Road Traffic Act 1988

5 (1) Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, in any proceedings (whether in England and Wales or Scotland) for an offence under section 17 or 18(4) of this Act it shall be a defence for the accused to prove—

(a) that he purchased the helmet or appliance in question as being of a type which—

(i) in the case of section 17, could be lawfully sold or offered for sale under that section, and

(ii) in the case of section 18(4), could be lawfully sold or offered for sale under section 18 as authorised for use in the manner in question,

and with a written warranty to that effect, and

(b) that he had no reason to believe at the time of the commission of the alleged offence that it was not of such a type, and

(c) that it was then in the same state as when he purchased it.

(2) A warranty is only a defence in any such proceedings if—

(a) the accused—

(i) has, not later than three clear days before the date of the hearing, sent to the prosecutor a copy of the warranty with a notice stating that he intends to rely on it and specifying the name and address of the person from whom he received it, and

(ii) has also sent a like notice of his intention to that person, and

(b) in the case of a warranty given by a person outside the United Kingdom, the accused proves that he had taken reasonable steps to ascertain, and did in fact believe in, the accuracy of the statement contained in the warranty.

(3) Where the accused is a servant of the person who purchased the helmet or appliance in question under a warranty, he is entitled to rely on the provisions of this paragraph in the same way as his employer would have been entitled to do if he had been the accused.

(4) The person by whom the warranty is alleged to have been given is entitled to appear at the hearing and to give evidence and the court may, if it thinks fit, adjourn the hearing to enable him to do so.