UK Offence Report

Contravention of The M42 (Junctions 3A to 7) (Actively Managed Hard Shoulder and Variable Speed Limits)…

the instrument as a whole of The M42 (Junctions 3A to 7) (Actively Managed Hard Shoulder and Variable Speed Limits) Regulations 2005

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 M42 (Junctions 3A to 7) (Actively Managed Hard Shoulder and Variable Speed Limits) Regulations 2005.

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
18 June 2005
In force from
27 July 2005
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 modify the Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982 (“the 1982 Regulations”), in respect of the M42 Motorway, Junctions 3A to 7 and the adjoining slip roads (“the relevant roads”). On the relevant roads, the Regulations introduce variable speed limits and create the concept of an `actively managed hard shoulder', which is a section of hard shoulder which may, in certain circumstances, be driven on. Regulation 3 inserts a new regulation 5A into the 1982 Regulations, which provides that certain stretches of the hard shoulder of a relevant road may be used as a carriageway. These stretches (described as “relevant lengths”)— a start directly under an overheard gantry on which there is displayed a traffic sign of the type shown in diagram 670 in Schedule 2 to the Traffic Signs Regulations 2002 indicating that a speed limit other than the national speed limit applies to the hard shoulder; and b end immediately before an overhead gantry on which there is displayed a traffic sign of the type shown in diagram 5003.1 or 6031.1 in Schedule 10 to the Traffic Sign Regulations and General Directions 2002. Regulation 3 also introduces into the 1982 Regulations the concept of the `emergency refuge area', which has the same function as a hard shoulder and can be used in the circumstances set out in regulation 7(2) of the 1982 Regulations. Regulation 4 introduces variable speed limits in relation to the relevant roads. Vehicles may not be driven at a speed above the maximum indicated by a traffic sign until they pass a sign indicating that the restriction ceases to apply or that another speed limit applies or until the vehicle ceases to be on a relevant road. Where a speed limit changes less than 10 seconds before a vehicle passes the sign, this regulation allows a driver to proceed at a speed up to the maximum applicable before the change, and to continue to do so until he passes another speed limit sign. A copy of the regulatory impact assessment prepared in respect of these Regulations can be obtained from the M42 Active Traffic Management Pilot Team, C6, Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham, B15 1BL. A copy has been placed in the library of each House of Parliament.

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 0.61.

Basis
the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence
0.61 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