Road Traffic Regulation (Special Events) Act 1994

1 Prohibition or restriction on roads in connection with certain events. E+W+S

(1) After section 16 of the M1 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 there shall be inserted—

“16A Prohibition or restriction on roads in connection with certain events.

(1) In this section “relevant event” means any sporting event, social event or entertainment which is held on a road.

(2) If the traffic authority for a road are satisfied that traffic on the road should be restricted or prohibited for the purpose of—

(a) facilitating the holding of a relevant event,

(b) enabling members of the public to watch a relevant event, or

(c) reducing the disruption to traffic likely to be caused by a relevant event,

the authority may by order restrict or prohibit temporarily the use of that road, or any part of it, by vehicles or vehicles of any class or by pedestrians, to such extent and subject to such conditions or exceptions as they may consider necessary or expedient.

(3) Before making an order under this section the authority shall satisfy themselves that it is not reasonably practicable for the event to be held otherwise than on a road.

(4) An order under this section—

(a) may not be made in relation to any race or trial falling within subsection (1) of section 12 of the M2 Road Traffic Act 1988 (motor racing on public ways);

(b) may not be made in relation to any competition or trial falling within subsection (1) of section 13 of that Act (regulation of motoring events on public ways) unless the competition or trial is authorised by or under regulations under that section; and

(c) may not be made in relation to any race or trial falling within subsection (1) of section 31 of that Act (regulation of cycle racing on public ways) unless the race or trial is authorised by or under regulations made under that section.

(5) An order under this section may relate to the road on which the relevant event is to be held or to any other road.

(6) In the case of a road for which the Secretary of State is the traffic authority, the power to make an order under this section is also exercisable, with his consent, by the local traffic authority or by any local traffic authority which is the traffic authority for any other road to which the order relates.

(7) In the case of a road for which a local traffic authority is the traffic authority, the power to make an order under this section is also exercisable, with the consent of that local traffic authority, by a local traffic authority which is the traffic authority for any other road to which the order relates.

(8) When considering the making of an order under this section, an authority shall have regard to the safety and convenience of alternative routes suitable for the traffic which will be affected by the order.

(9) The provision that may be made by an order under this section is—

(a) any such provision as is mentioned in section 2(1), (2) or (3) or 4(1) of this Act;

(b) any provision restricting the speed of vehicles; or

(c) any provision restricting or prohibiting—

(i) the riding of horses, or

(ii) the leading or driving of horses, cattle, sheep or other animals,

but no such order shall be made with respect to any road which would have the effect of preventing at any time access for pedestrians to any premises situated on or adjacent to the road, or to any other premises accessible for pedestrians from, and only from, the road.

(10) An order under this section may—

(a) suspend any statutory provision to which this subsection applies; or

(b) for any of the purposes mentioned in subsection (2) above, suspend any such provision without imposing any such restriction or prohibition as is mentioned in that subsection.

(11) Subsection (10) above applies to—

(a) any statutory provision of a description which could have been contained in an order under this section;

(b) an order under section 32(1)(b), 35, 45, 46 or 49 of this Act or any such order as is mentioned in paragraph 11(1) of Schedule 10 to this Act; and

(c) an order under section 6 of this Act so far as it designates any parking places in Greater London.

16B Restrictions on orders under s. 16A.

(1) An order under section 16A of this Act shall not continue in force for a period of more than three days beginning with the day on which it comes into force unless—

(a) the order is made by the Secretary of State as the traffic authority for the road concerned; or

(b) before the order is made, he has agreed that it should continue in force for a longer period.

(2) Where an order under section 16A of this Act has not ceased to be in force and the relevant event to which it relates has not ended, the Secretary of State may, subject to subsections (4) and (5) below, from time to time direct that the order shall continue in force for a further period not exceeding three days beginning with the day on which it would otherwise cease to be in force.

(3) A direction under subsection (2) above may relate to all the roads to which the order under section 16A of this Act relates or only to specified roads.

(4) Where an order under section 16A of this Act relates only to roads for which the Secretary of State is not himself the traffic authority, he shall not give a direction under subsection (2) above except at the request of the traffic authority for any road to which the order relates.

(5) Where an order under section 16A of this Act relates to any road for which the Secretary of State is not himself the traffic authority, he shall not give a direction under subsection (2) above affecting that road except with the consent of the traffic authority for that road.

(6) Where an order has been made under section 16A of this Act in any calendar year, no further order may be made under that section in that year so as to affect any length of road affected by the previous order, unless the further order—

(a) is made by the Secretary of State as the traffic authority for the road concerned; or

(b) is made with his consent.

(7) For the purposes of subsection (6) above, a length of road is affected by an order under section 16A of this Act if the order contains provisions—

(a) prohibiting or restricting traffic on that length of road; or

(b) suspending any statutory provision applying to traffic on that length of road.

16C Supplementary provisions as to orders under s. 16A.

(1) A person who contravenes, or who uses or permits the use of a vehicle in contravention of, a restriction or prohibition imposed by an order under section 16A of this Act shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) The Secretary of State may make regulations with respect to the procedure to be followed in connection with the making of orders under section 16A of this Act including provision for notifying the public of the exercise or proposed exercise of the powers conferred by that section and of the effect of orders made in the exercise of those powers.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) above, the Secretary of State may by regulations under that subsection make, in relation to such orders as he thinks appropriate, provision—

(a) for the making and consideration of representations relating to a proposed order; and

(b) for any of the matters mentioned in paragraph 22(1)(a), (c), (d) or (e) of Schedule 9 to this Act;

and paragraph 25 of that Schedule shall apply to regulations under that subsection as it applies to regulations under Part III of that Schedule.”

(2) In Part I of Schedule 2 to the M3 Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (prosecution and punishment of offences), after the entry relating to section 16(1) of the M4 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 there shall be inserted—

“RTRA section 16C(1)

Contravention of prohibition or restriction relating to relevant event.

Summarily.

Level 3 on the standard scale.”

Marginal Citations

M1 1984 c. 27.

M2 1988 c. 52.

M3 1988 c. 53.

M4 1984 c. 27.

2 Expenses. E+W+S

There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament any increase attributable to this Act in the sums payable out of such money under any other Act.

3 Consequential amendments, short title and extent. E+W+S

(1) The Schedule to this Act (which contains consequential amendments) shall have effect.

(2) This Act may be cited as the Road Traffic Regulation (Special Events) Act 1994.

(3) This Act does not extend to Northern Ireland.