Road Traffic Act 1930

121 Interpretation and application to Crown.

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:—

• " Public service vehicle " means a motor vehicle used for carrying passengers for hire or reward other than a vehicle which is a contract carriage within the meaning of this Act adapted to carry less than eight passengers or a tramcar or a trolley vehicle :

• " Tramcar " includes any carriage used on any road by virtue of an order made under the [59 & 60 Vict. c. 48.] Light Railways Act, 1896:

• " Trolley vehicle " means a mechanically-propelled vehicle adapted for use upon roads without rails and moved by power transmitted thereto from some external source:

• " Owner " in relation to a vehicle which is the subject of a hiring agreement or hire purchase agreement, means the. person in possession of the vehicle under that agreement:

• " Driver, " where a separate person acts as steersman of a motor vehicle, includes that person as well as any other person engaged in the driving of the vehicle, and the expression " drive " shall be construed accordingly:

• " Fares " includes sums payable in respect of a contract ticket or a season ticket:

• " Prescribed " means prescribed by regulations:

• " Forestry " includes the felling of trees and haulage thereof:

• " Road " means any highway and any other road to which the public has access, and includes bridges over which a road passes:

• " Highway authority, " in relation to any road, means the authority (being either the council of a county, the council of a county borough, the council of an urban district, the common council of the City of London, or the council of a metropolitan borough) which is responsible for the maintenance of the road:

• " Bridge authority " means the authority or person responsible for the maintenance of a bridge :

• " Chief officer of police " has the same meaning as in the [11 & 12 Geo. 5. c. 31.] Police Pensions Act, 1921 :

• " Minister " means the Minister of Transport.

(2) Parts I and III of this Act, other than the section of this Act making provision with respect to extraordinary traffic, shall, subject as hereinafter provided, apply to vehicles and persons in the public service of the Crown, and for the purpose of proceedings for an offence in connection with any such vehicle against any person other than the driver of the vehicle, the person nominated in that behalf by the department in whose service the vehicle is used shall be deemed to be the person actually responsible unless it is shown to the , satisfaction of the court that the driver only was responsible:

Provided that the provisions of this Act which respectively—

(a) impose restrictions on persons under twenty-one years of age with respect to the driving of heavy locomotives, light locomotives, motor tractors or heavy motor cars;

(b) regulate the number of trailers which may be drawn by motor vehicles;

(c) limit the time for which drivers of certain vehicles may remain continuously on duty;

shall not apply in the case of motor vehicles owned by the Admiralty, the War Department, or the Air Ministry, and used for naval, military or air force purposes or in the case of vehicles so used while being driven by persons for the time being subject to the orders of any member of the armed forces of the Crown, and the Minister may by regulations, subject to such conditions as may be specified in the regulations, vary in relation to any such vehicles as aforesaid while being driven as aforesaid the provisions of the First Schedule to this Act.