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These cases are from the lawindexpro database. They are now being transferred to the swarb.co.uk website in a better form. As a case is published there, an entry here will link to it. The swarb.co.uk site includes many later cases.  















Road Traffic - From: 1996 To: 1996

This page lists 47 cases, and was prepared on 02 April 2018.


 
 Director of Public Prosecutions v Hawkins; 1996 - [1996] RTR 160
 
Alexander v Rolls Royce Ltd [1996] RTR 95
1996
CA
Beldam LJ
Damages, Road Traffic
The claimant was not entitled to damages for loss of enjoyment in the use of his Rolls Royce whilst it was off the road after an accident.
1 Citers


 
Jarvis v The Director of Public Prosecutions [1996] RTR 192
1996
QBD

Road Traffic
There are limits to the extent to which magistrates may use in one case knowledge acquired from another.
1 Citers


 
Thompson v Thynne [1996] RTR 293
1996


Road Traffic

1 Citers


 
Prince v The Director of Public Prosecutions [1996] CLR 343
1996
Admn

Road Traffic
The appellant had convicted of an offence under s5 on the basis of evidence provided by a laboratory test of a blood sample provided under section 8(2). In each case it was contended that the prosecution were required to prove that the intoximeter was working properly before evidence of the test of the blood specimen was admissible.
Road Traffic Act 1988 5 8(2)
1 Citers


 
Regina v Derwentside Justices, Ex parte Heaviside [1996] RTR 384
1996


Road Traffic
Establishing whether previous convictions listed were those of the defendant.
1 Citers


 
Director of Public Prosecutions v Neville Ind Summary, 08 January 1996
8 Jan 1996
QBD

Road Traffic
'Airside' part of airport sufficient public road for road traffic purposes.
Road Traffic Act 1988 3

 
Regina v Shoult Times, 23 January 1996
23 Jan 1996
CACD

Road Traffic
Prison sentence was appropriate for a Defendant causing death by dangerous driving whilst 3.5 times alcohol limit.


 
 JG Williams (T/A Wiltrans International) v Harboard for the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames; QBD 20-Feb-1996 - Unreported 20 February 1996
 
Dunthorne v Bentley and Another [1996] EWCA Civ 1353; [1996] RTR 428; [1996] PIQR P323
26 Feb 1996
CA
Rose, Pill, Huchison LJJ
Negligence, Road Traffic
Damages were sought after a pedestrian ran into the road, causing a traffic accident and serious injuries to those in a car.
[ Bailii ]
 
Skanavi and Chryssanthakopoulos (Judgment) C-193/94; [1996] ECR I-929; [1996] EUECJ C-193/94
29 Feb 1996
ECJ

European, Road Traffic
Any formalities required in order to have a driving licence issued in one Member State recognised in another Member State constitute an obstacle to the free movement of persons, and are in breach of the Treaty.
Europa 1. As Community law stands, and prior to the implementation of Directive 91/439 on driving licences, Article 52 of the Treaty does not preclude a Member State from requiring the holder of a driving licence issued by another Member State to exchange that licence for a licence of the host Member State within one year of taking up normal residence in that State in order to remain entitled to drive a motor vehicle there.
In view of the complexity of the matter and the differences between the legislation of the Member States, the Council, which had the task of achieving harmonization of the conditions governing the issue of driving licences and of providing that driving licences issued by the Member States should be mutually recognized in order to remove the obstacles to the free movement of persons resulting from the obligation to obtain a driving licence issued by the host Member State, was empowered to achieve that harmonization progressively and was therefore entitled to allow Member States temporarily to impose an obligation to exchange licences.
2. In view of the consequences which may result from the existence of a criminal record for the exercise of a trade or profession by an employed or self-employed person, particularly with regard to access to certain activities or certain offices, which would constitute a further, lasting restriction on freedom of movement, Article 52 of the Treaty precludes the driving of a motor vehicle by a person who could have obtained a licence from the host State in exchange for the licence issued by another Member State but who did not make that exchange within the prescribed period from being treated as driving without a licence and thus rendered punishable by imprisonment or a fine.
The Member States, which, in the absence of Community rules governing the matter, remain competent to impose penalties for breach of the obligation to exchange driving licences which they may impose under Directive 80/1263 on the introduction of a Community driving licence, may not, however, impose a disproportionate penalty which, in view of the effect which the right to drive a motor vehicle has on the actual exercise of the rights relating to the free movement of persons, creates an obstacle to such free movement. Treatment of failure to exchange licences as equivalent to driving without a licence, thereby giving rise to criminal penalties, even if only financial in nature, is disproportionate on two grounds. First, it is disproportionate because the issue of a driving licence by a Member State in exchange for a licence issued by another Member State does not constitute the basis of the right to drive a motor vehicle in the territory of the host State, which is directly conferred by Community law, but evidence of the existence of such a right, and the obligation to exchange is therefore essentially a way of meeting administrative requirements. Second, it is disproportionate by reason of the consequences which it may have for the future prospects of the person concerned in his trade or profession.
1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Criminal Proceedings Against Skanavi and Others Times, 08 March 1996; C-194/93
8 Mar 1996
ECJ

