The Road Traffic Regulation (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

Offences and proceedings in connection with parking places provided under Article 10 or 11N.I.

14.—(1) In the event of any contravention of a provision of an order under Article 13, the person responsible is guilty of an offence.

(2) A person who, with intent to defraud—

(a)interferes with any such apparatus or device mentioned in Article 13(5) as is by an order under Article 13(1) to be used for the collection of charges at an off-street parking place, or operates or attempts to operate it by the insertion of objects other than current coins or bank notes of the appropriate denomination, or the appropriate credit or debit cards; or

(b)interferes with any such apparatus as is mentioned in Article 13(6) or with a parking device, or operates or attempts to operate any such apparatus or any parking device otherwise than in accordance with an order under Article 13(1), or

(c)displays a parking device otherwise than in accordance with an order under Article 13(1),

is guilty of an offence.

(3) An order under Article 13(1) may include provision—

(a)for determining the person responsible for any contravention of the order;

(b)F1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(c)for treating—

(i)the indications given by any such apparatus or device as is mentioned in Article 13(5) used in pursuance of the order or the absence of any such device from a vehicle left in a parking place, or

(ii)the indications given by any such apparatus as is mentioned in Article 13(6) used in pursuance of the order, or any tickets issued by it, or the absence of any ticket from a vehicle left in a parking place,

as evidence of such facts and for such purposes as may be provided by the order;

(d)for applying with any appropriate adaptations any of the provisions of Article 19(5) to (7).

(4) In this Article—

• “credit card” means a card or similar thing issued by any person, use of which enables the holder to defer the payment by him of the charge for parking a vehicle; and

• “debit card” means a card or similar thing issued by any person, use of which by the holder causes the charge for parking a vehicle to be paid by the electronic transfer of funds from a current account at a bank or other institution providing banking services.

(5) A person authorised by the [F2parking authority] in that behalf or a constable may secure the observance of orders under Article 13 and, where he has reasonable cause to believe that the driver of a vehicle has contravened a provision of an order under that Article, may require the driver to stop the vehicle and provide his name and address.

(6) A person (other than a constable) exercising powers conferred under paragraph (5) shall, on request, produce some document showing that he is authorised by the [F2parking authority] to exercise those powers.

(7) For the purposes of paragraph (5), section 7 of the [1968 c. 28 (N.I.).] Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1968 (assault on, and obstruction of, constables, etc.) shall have effect in relation to a person authorised as mentioned in that paragraph as if he were a constable.

(8) Where the driver of a vehicle is alleged to be guilty of an offence under paragraph (1) in relation to an off-street parking place—

(a)the person keeping the vehicle shall, within 14 days of service on him of a notice by or on behalf of the [F2parking authority] , give to the [F2parking authority] such information as to the identity of the driver as may be required by the notice;

(b)any other person shall, if required as mentioned in sub-paragraph (a), give within the period there specified any information which it is in his power to give and which may lead to the identification of the driver.

(9) If a person fails to comply with paragraph (8), he is guilty of an offence unless he shows to the satisfaction of the court that he did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained who was the driver of the vehicle.