's directions, and shall provide all such posts, holders, and appliances as may be necessary for that purpose.(4) Except as hereinbefore provided, no traffic sign shall be placed on or near any public street.(5) In any case where any traffic sign or object, so nearly resembling a traffic sign as to be calculated to be mistaken for a traffic sign or to mislead, is on any land in proximity to a public street, the highway authority may require the owner of such land to remove such sign or object forthwith.(6) If such owner as aforesaid fails to comply with such requirement within a reasonable time, the highway authority may enter upon such land and may cause such removal to be effected (doing as little damage therein as may be), and may recover the cost of such removal from such owner.(7) In any case where the Commission directs, the highway authority shall proceed as provided by subsections (5) and (6) , and in default thereof the Commission may exercise the powers thereby conferred on the highway authority.(8) For the purposes of this section the expression traffic sign means any signal, warning, sign-post, direction post, or other device for the guidance or direction of traffic on public streets or for the giving of information to persons driving on or using public streets; and highway authority means the person responsible for the maintenance of the public street in relation to which the expression applies.
60. Removal of obstructions to vision of drivers
(1) Where, in the opinion of the Commission, any building, hoarding, fence, or other structure, or any tree, hedge, or other vegetation on any land is so constructed or placed, or in such condition, as to constitute an obstruction calculated to limit the vision of persons driving vehicles, trams, or trains upon or near any public street, the Commission, by notice in writing to the owner of such land, may require him to remove the object causing such obstruction, or to modify the same as the Commission, by such notice, may direct.(2) If such owner fails within 30 days after the service of such notice upon him to comply with such requirement, the Commission may enter upon such land and effect such removal or modification, as the case may be (doing therein as little damage as may be), and may recover from such owner the cost of so doing.
The Governor may make regulations for the purposes of this Part, prescribing all such matters and things as may be necessary or desirable for giving effect to its provisions, and in addition to any other such matters may –(a) regulate the procedure to be followed in respect of any public inquiry by the Commission;(b) require any specified person or classes of persons when called upon by the Commission to produce books or documents or information to the Commission relating to any inquiry or matter on which the Commission may be engaged;(c) . . . . . . . .(d) . . . . . . . .
PART VII - Alternative compliance schemes and operator accreditation
In this Part –accredit means approve a person's membership of an approved alternative compliance scheme;road transport law means a provision of this Act or of regulations made under this Act.
63. Commission may approve alternative compliance scheme
The Commission may –(a) approve alternative compliance schemes; and(b) amend approved alternative compliance schemes; and(c) cancel approved alternative compliance schemes.
64. What is an alternative compliance scheme?
(1) An alternative compliance scheme is a scheme that provides for one or more elements of a person's transport operations to be conducted without direct government supervision or interference if the person puts in place an auditable management and operating system by which the person is able to demonstrate a high degree of compliance with road transport laws for that element, or those elements, of the person's transport operations.(2) Without limiting the matters in respect of which an alternative compliance scheme may be prepared and approved, such a scheme may relate to any one or more of the following:(a) mass management;(b) fatigue management;(c) maintenance management;(d) prescribed matters.(3) The purpose of alternative compliance schemes is to –(a) reduce the cost of enforcing road transport laws; and(b) reduce the impact of road transport law enforcement on accredited transport operators; and(c) provide flexibility for transport operators without compromising road safety or the structural integrity of the road system.(4) An approved alternative compliance scheme may authorise variations from the requirements of a road transport law in relation to any one or more of the following:(a) vehicle mass limits;(b) vehicle dimension limits;(c) driving hours;(d) prescribed matters.(5) Where a person or vehicle that would otherwise not comply with a requirement of a road transport law is operating in accordance with an approved alternative compliance scheme that authorises variations from those requirements –(a) the approved alternative compliance scheme is taken to be a permit issued by the Commission authorising the person or vehicle to operate in that manner; and(b) no proceedings are to be taken in respect of the failure to comply with the requirements of the road transport law to the extent of the authorised variation.(6) Subsections (4) and (5) have effect notwithstanding any other enactment.
