UK Offence Report

Regular and shuttle services

regulation 4 of The Road Transport (Northern Ireland Passenger Services) Regulations 1980

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

4 A person who—

a without reasonable excuse, contravenes subsection (1) of this section, or

b without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with

a requirement of

a certifying officer or public service vehicle examiner, or wilfully obstructs an officer or examiner, in exercise of his powers under subsection (3) of this section, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding £200.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (wilfully).

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: wilfully; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

4 A person who— a without reasonable excuse, contravenes subsection (1) of this section, or b without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a requirement of a certifying officer or public service vehicle examiner, or wilfully obstructs an officer or examiner, in exercise of his powers under subsectio

What would breach regulation 4?

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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Road Transport (Northern Ireland Passenger Services) Regulations 1980.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£200
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
23 September 1980
In force from
3 November 1980
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 exempt vehicles authorised under the law of Northern Ireland for the carriage of passengers for reward in Northern Ireland, when used in Great Britain for the carriage of passengers on certain services between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, from the requirements of sections 127 and 144 of the Road Traffic Act 1960 (which lay down requirements as to the licensing of public service vehicles and their drivers) and section 4 of the Transport Act 1980 (which requires stage carriage service to be provided under a road service licence). In the case of vehicles used on regular and shuttle services as defined in Council Regulation No. 117/66 (Regulation 2) the vehicles must be used in Great Britain under an authorisation issued by the Minister of Transport (Regulation 4). Regulation 6 provides for applications for such authorisations to be made to the Minister of Transport and that the applicant shall pay a fee of £10 in respect of the application. Regulation 7 disapplies the requirements of the Public Service Vehicles (Conditions of Fitness, Equipment and Use) Regulations 1972 (S.I. 1972/751) in the case of vehicles to which these Regulations apply as defined in Regulation 3. The Regulations replace the provision made by Regulation 12 of the Road Transport (International Passenger Services) Regulations 1973 (S.I. 1973/806) as amended by the Road Transport (International Passenger Services) (Amendment) Regulations 1979 (S.I. 1979/654) as to shuttle services in relation to vehicles within the scope of these Regulations and they make new provision as to regular services and occasional services (Regulation 5). The said Regulations of 1973 and 1979 are revoked by the Road Transport (International Passenger Services) Regulations 1980 (S.I. 1980/1459).

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 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”; the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
Confidence
0.92 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