Road Traffic, European
A requirement imposed to obtain a local driving licence within a year was acceptable, but not the punishment by fine.

 
Amtsgericht Reckinghausen (Germany) v Hans Walter Mrozek and Bernhard Jager C-335/94; [1996] ECR I-1573; [1996] EUECJ C-335/94
21 Mar 1996
ECJ

European, Road Traffic
Europa Transport - Road transport - Social legislation - Derogations - Vehicles used in refuse collection and disposal - Definition (Council Regulation No 3820/85, Art. 4(6)) 2. Transport - Road transport - Social legislation - Areas excluded from the scope of Regulation No 3820/85 - Competence of Member States to regulate driving time (Council Regulation No 3820/85) When it refers amongst the categories of transport excluded from the scope of its provisions to transport by "vehicles used in ... refuse collection and disposal", Article 4(6) of Regulation No 3820/85 on the harmonization of certain social legislation relating to road transport must be interpreted as referring to vehicles used for the collection of waste of all kinds which is not subject to more specific rules and for the transportation of such waste over short distances, within the context of a general service in the public interest provided directly by the public authorities or by private undertakings under their control.
In areas not covered by Regulation No 3820/85 on the harmonization of certain social legislation relating to road transport, Member States remain competent to adopt rules on driving time.
1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
The Great House at Sonning Ltd and Others v Berkshire County Council Gazette, 17 April 1996; Times, 25 March 1996
25 Mar 1996
CA

Road Traffic
Remedy to challenge temporary road closure is limited to judicial review.
Remedy to challenge temporary road closure is limited to judicial review.
Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984

 
Criminal proceedings against Ruiz Bernaldez Times, 06 May 1996; C-129/94; [1996] EUECJ C-129/94; [1996] I ECR 1829
28 Mar 1996
ECJ

Road Traffic, European
Europa In the preliminary-ruling procedure under Article 177 of the Treaty, it is for the national courts alone, before which the proceedings are pending and which must assume responsibility for the judgment to be given, to determine, having regard to the particular features of each case, both the need for a preliminary ruling to enable them to give judgment and the relevance of the questions which they refer to the Court. A request for a preliminary ruling from a national court may be rejected only if it is quite obvious that the interpretation of Community law sought by that court bears no relation to the actual nature of the case or the subject-matter of the main action.
Article 3(1) of Directive 72/166 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles, and to the enforcement of the obligation to insure against such liability, is to be interpreted as meaning that, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 2(1) of Directive 84/5 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles, a compulsory insurance contract may not provide that in certain cases, in particular where the driver of the vehicle was intoxicated, the insurer is not obliged to pay compensation for the damage to property and personal injuries caused to third parties by the insured vehicle.
In view of the aim of ensuring protection, stated repeatedly in all the relevant directives, Article 3(1) of Directive 72/166, as developed and supplemented by the later directives, must be interpreted as meaning that compulsory motor insurance must enable third-party victims of accidents caused by vehicles to be compensated for all the damage to property and personal injuries sustained by them, without the insurer being able to rely on statutory provisions or contractual clauses to refuse such compensation. Any other interpretation would deprive that provision of its effectiveness, since it would have the effect of allowing Member States to limit payment of compensation to third-party victims of a road-traffic accident to certain types of damage, thus bringing about disparities in the treatment of victims depending on where the accident occurred, which is precisely what the directives are intended to avoid.
The compulsory insurance contract may, on the other hand, provide that in such cases the insurer is to have a right of recovery against the insured.
1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Cosgrove v Director of Public Prosecutions Times, 29 March 1996
29 Mar 1996
QBD

Road Traffic
There is no rule of law requiring a policeman to allow a driver a full three minutes in order to give a breath specimen.
Road Traffic Act 1988