The Minister may issue the Commission with directions or guidelines for the approval of alternative compliance schemes.
66. Applications for accreditation
(1) A person may apply to the Commission to be accredited as a member of an approved alternative compliance scheme.(2) An application for approval is to be –(a) lodged with the Commission; and(b) made on a form provided or approved by the Commission; and(c) accompanied by the prescribed fee, if any.(3) The Commission may require the applicant to provide any further information that is necessary for a proper consideration of the application.
67. Approval of membership of alternative compliance schemes
(1) The Commission may approve an application for accreditation as a member of an approved alternative compliance scheme about mass management if the Commission is satisfied that the applicant has in place management and operating systems for nominated vehicles that will allow the applicant to comply and demonstrate continuing compliance with the road transport laws, and any authorised variation of those laws, relating to mass limits.(2) The Commission may approve an application for accreditation as a member of an approved alternative compliance scheme about fatigue management if the Commission is satisfied that the applicant has in place a management and operating systems for nominated drivers that will result in the effective management of driver fatigue.(3) The Commission may approve an application for accreditation as a member of an approved alternative compliance scheme about maintenance management if the Commission is satisfied that the applicant has in place management and operating systems for nominated vehicles and drivers that will allow the applicant to comply and demonstrate continuing compliance with the road transport laws, and any authorised variation of those laws, relating to vehicle standards and maintenance requirements.(4) The Commission may approve an application for accreditation as a member of an approved alternative compliance scheme relating to any other matter if the Commission is satisfied that the applicant has in place management and operating systems for nominated vehicles or drivers that will allow the applicant to comply and demonstrate continuing compliance with the road transport laws, and any authorised variation of those laws, relating to that matter.
68. Matters to be considered for purpose of approval
In determining whether to approve an application for accreditation as a member of an approved alternative compliance scheme the Commission –(a) must have regard to any directions or guidelines issued by the Minister; and(b) may have regard to –(i) a relevant audit report obtained about the applicant complied by a person who, in the opinion of the Commission, is qualified to compile the report; and(ii) the skills and training of the applicant's nominated drivers; and(iii) the characteristics and capabilities of the applicant's nominated vehicles; and(iv) the impact on road safety or road infrastructure that may arise as a result of accrediting the applicant; and(v) any other matters the Commission considers to be relevant.
69. Grant, duration and renewal of accreditation
(1) If the Commission approves an application from a person for accreditation as a member of an approved alternative compliance scheme, it must give notice of the approval to the applicant.(2) Unless sooner terminated in accordance with this Part, the accreditation is effective for a period of 3 years and is renewable.(3) In determining whether to renew the accreditation of any person as a member of an approved alternative compliance scheme, the Commission may have regard to –(a) the matters specified in section 68 ; and(b) the compliance history of the applicant in complying with laws relating to road transport, whether in this State or elsewhere.
(1) The Commission may impose conditions on a person's membership of an approved alternative compliance scheme.(2) The conditions may be imposed –(a) when the person is accredited as a member of the scheme; or(b) when the person's accreditation is renewed; or(c) at any time during the period that the person is accredited as a member of the scheme.(3) In a case to which subsection (2)(c) applies, the Commission must give the person notice in writing of its intention to impose the conditions.
71. Obligations and benefits of accredited persons
If the Commission accredits a person as a member of an approved alternative compliance scheme, the Commission must enter into an arrangement with the person that specifies –(a) the obligations of the person, and the requirements applicable to the person's nominated drivers and vehicles, under the scheme; and(b) the manner in which the nature and intensity of compliance and enforcement activity directed against the person and the person's nominated drivers and vehicles will be lessened relative to people who are not members; and(c) the details of any variations authorised under section 64(4) ; and(d) any conditions placed upon accreditation, or renewal of accreditation, pursuant to section 70 .
