UK Offence Report

Contravention of The M90/A90 Trunk Road (Admiralty Interchange to Dalmeny) (Variable Speed Limits, Actively…

the instrument as a whole of The M90/A90 Trunk Road (Admiralty Interchange to Dalmeny) (Variable Speed Limits, Actively Managed Hard Shoulder and Bus Lane) Regulations 2017

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

Contravening this instrument is an offence under sections

5 and 17(4) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. The instrument itself contains no offence-creating words.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
breaching the provision
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
Not determined

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

Classifier’s reasoning: contravention offences of this kind are strict as to the breach; the fault position is governed by the parent Act and was not read from it.

What would breach the instrument as a whole?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the M90/A90 Trunk Road (Admiralty Interchange to Dalmeny) (Variable Speed Limits, Actively Managed Hard Shoulder and Bus Lane) Regulations 2017.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Set by another provision — the instrument states the penalty by reference to an Act or to another regulation
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

The instrument does not state a penalty itself. It sets one by reference to sections 5 and 17(4) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

the penalty is in the parent Act, not in this instrument.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
25 April 2017
In force from
26 May 2017
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations make provision for variable speed limits, a bus lane and an actively managed hard shoulder on various sections of the road known as the M90/A90 Edinburgh to Fraserburgh Trunk Road, from Admiralty Interchange to Dalmeny (“the relevant road”). Regulation 3 provides for a bus lane on the section of the relevant road specified in Part 1 of the schedule, for use by buses with seating for more than 23 passengers. Regulation 5 permits, by way of an exemption, the use of the lane in an emergency for police, fire brigade, ambulance and coastguard purposes. The exemption also allows the bus lane to be used by vehicles for certain purposes, such as removing an obstruction from the road or repairing it. Regulation 4 provides for variable speed limits to have effect on the sections of the relevant road specified in Part 2 of the schedule. Where variable speed limit signs are in operation, a person must not drive a vehicle above the maximum speed indicated by the last speed limit sign passed by the vehicle. Where a speed limit sign changes 10 seconds or less before a vehicle passes the sign and the sign had indicated a higher speed limit, the regulation allows a driver to proceed at a speed up to the maximum applicable before the change. Where the speed limit sign indicates a speed limit when it is passed by the vehicle but 10 seconds before it was not showing any speed limit, it is to be taken as not indicating any speed limit to that vehicle. In such an instance, the variable speed limit provisions will not apply and the default maximum speed will be 70 miles per hour as provided for by the Motorways Traffic (Speed Limit) Regulations 1974 or the 70 miles per hour, 60 miles per hour and 50 miles per hour (Temporary Speed Limit) Order 1977. The Regulations also apply the Motorways Traffic (Scotland) Regulations 1995 (“the 1995 Regulations”) to the relevant road as if they have been modified to provide for “an actively managed hard shoulder”, which is a hard shoulder that may be driven on in certain circumstances. The Regulations provide that the only vehicles permitted to drive on the actively managed hard shoulder are motor vehicles constructed or adapted to carry more than 23 seated passengers (exclusive of the driver) (see regulation 6). In relation to the relevant road, regulation 6 has the effect of substituting, for the current regulation 8 of the 1995 Regulations, new regulations 8 and 8A. New regulation 8A provides that sections of the hard shoulder set out in schedule 2 of the 1995 Regulations (provided by regulation 6(e) of these Regulations) may be used as a carriageway by permitted vehicles when traffic sign reference number 106.12/117.07 showing a bus symbol, authorised for use by the Scottish Ministers under sections 64 and 65 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 on 11th March 2014, is displayed. Such permitted vehicles must cease to use the hard shoulder as a carriageway when a traffic sign with the sign reference 5003 or 5003.1 (item 33, Part 2 of schedule 14 of the Traffic Sign Regulations and General Directions 2016 – lane closed to vehicular traffic) is displayed above the hard shoulder. Contravention of the Regulations is an offence under section 17(4) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.67.

Basis
the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence
0.67 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source