 
UK Waste Management Ltd v West Lancashire District Council; St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council v Same Gazette, 17 April 1996; Times, 05 April 1996; [1996] RTR 201
5 Apr 1996
QBD
Justice Carnwath
Road Traffic
It was not a proper purpose of an experimental traffic scheme to seek to ban heavy goods vehicles. The council used traffic calming measures to seek to dissuade heavy goods vehicles using certain roads to get to a waste management site.
Carnwath J said: "The second main point is in relation to the duty under section 122 to have regard to the desirability of maintaining reasonable access to premises. I do not find section 122 an altogether easy section to construe. It refers to a wide range of different matters which have to be taken into account, but it is not clear precisely how the priorities between these various matters are to be ordered. The words " so far as practicable" show that some limitation is intended on the weight to be given to some of the factors. In Greater London Council v. Secretary of State for Transport [1986] J.P.L. 513 at 517, the Court of Appeal appear to have assumed that those words qualify the duty to have regard to the items in subsection (2) , thus, in effect, making those matters subordinate to the matters which are referred to in subsection (1) . However, there appears to have been no detailed argument on the point in that case and the comments appear to be obiter. To my mind, it seems more likely that the intention is the other way round. Had it been as the Court of Appeal suggest, one would have expected the parenthesis to read, " having regard so far as practicable to the matters specified in subsection (2) below." Furthermore, it is difficult to see the purpose of such a limitation on a duty which is simply to " have regard" to certain matters, since it is always practicable to have regard to matters, not always to give them effect. It is more likely that the limitation was intended to qualify the duty in subsection (1) to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic, that being a duty which would otherwise be expressed in absolute terms."
Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 9
1 Citers


 
Mckenzie v Director of Public Prosecutions Times, 14 May 1996
14 May 1996
QBD

Road Traffic
A vehicle may stop on double white line road to pick up or set down a passenger.
Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1994 (1994 No 1519)

 
Hatton v Hall and Another Times, 15 May 1996
15 May 1996
CA

Road Traffic
Passenger need not be 'user' of vehicle though acting with driver; claim on MIB.

 
Evans v Director of Public Prosecutions Times, 30 May 1996
30 May 1996
QBD

Road Traffic
Breath test results were insufficient evidence where charged with excess in urine.

 
Regina v Secretary of State for Transport, Ex Parte National Insurance Guarantee Corp Plc Times, 03 June 1996
3 Jun 1996
QBD

Road Traffic
Regulations properly excluded requirement for compulsory insurance for driver.
Road Traffic Act 1988 145(4A)


 
 Regina v Haringey Magistrates' Court ex parte Amvrosiou; Admn 13-Jun-1996 - [1996] EWHC Admin 14
 
Swain v Aaron White Limited and Staniland [1996] EWHC Admin 22
8 Jul 1996
Admn

Road Traffic


 
Swain v McCaul and Others Times, 11 July 1996; [1997] RTR 102
11 Jul 1996
QBD

Road Traffic
A lorry used for delivering skips was not used for refuse collection and was subject to the tachograph regime. The providing of skips for rubbish was a purely commercial enterprise not carried out for a public authority.
Transport Act 1968 97(1)(a)(iii)
1 Citers


 
Regina v Marison Gazette, 02 August 1996; Times, 16 July 1996; [1997] RTR 457
16 Jul 1996
CACD

Road Traffic
A diabetic who drove anticipating a diabetic attack was driving recklessly and his act constituted dangerous driving.
Road Traffic Act 1988 2A
1 Citers


 
Ramsey v Director of Public Prosecutions [1996] EWHC Admin 39
17 Jul 1996
Admn

Road Traffic

Road Traffic Act 1988 5(1)

 
Kent County Council v Holland Times, 26 July 1996
26 Jul 1996
QBD

Road Traffic
Dogs which were kept by pathway could not amount to an obstruction of footpath even though they were fearsome.
Highways Act 1980 137(1)

 
Fife Scottish Omnibuses Ltd v Tay Road Bridge Joint Board Times, 20 August 1996
20 Aug 1996
OHCS

Road Traffic
No requirement on authority to repay tolls to drivers charged at higher rate even though later found to be unlawfully charged.

