Traffic Amendment (Regulatory Powers and Offences) Act 1999
An Act to amend the Traffic Act 1925
[Royal Assent 24 November 1999]
Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:
1Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Traffic Amendment (Regulatory Powers and Offences) Act 1999 . 2Commencement (1) Section 9 commences on a day to be proclaimed. (2) The remaining provisions of this Act commence on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent. 3Principal ActIn this Act, the Traffic Act 1925 is referred to as the Principal Act. 4Section 10 amended (Regulations: Application to the Crown) Section 10(7) of the Principal Act is amended as follows: (a) by omitting "5 penalty units" and substituting "20 penalty units"; (b) by omitting "10 penalty units" and substituting "40 penalty units". 5Section 31 amended (Regulations on recommendation of committee or council) Section 31(4)(a) of the Principal Act is amended as follows: (a) by omitting "5 penalty units" and substituting "20 penalty units"; (b) by omitting "10 penalty units" and substituting "40 penalty units". 6Section 31A insertedAfter section 31 of the Principal Act , the following section is inserted in Part IV: 31ANationally uniform road traffic laws (1) The Governor may, to further any scheme or agreement aimed at promoting or creating uniform or consistent national road transport legislation, make regulations prescribing – (a) rules on road traffic matters that are uniform or essentially uniform, in content and style, with the road traffic legislation of other Australian jurisdictions; and (b) all matters necessary or convenient to be prescribed for explaining, administering, enforcing or otherwise giving effect to or complementing those rules. (2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1) , the regulations may apply to or provide for any matter that regulations under Part 2 of the Road Transport Reform (Vehicles and Traffic) Act 1993 of the Commonwealth may apply to or provide for. (3) The regulations may, for the purpose of consolidating the State’s road traffic laws, include regulations prescribing road traffic laws that are peculiar to the State. (4) The regulations may – (a) be referred to in those regulations, and in this Act or in any other Act or for any other purpose, as rules or road rules; and (b) provide that any guide, diagram, example, note or other explanatory or illustrative item set out in those regulations is, or is not, a part of the regulations. (5) The regulations may – (a) be of limited or general application; and (b) be made so as to apply differently according to matters, limitations or restrictions, whether as to time, circumstance or otherwise, specified in the regulations; and (c) impose a duty or confer a power on a specified person or a specified class of persons; and (d) authorise any matter to be from time to time determined, applied or regulated by the Commission, the Commissioner of Police or a specified person; and (e) provide for exemptions from the regulations; and (f) provide for any transitional matters; and (g) provide for the seizure and disposal of – (i) abandoned vehicles; and (ii) radar detectors, laser detectors and other devices that may hinder the proper enforcement of the regulations. (6) The regulations may – (a) provide that a contravention of, or a failure to comply with, any of the regulations is an offence; and (b) in respect of such an offence, provide for the imposition of a fine not exceeding 20 penalty units and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding 2 penalty units for each day during which the offence continues. 7Section 32 amended (Reckless driving) Section 32(1) of the Principal Act is amended as follows: (a) by omitting from paragraph (a) "10 penalty units" and substituting "20 penalty units"; (b) by omitting from paragraph (b) "20 penalty units" and substituting "40 penalty units". 8Section 33 substituted Section 33 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following sections are substituted: 33Duty of driver to stop and assist in case of accident (1) In this section – crash includes – (a) a collision between 2 or more vehicles; or (b) any other accident or incident in which a person is or may have been killed or injured, property is or may have been damaged, or an animal in someone’s charge is or may have been injured; driver means a person – (a) driving a vehicle; or (b) riding, leading or otherwise in charge of an animal. (2) A driver who is involved in a crash must – (a) stop immediately; and (b) stay at the scene of the crash; and (c) give any assistance which may be necessary or practicable in the circumstances and which it is in the driver’s power to give. Penalty: Fine not exceeding 80 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or both.
(3) The driver is not guilty of an offence under this section if he or she leaves the scene of the crash solely for the purposes of seeking medical, police or other emergency assistance in connection with the crash. (4) It is a defence to a charge under this section that the driver was unaware that the crash had occurred and that the lack of awareness was not due to carelessness or recklessness. 33AOvertaking restive horses, &c. (1) In this section – animals means horses, or cattle, that are being led or ridden on a public street or are drawing a load on a public street; approaching means approaching from any direction. (2) A person in charge of animals that have become restive or alarmed may direct the driver of an approaching motor vehicle to stop and remain stationary until the animals are under control and settled and it is safe for the driver to proceed. (3) The direction may be given by words or gestures or by a combination of words and gestures. (4) A person driving a motor vehicle on a public street must obey a direction given to the person under subsection (2) .Penalty: Fine not exceeding 20 penalty units.
(5) A person in charge of animals on a public street must not give a direction under subsection (2) without reasonable cause.Penalty: Fine not exceeding 20 penalty units.
9Section 43A repealed Section 43A of the Principal Act is repealed. 10Section 43B amended (Prescribed offences for Part IVA) Section 43B of the Principal Act is amended by omitting subsection (2) and substituting the following subsection: (2) An offence prescribed under subsection (1) may be an offence under – (a) this Act or any other Act dealing with vehicles or traffic; or (b) a regulation made under this Act or any other Act dealing with vehicles or traffic. 11Section 43L amended (Service of notices) Section 43L(1B) of the Principal Act is amended by omitting "one penalty unit" and substituting "2 penalty units". 12Section 43N amended (Prescribed offences for Part IVB) Section 43N of the Principal Act is amended by omitting subsection (2) and substituting the following subsection: (2) An offence prescribed under subsection (1) may be an offence under – (a) this Act or any other Act dealing with vehicles or traffic; or (b) a regulation made under this Act or any other Act dealing with vehicles or traffic. 13Section 51 amended (Facilitation of proof of certain matters) Section 51(1) of the Principal Act is amended as follows: (a) by omitting from paragraph (k)(ii) "street." and substituting "street, on a specified road or in a specified area or place; and"; (b) by inserting the following paragraphs after paragraph (k) : (l) an averment in a complaint that on a specified day a specified person was – (i) of, over or under a specified age; or (ii) had or had not attained a specified age – is evidence of the matter so averred; and (m) an averment in a complaint that on a specified day a specified traffic sign or other device for the control of traffic applied to a specified length of road or area, or to another specified place, is evidence of the matter so averred; and (n) the production of a certificate purporting to be signed by the Commissioner or Deputy-Commissioner of Police, or by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, and certifying that on or by a specified day a specified person had failed to report to any police officer a specified collision between 2 or more vehicles, or another specified traffic accident or incident, is evidence that that person failed to make such a report on or by that day. 14Section 52 amended (Penalties) Section 52 of the Principal Act is amended as follows: (a) by omitting from subsection (2)(a) "5 penalty units" and substituting "20 penalty units"; (b) by omitting from subsection (2)(b) "10 penalty units" and substituting "40 penalty units"; (c) by omitting from subsection (3) "5 penalty units" and substituting "20 penalty units for an individual or 100 penalty units for a body corporate". [Second reading presentation speech made in:
House of Assembly on 19 OCTOBER 1999
Legislative Council on 3 NOVEMBER 1999]