Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, section 1

Requirement of warning etc. of prosecutions for certain offences

Part I Trial

(1)Subject to section 2 of this Act, [F1a person shall not be convicted of an offence to which this section applies unlessF1] —

(a)he was warned at the time the offence was committed that the question of prosecuting him for some one or other of the offences to which this section applies would be taken into consideration, or

(b)within fourteen days of the commission of the offence a summons (or, in Scotland, a complaint) for the offence was served on him, or

(c)within fourteen days of the commission of the offence a notice of the intended prosecution specifying the nature of the alleged offence and the time and place where it is alleged to have been committed, was—

(i)M1in the case of an offence under section 28 or 29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (cycling offences), served on him,

(ii)in the case of any other offence, served on him or on the person, if any, registered as the keeper of the vehicle at the time of the commission of the offence.

[F2 (1ZA)In the case of an offence to be prosecuted in England and Wales, a notice required by this section to be served on any person may be served on that person in accordance with Criminal Procedure Rules.

(1ZB)For the purposes of subsection (1ZA)—

(a)Criminal Procedure Rules (as they have effect from time to time) apply to the notice as if it were a document to be served in criminal proceedings before a magistrates’ court, and

(b)any magistrates’ court may discharge functions conferred on a court by those Rules in relation to such service.

(1ZC)In the case of an offence to be prosecuted elsewhere, subsections (1A) and (2) apply.F2]

[F3 (1A)A notice required by this section to be served on any person may be served on that person—

(a)by delivering it to him;

(b)by addressing it to him and leaving it at his last known address; or

(c)by sending it by registered post, recorded delivery service or first class post addressed to him at his last known address.F3]

(2)A notice shall be deemed for the purposes of subsection (1)(c) above to have been served on a person if it was sent by registered post or recorded delivery service addressed to him at his last known address, notwithstanding that the notice was returned as undelivered or was for any other reason not received by him.

(3)The requirement of subsection (1) above shall in every case be deemed to have been complied with unless and until the contrary is proved.

(4)Schedule 1 to this Act shows the offences to which this section applies.

Cases considering section 1 6

Pledge v R

[2019] EWCA Crim 912 · 6 June 2019

The court applied section 1 as the statutory bar on conviction unless a timely warning, summons, or notice of intended prosecution had been given or served. Its operation was subject to the section 2 exception (see paras [16]-[19]; [33]). The court applied the requirement for a notice of intended prosecution to be served within 14 days on the driver or registered keeper where there was no contemporaneous warning. The requirement was excused if section 2(3)(a) applied (see paras [17]-[20]). The court applied the permitted methods of serving a notice, including first-class post to the recipient’s last known address, when assessing the notice sent to the keeper address supplied by the DVLA (see paras [17]-[18]; [33]). The court confirmed that compliance with section 1(1) is deemed unless the contrary is proved. The defence must allege non-compliance (see para [21]).

Currie, R v

[2007] EWCA Crim 926 · 26 April 2007Disapplies

Section 1(1) imposes a procedural notice or warning requirement before conviction for an applicable motoring offence. The court held that the requirement does not form an element of dangerous driving and is displaced if the section 2(1) accident exception applies (see paras [17]; [25]). The deeming provision in section 1(3) did not apply to the prosecution’s reliance on the section 2(1) accident exception. It did not shift to the defendant the burden of disproving an accident (see para [19]).

Lynes v Director of Public Prosecutions

[2012] EWHC 1300 (Admin) · 6 March 2012Limits

The court limits section 1 to the notice of intended prosecution required as a precondition to conviction for the substantive speeding offence. It has no application to a prosecution under section 172(3). (see para [13])

What each judgment says about section 1 is in the case-law panel in the full Act.

Amendments and notes

7 notes from legislation.gov.uk

Amendments

  1. F1Words in s. 1(1) substituted (1.7.1992) by Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40, SIF 107:1), s. 48, Sch. 4 para. 80; S.I. 1992/1286, art. 2, Sch.
  2. F2S. 1(1ZA)-(1ZC) inserted (28.6.2022) by Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (c. 35), s. 51(3), Sch. 1 para. 11(2)
  3. F3S. 1(1A) inserted (3.2.1995) by 1994 c. 33, s. 168(1), Sch. 9 para. 6(3); S.I. 1995/127, art. 2(1), Sch. 1 Appendix A

Modifications

  1. C11Ss. 1, 2 excluded by Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52, SIF 107:1), s. 193, Sch. 4 paras. 8, 11
  2. C12S. 1: power to exclude or modify conferred (1.7.1992) by Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52, SIF 107:1), s. 193A(2)(b) (inserted (1.7.1992) by Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40, SIF 107:1), s. 46(2); S.I. 1992/1286, art. 2, Sch.).
  3. C13S. 1 applied (31.3.2009) by Road Safety (Immobilisation, Removal and Disposal of Vehicles) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/493), regs. 1, 19(a) (with reg. 3)

Marginal citations

  1. M11988 c. 52.