 
Michelle Louise De Bretton v Hampshire County Council [1996] EWCA Civ 688
9 Oct 1996
CA

Torts - Other, Road Traffic, Litigation Practice
The claimant sought damages after a car skidded on the road, and she was injured. She said the respondent was in breach of their statutory duty in having failed to clear the road. The authority said it had taken the appropriate steps to clear up the spillage, and that the accident was a result of the claimant driving too quickly. An employee of the respondent had spread the sand, but also had materials for the clearing up of oil which he had not used. This came up only after he had completed his evidence. The respondent objected to thie admission of this evidence, and then asked the judge to recuse herself. She had ordered a retrial. Held: there had been no impropriety. The case was remitted to the same judge for the hearing to be completed.
Highways Act 1980
[ Bailii ]

 
 Director of Public Prosecutions v Bristow; QBD 28-Oct-1996 - Times, 28 October 1996; [1998] RTR 100
 
Director of Public Prosecutions v Tucker [1996] EWHC Admin 198
6 Nov 1996
Admn

Road Traffic

Road Traffic Act 1988 5(1)(a)
1 Cites

[ Bailii ]
 
Wayne Swan v Vehicle Inspectorate Gazette, 15 January 1997; Times, 11 December 1996; [1996] EWHC Admin 219
11 Nov 1996
Admn

Criminal Practice, Road Traffic
The Time limit for commencing a prosecution doesn't begin to run until a person authorised to prosecute is told of the circumstances. A traffic examiner, not authorised to take a decision to prosecute could not be the 'prosecutor' under section 6 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.
Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 6(1)
1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
DW v Preston Justices [1996] EWHC Admin 236
15 Nov 1996
Admn

Road Traffic

Road Traffic Offenders Act 34(1)
1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Director of Public Prosecutions v Welsh Times, 18 November 1996
18 Nov 1996
QBD

Road Traffic
No rule of law requiring court to take lowest blood test not average.
Road Traffic Act 1988 5(1)


 
 Karagozlu v Director of Public Prosecutions; Admn 22-Nov-1996 - [1996] EWHC Admin 258
 
DW v Preston Justices [1996] EWHC Admin 263
22 Nov 1996
Admn

Road Traffic

1 Cites

[ Bailii ]
 
Stuart Richard Cutter v Eagle Star Insurance Company Limited Times, 03 December 1996; [1996] EWCA Civ 1029; [1997] 1 WLR 1082
22 Nov 1996
CA

Road Traffic, Insurance
The concept of a 'Road' under the Act includes areas of a public car park marked out for the use of vehicles.
Road Traffic Act 1988 192
1 Cites

1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Regina v Parking Adjudicator; Ex Parte Wandsworth London Borough Council Gazette, 27 November 1996; Times, 26 November 1996; [1996] EWCA Civ 869
26 Nov 1996
CA

Road Traffic, Local Government
The person registered as the keeper is the person liable to pay a parking fine though the actual act of parking which gave rise to the fine was one carried out by the garage with whom the car had been left for repair.
Road Traffic Act 1991 66 Sch6
[ Bailii ]
 
Stanley Thomas Mcdermott v Director of Public Prosecutions Times, 27 November 1996
27 Nov 1996
QBD

Road Traffic
No compensation is available as against a driver on the basis that he was uninsured if in fact he is insured.
Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973 35(3)

 
Regina v Central Criminal Court ex parte Mashate [1996] EWHC Admin 289
28 Nov 1996
Admn

Road Traffic

[ Bailii ]
 
Regina v Noel [1996] EWCA Crim 1573
29 Nov 1996
CACD

Criminal Sentencing, Road Traffic
The defendant appealed a sentence of 9 months' detention in a young offender institution for driving whilst disqualified. Held: The driving had caused some danger, and he had never held a licence. The sentence stood.
[ Bailii ]
 
Vehicle Inspectorate v T D and C Kelly Limited [1996] EWHC Admin 310
2 Dec 1996
Admn

Road Traffic, Licensing

[ Bailii ]
 
Vincent v Musterphantom Limited [1996] EWCA Civ 1157
10 Dec 1996
CA

Personal Injury, Road Traffic

[ Bailii ]
 
Clarke v Kato and Others Times, 11 December 1996
11 Dec 1996
CA

Road Traffic
Car park used as pedestrian route to shops is road by virtue of that use.
Road Traffic Act 1988 192 (1)

 
Robson v S Marriott Guardian Insurance Limited [1996] EWCA Civ 1181
11 Dec 1996
CA

Road Traffic, Insurance

[ Bailii ]
 
TR Transport Ltd and Donoghue v Director of Public Prosecutions etc [1996] EWHC Admin 357
12 Dec 1996
Admn

Road Traffic

Transport Act 1968 60
[ Bailii ]
 
Regina v Nicholson and Another, Secretary of State for Environment and others [1996] EWHC Admin 393
20 Dec 1996
Admn

Land, Road Traffic
Challenges to compulsory purchase orders to allow construction of Avon Ring Road, Stage II.
Acquisition of Land Act 1981 19(1)(a)
[ Bailii ]
 
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