UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Motorways Traffic (Scotland) Regulations 1995

the instrument as a whole of The Motorways Traffic (Scotland) Regulations 1995

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
contravening a requirement of the instrument
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 the thing the provision prohibits under the Motorways Traffic (Scotland) Regulations 1995, whatever the reason for doing it.
  2. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

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
19 September 1995
In force from
23 October 1995
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, which re-enact the Motorways Traffic (Scotland) Regulations 1964 and the Motorways Traffic (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 1968 with amendments, make provision for the regulation of traffic using special roads provided under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 in cases where such roads can only be used by traffic of Classes I and II specified in Schedule 3 to that Act, such special roads being referred to in these Regulations as “motorways”. Regulation 2 deals with interpretation and includes the definitions of “hard shoulder” and “emergency layby” which are a terms not previously used in Regulations relating to motorways in Scotland. Regulation 3 provides that the Regulations only apply to special roads which can only be used by traffic of Classes I or II of Schedule 3 to the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984. The Regulations provide that except in certain specified cases— a vehicles are to be driven only on the carriageways (regulation 4); b one-way driving is to be observed by vehicles using the carriageways (regulation 5); c vehicles are not to stop on the carriageways (regulation 6); d reversing on the motorway is prohibited (regulation 7); e the hard shoulders or emergency laybys are not to be used by vehicles (regulation 8); f vehicles are prohibited from being on the central reservations or verges (regulation 9); g vehicles are not to be driven on motorways by learner drivers (regulation 10); h any goods vehicle having a maximum laden weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes, certain passenger carrying vehicles, any motor vehicle drawing a trailer, and any motor tractor, light locomotive or heavy locomotive are not to use the right-hand lane of a three lane or more carriageway at any place where all lanes are open for use (regulation 11); i animals carried in a vehicle are as far as practicable to be kept in the vehicle or, if they are not in the vehicle, are not to go or remain on the motorway other than on the hard shoulder, emergency layby or verge and are to be kept under proper control (regulation 12). Regulation 13 provides that certain classes of traffic not ordinarily authorised to use motorways may do so in certain specified circumstances and also makes provision for enabling such traffic to be authorised to use a motorway in particular cases. Regulation 14 provides for certain general exceptions from the provisions of the Regulations and authorises the Secretary of State to relax any prohibition or restriction imposed by the Regulations. The principal changes from the previous Regulations are: restricting the use of hard shoulders or emergency laybys (regulation 8); allowing learner drivers of large goods vehicles and passenger-carrying vehicles to drive on motorways (regulation 10); amending the classes of vehicle which may not use the right-hand lane of a 3 lane carriageway subject to exceptions and adding two further exceptions in “lane gain” situations and in situations where access to and from the motorway is by a road on the right hand side of the carriageway (regulation 11).

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 0.70.

Basis
the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence
0.70 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