What the Act means to yo
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HE 1I Iransport Act, which ?ceived the Royal Assent at the nd of last month, is almost enyclopedic in its content, taking
a variety of Government prioiti es from privatisation of ritish Rail to a group of road afety-oriented items.
For goods vehicle operators, s most important clauses are lose which change the basis pon which vehicle excise duty ; calculated, largely in order to nsure that the heaviest vehicles lay through taxation the full oad costs which they impose.
This measure, which was apilauded in the Armitage Report, 3 one of the few Armitage-enlorsed measures to have been icted upon so far.
Lorries under 12 tonnes gross vill in future be taxed purely on gross weight basis, while hose above 12 tonnes will be axed on both gross weight and he number of axles. In other words, the more axles on a )eavier vehicle, the lower its tax r'ill be. Goods vehicles under 30cwt will continue under the present arrangements.
The existing tax arrangements or goods vehicles will apply un.il the next Finance Bill is presen:ed — probably next spring — Athen a new rates scale based on gross weight and axles will be introduced.
The road safety provisions of the Act take effect as and when specified by Parliamentary Order, and it is likely to be about a year before all the necessary consultation and administrative changes are completed.
-Repeated Traffic offences
A system of penalty points re places the present totting-up procedure.
The Act will instead grade traffic offences according to their seriousness by a number or range of penalty points. Once 12 penalty points have been accumulated within a three-year period, disqualification for at least six months will almost always follow.
The penalty points values given to different offences have been determined by reference to the average level of fines generally imposed by the courts. Most offences rate a fixed number of penalty points to ensure consistency and simplify the administration; but a discretionary range will apply to a few offences where the gravity may vary considerably in each case.
For example, failing to stop after an accident which only involved scratched paintwork is less serious than a case where someone has been left injured.
Once a period of disqualification has been imposed, the slate will be "wiped clean" and those penalty points will not be counted again. Twelve more points would have to be accumulated before a further points disqualification follows but, to discourage repeated offences, further disqualification within three years will be for progressively longer periods.
During the changeover to the new system, any existing endorsements will be treated as equal to three penalty points.
The endorsing of penalty points will arise in respect of offences where disqualification is discretionary and where the courts have decided that im
mediate disqualification is not appropriate, they will still be free to disqualify immediately if the circumstances justify. And offences carrying obligatory disqualification, such as drinking and driving and causing death by reckless driving, will continue to do so.
Drinking and driving The Act strengthens the law in this respect by making it easier to administer and enforce.
Breath analysis will become the primary means of determining a person's alcohol concentration for the purposes of evidence in court. Breath testing devices (usually a tube and bag) are already used by the police at the roadside to check whether or not a driver has been drinking. But very much more sophisticated electronic breath machines will then be used at a police station.
Breath analysis will save considerable police time and has the advantage of enabling a suspect to know the result at once without having to wait for a laboratory analysis.
The statutory limit for breath alcohol concentration will be 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. (This is the equivalent to the alcohol limit of 80mg of alcohol in 100m1 of blood and 107mg of alcohol in 100m1 of urine).
Among the safeguards for suspects will be the right to ask for a blood test to replace the results of a breath analysis where this has not exceeded 50 microgrammes of alcohol per 100m1 of breath.
The Act provides that the power of the police to require a breath test, which at present relates to persons driving a motor vehicle suspected of having alcohol in their body or of having committed a moving traffic offence, will be extended to persons who have been driving or are or have been in charge of a vehicle and are similarly suspected. A breath test may also be required after an accident.
The Act does not empower the police to carry out breath tests at • random.
But it does give the police power to enter premises to require a breath test from someone suspected of driving while under the influence of drink or drugs or who has been driving or been in charge of a vehi which has been involved in accident in which another .son has been injured.
The increase in the penalty hit and run drivers from a m mum of £100 to £1,000 will e ble the courts to deal better an offence which is often c mitted deliberately in order avoid a breath test.
Seat belts The Act empowers the Tra port Secretary to make reg tions requiring those front-s occupants of goods vehicles wear seat belts. In the case vehicles manufactured on after September 1, 1966.
The Transport Secretary be able to prescribe exempti in the compulsory seat-belt gulations as follows: (i) drivers on local deliv rounds; (ii) drivers performing noeuvres including reversin (iii) people holding a doct certificate saying it is inadvi ble on medical grounds for th to wear a seat belt.
The maximum penalty for wearing a seat belt will be E bill it will not be an endorsea offence. A driver will not be h responsible if his passenger not wearing a seat belt or vi versa.
First-time applicants The Act empowers regulatio to allow a first-time driver start learning to drive once I provisional licence applicati has been received at Swans( Such applicants 'must ha reached the minimum drivi age and must not be disqualifi or medically unfit. Under t present law, no one can learn drive until they have physica received the provisional licen Grants for waterway user!
The Act empowers the Trai port Secretary to give grants wards the capital expenditure providing facilities for the c riage of freight by inla waterway. These grants wa be similar to those made av able for rail freight facilities der Section 8 of the Railways, 1974, and are in line with Armitage Report recommen tions.
Road humps The Act gives highw authorities powers to in speed restricting road humps publicly maintained roads.