UK Offence Report

Contravention of The M8 and M9 Trunk Roads (Newbridge to Hermiston Gait) (Actively Managed Hard Shoulder and…

the instrument as a whole of The M8 and M9 Trunk Roads (Newbridge to Hermiston Gait) (Actively Managed Hard Shoulder and Speed Limit) Regulations 2021

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 M8 and M9 Trunk Roads (Newbridge to Hermiston Gait) (Actively Managed Hard Shoulder and Speed Limit) Regulations 2021.

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
26 January 2021
In force from
18 March 2021
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 an actively managed hard shoulder on various lengths of the roads known as the M8/A8 Edinburgh - Greenock Trunk Road and the M9/A9 Edinburgh - Stirling - Thurso Trunk Road (“the specified roads”). The Regulations apply the Motorways Traffic (Scotland) Regulations 1995 (“the 1995 Regulations”) to the specified roads as if they had 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 2). In relation to the specified roads, regulation 2 has the effect of substituting, for the current regulation 8 of the 1995 Regulations, new regulations 8 and 8A. New regulation 8A provides that lengths of the hard shoulder set out in new schedule 2 of the 1995 Regulations (inserted by regulation 2(e) of these Regulations) may be used as a carriageway by a permitted vehicle where it passes a traffic sign showing a bus symbol, authorised for use for the purposes of regulation 8A(1) by the Scottish Ministers under sections 64 and 65 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (“the 1984 Act”). A permitted vehicle must cease to use the hard shoulder as a carriageway when it passes a traffic sign with diagram number 6031.2 (being item 15 in part 2, schedule 15 of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 - carriageway side mounted light signals conveying the prohibition described at paragraph 3 of Part 1) or another sign authorised for use for the purpose of regulation 8A(2)(b) by the Scottish Ministers under sections 64 and 65 of the 1984 Act. Regulation 2 also provides for the 1995 Regulations to apply as if the concept of the “emergency refuge area” were introduced. Where a hard shoulder is actively managed, this emergency refuge area has the same function as a hard shoulder. Regulation 3 amends the M8 and M9 Special Roads (Newbridge Grade Separation) Speed Limit Regulations 1997 (“the 1997 Regulations”) to provide for an extension to the existing 50 mph speed limit on the interchange link road at the M9-M8 eastbound interchange. This is required to safely support the operation of the actively managed hard shoulder. Contravention of the 1995 and 1997 Regulations is an offence under section 17(4) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. No business or regulatory impact assessment has been prepared in relation to these Regulations as no, or no significant, impact upon business, charities or voluntary bodies is foreseen.

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 0.63.

Basis
the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence
0.63 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