72. Identification of scheme vehicles
(1) If the Commission enters into an arrangement in accordance with section 71 , it may require a person's nominated vehicles to be identified by any one or more of the following:(a) a distinctive label;(b) a distinctive number-plate;(c) a distinctive identification plate;(d) prescribed means.(2) An item of identification issued under subsection (1) remains the property of the Commission and must be returned to the Commission if –(a) a person's membership of the approved alternative compliance scheme lapses or is cancelled; or(b) the Commission requests in writing the return of that item of identification.(3) A person must not fail to comply with a request under subsection (2)(b) .Penalty: Fine not exceeding 25 penalty units.
73. Immediate suspension of accreditation
(1) The Commission may, by notice in writing given to a person who is accredited as a member of an approved alternative compliance scheme, suspend the person's accreditation for a period specified in the notice if it is satisfied that the suspension is necessary in the public interest.(2) The notice must –(a) state the Commission's reasons for giving the notice; and(b) state that the accreditation will be cancelled unless the person satisfies the Commission that the notice should be withdrawn.(3) If the person does not satisfy the Commission that the notice should be withdrawn, the Commission must cancel the person's accreditation.
74. General power of suspension, cancellation and variation
(1) The Commission may, if subsection (2) applies, give a person who is accredited as a member of an approved alternative compliance scheme a notice in writing stating that –(a) it proposes to cancel or suspend the accreditation, or cancel or suspend the accreditation so far as it relates to specified nominated drivers or vehicles of the person; or(b) it proposes to vary the accreditation in the way specified in the notice.(2) This subsection applies if –(a) the Commission is satisfied that the person was accredited as a member on the basis of fraud or misrepresentation; or(b) the Commission is satisfied that the person or a nominated driver of the person has contravened a condition that applies to the person under section 70 ; or(c) the Commission is satisfied that the person or a nominated driver of the person has contravened a road transport law and that the contravention –(i) is serious; or(ii) is part of a persistent series of contraventions; or(iii) taking account of the behaviour of all nominated drivers of the person, amounts to a pattern of contravening behaviour; or(d) the Commission is no longer satisfied that the person and the person's nominated drivers and vehicles meet the requirements of section 67 ; or(e) any prescribed fee is due but has not been paid; or(f) the person requests or agrees to the suspension or cancellation.
(1) A person who, in an application under this Part, makes a statement that is false or misleading is guilty of an offence.Penalty: Fine not exceeding 25 penalty units.(2) A person who, in connection with an alternative compliance scheme approved by the Commission under this Part, makes a statement that is false or misleading is guilty of an offence.Penalty: Fine not exceeding 25 penalty units.(3) A person who misrepresents a vehicle or driver as being a nominated vehicle or driver for the purposes of an alternative compliance scheme approved by the Commission under this Part is guilty of an offence.Penalty: Fine not exceeding 25 penalty units.
SCHEDULE 1
Regnal Year and Number of Act | Title of Act | Extent of repeal |
6 Wm. IV No. 7 | An Act to provide for the Licensing of Hawkers and Carriers | The whole Act |
10 Vict. No. 15 | An Act to prohibit Hawkers and Carriers from Purchasing or Carrying Wool or Sheep or Cattle Skins, except under certain restrictions | The whole Act |
4 Edw. VII No. 4 | An Act to amend an Act to provide for the Licensing of Hawkers and Carriers | The whole Act |
7 Edw. VII No. 27 | Motor Traffic Act 1907 | The whole Act |
7 Edw. VII No. 46 | An Act to further amend the Launceston Corporation Act 1894 | Part IV |
4 Geo. V No. 43 | Motor Traffic Act 1913 | The whole Act |
11 Geo. V No. 58 | Metropolitan Traffic Act 1920 | The whole Act |
12 Geo. V No. 58 | Metropolitan Traffic Act 1922 | The whole Act |
13 Geo. V No. 28 | Motor Traffic Act 1923 | The whole Act |
SCHEDULE 2 - . . . . . . . .
PART 1. . . . . . . .
PART 2. . . . . . . .
PART 3. . . . . . . .
PART 4. . . . . . . .
SCHEDULE 3 - . . . . . . . .
PART I. . . . . . . .
PART II. . . . . . . .
SCHEDULE 4
SCHEDULE 5