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know the law

14th September 1973
Page 79
Page 79, 14th September 1973 — know the law
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

by Les Oldridge, TEng (CEO, MlM1, AMIRTE

The origins of traffic law

RECOGNITION of the law is the foundation upon which all civilized communities exist and it is the basis of all law and order. The greater the certainty of detection, the greater will be the respect for that particular law. For example, if everyone knew that if he drove a vehicle while having more than the permitted amount of alcohol in the bloodstream that detection of his condition by the police was inevitable, then there would be no offences of this kind. The law falls into disrepute if it is not enforced fairly and universally. One can understand the frustration of the reputable haulier when "pirate" operators ignore the law and seem to get away with it.

Although we accept the laws as a matter of course it is interesting to look at the origins of traffic law generally and these are not as simple as may at first appear.

Much traffic law is contained in Acts of Parliament. Such law, in the form of a Bill, is proposed in the House of Commons and after passing through both Houses of Parliament receives the Royal Assent and becomes an Act of Parliament or a statute. It is then known by a short name or title indicating its purport together with the year in which it was passed — for example, the Transport Act 1968.

In the older Acts it was customary also to refer to them by chapter or number in the year of the reign of the Sovereign in whose reign it was passed. Thus the Road Traffic Act 1960 is referred to as 8 and 9 Eliz 2, C 16, which means that it was passed in the eighth and ninth year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth IL.

The Acts are numbered in their order of their passing as chapters during that year; thus C 16 in the example given refers to the sixteenth chapter in that year, ie 1960. Thepractice of quoting the year of the Monarch's reign seems to have been dropped in more recent Acts — for example, the Road Traffic Act 1972 is just referred to as Chapter 20, 1972.

Obviously, Parliament has not the time to deal with every little detail of traffic law. It would be absurd for the Commons to debate, for example, the type and number of driving mirrors required on vehicles and where and how they should be fitted. Yet this is an irnportant safety feature which has to be decided with considerable thought and care. This difficulty is overcome by giving the responsible Minister power to make Regulations. The Road Traffic Act 1972, Section 40, gives the Minister power to make regulations concerning the construction and use of motor vehicles and trailers on roads and under this power he has made the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1973.

There are many more examples in traffic law of this subordinate legislation which can always be distinguished from Acts of Parliament by their titles. Subordinate legislation is always "Regulations" or "Orders" — the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1971, the Goods Vehicles (Plating and Testing) Regulations 1971 and the Motor Vehicle (Driving Licence) Regulations 1970 are just three of the current Regulations of importance to the commercial vehicle operator. Generally, various interested parties such as the police, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association are consulted and then the Regulations are laid on the table of the House for 40 days to give MPs a chance to criticize them. If at the end of this period there are no objections then the Regulations become law.

When a defendant is aggrieved by the decision of a court and he considers the magistrate came to a decision which was wrong in law he can "appeal by way of case stated". This means that the magistrates must submit the case for the opinion of the High Court on the question of law. The Appeal Court then examines all the evidence and makes a decision on the particular point of law which is in dispute. The proceedings and decision are reported and are then referred to as a "stated case".

This decision is then binding on all inferior courts in the future. Law books refer to the case and to where a report of it can be found — for example, Mawdsley v Walter Cox (Transport) Ltd, (1966) 3 All E.R. 728 means the case of Mawdsley (probably the policeman in the case) v the transport company which was heard in 1966, a report of which can be found in the All England Law Reports for that year and on page 728.

This particular case dealt with driving mirrors and held that when considering whether there had been a breach of the regulation the vehicle must be considered in its unloaded state or when carrying a normal load. These stated cases are constantly making new law — or perhaps it would be better to say they are clarifying existing law.

Common Law

Having dealt with Statute Law, subordinate legislation and case law we now come to Common Law. This is made up of those general customs which have been regarded as laws in the land from time immemorial. By general agreement, endorsed by the practice of the courts, certain rules of conduct have by custom become laws — and these laws are known as the Common Law.

Conspiracy is one of these common law offences for which persons have been prosecuted quite often in the courts in recent years for serious breaches of the drivers' hours of work regulations. When two or more persons have conspired together to flout the law, say for example by creating "ghost drivers," then all the parties involved have been charged with conspiracy, a common law offence.


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