Private Car park was not a public plae.
The defendant appealed from his conviction for being drunk in charge of a vehicle in a public place. The place was marked private but allowed for paring for designated businesses.
Held: The appeal succeeded. The phrase public phrase had to be read ejusdem generis with ‘road’. Whether or not a particular place was public was a question of fact and degree in each case. Here the public were not invited to park, and it was not a place to which the public had access..
Julian Knowles J
[2019] EWHC 428 (Admin), [2019] 4 WLR 46, [2019] WLR(D) 170
Bailii, WLR
Road Traffic Act 1988 4(2)
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Spence CACD 24-May-1999
A private company car park, where there was no proof of use by the public, was not a public road, and a driver could not be convicted of dangerous driving whilst in it. There must be evidence that the public actually utilised premises before a court . .
Cited – Filmer v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 1-Nov-2006
Conviction for having driven a car whilst drunk in a public place, the car park of his employers. . .
Cited – Montgomery v Loney CANI 1959
When asking whether a roadway is a public road, one asks whether there is about those who obtain permission to enter ‘some reason personal to them for their admittance’, and ‘Generally, the decision will be a matter of fact and degree, but whether . .
Cited – Director of Public Prosecutins v Vivier QBD 1991
There had been a traffic accident in a large privately owned caravan park.
Held: Premises will be private where they are entered for reasons beneficial to the occupier. Referring to Harrison v Hill: ‘What Lord Sands, and indeed Lord Clyde, say . .
Cited – May v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 15-Apr-2005
Whether the car park where the driving took place was a ‘public place’ within the meaning of section 3.
Held: The appeal failed.
Laws LJ set out the following propositions as accurately summarising the relevant legal principles:
a. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Road Traffic
Updated: 10 December 2021; Ref: scu.634215
