Q One of our drivers, having taken a vehicle on trade plates to an exhibition, was
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returning home in the vehicle late at night when he was stopped by the police and his use of the vehicle under trade plates was queried. On learning that he was taking it to a car park near his home, the police told him that a prosecution would be considered.
Our premises were closed and, because the show to which the driver had taken the vehicle finished late, it was too late to return the vehicle to our yard. If we are prosecuted are we likely to be convicted?
Ait is difficult to predict , what view magistrates would take of a case of this nature.
The Road Vehicles (Regulation and Licensing) Regulations 1971 are very precise about restrictions on the use of trade plates and the purpose for which a vehicle may be used these are contained in Regulation 35. But while each relevant paragraph states that the vehicle may be used for proceeding to a place for a particular purpose and returning after the purpose has been completed, in none of them it is specified exactly where the vehicle is to be returned to.
It would seem logical for the vehicle to be parked overnight off the road (it being not allowed to park a vehicle under trade plates on the road) in the circumstances which you have described.
One can think of circumstances where it would not be possible to complete a journey, such as if the driver's statutory hours have elapsed. In such a case it would be illegal to attempt to return the vehicle to its depot and there would be no alternative but to park up till the following day.