Transport Act 1968

82 Powers of entry and inspection. E+W+S

(1) An officer may, on production if so required of his authority, require any person to produce and permit him to inspect and copy—

(a) any. . . F1 document which is required by or under section. . . F1 81 of this Act to be carried by that person as driver of a vehicle;

(b) any. . . F1 document which that person is required by or under [F2 that section] to preserve;

and that. . . F1 document shall, if the officer so requires by notice in writing served on that person, be produced at the office of the licensing authority specified in the notice within such time (not being less than ten days) from the service of the notice as may be so specified.

(2) An officer may, on production if so required of his authority—

(a) at any time, enter any large goods vehicle and inspect that vehicle and any goods carried by it;

(b) at any time which is reasonable having regard to the circumstances of the case, enter any premises on which he has reason to believe that such a vehicle is kept or that any such. . . F1 documents as are mentioned in subsection (1) of this section are to be found, and inspect any such vehicle, and inspect and copy any such. . . F1 document, which he finds there.

(3) For the purpose of exercising his powers under subsection (1)(a) or (2)(a) of this section, an officer may detain the vehicle in question during such time as is required for the exercise of that power.

(4) An officer may, at any time which is reasonable having regard to the circumstances of the case, enter any premises of an applicant for an operator’s licence or of the holder of such a licence and inspect any facilities on those premises for maintaining the authorised vehicles in a fit and serviceable condition.

(5) Any person who—

(a) fails to comply with any requirement under subsection (1) of this section; or

(b) obstructs an officer in the exercise of his powers under subsection (2), (3) or (4) of this section,

shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [F3 level 3 on the standard scale].

(6) If an officer has reason to believe that a document or article carried on or by the driver of a vehicle, or a document produced to him in pursuance of this Part of this Act or Schedule 9 thereto, is a document or article in relation to which an offence has been committed under—

(a) section 83 of this Act; or

(b) section 233 or 235 of the Act of 1960 as amended by Schedule 10 to this Act,

he may seize that document or article; and where a document or article is seized as aforesaid and within six months of the date on which it was seized no person has been charged since that date with an offence in relation to that document or article under any of those sections and that document or article is still detained, a magistrates’ court shall, on an application made for the purpose by the driver or owner of the vehicle, by the person from whom the document was seized or by an officer, make such order respecting the disposal of the document or article and award such costs as the justice of the case may require.

(7) Any proceedings in Scotland under the last foregoing subsection shall be taken by way of summary application in the sheriff court; and in the application of that subsection to Scotland references to costs shall be construed as references to expenses.

(8) In this section “officer” means an examiner appointed under [F4 section 68 of the Road Traffic Act 1988] and any person authorised for the purposes of this section by the licensing authority for any area.

(9) The powers conferred by this section on an officer as defined in subsection (8) of this section shall be exercisable also by a police constable who shall not, if wearing uniform, be required to produce any authority.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words repealed by Transport Act 1980 (c. 34, SIF 126), Sch. 9 Pt. II

F2 Words substituted by Transport Act 1980 (c. 34), s. 66(2)(a)

F3 Words substituted by virtue of (E.W.) Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c. 48, SIF 39:1), ss. 38, 46 and (S.) Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (c. 21, SIF 39:1), ss. 289F, 289G (as inserted by Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c. 48, SIF 39:1), s. 54)

F4 Words substituted by virtue of Road Traffic (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988 (c. 54, SIF 107:1), s. 4, Sch. 3 para. 6(3)