Transport Act 1968

Special authorisations for use of large goods vehicles

71Control of the use of large goods vehicles

(1)Subject to the provisions of this section and to the other provisions of this Part of this Act, no person shall, after the appointed day for the purposes of this section, use a large goods vehicle on a road—

(a)to carry any goods on, or on any part of, a controlled journey; or

(b)to carry an amount exceeding eleven tons in weight of any prescribed goods otherwise than on a controlled journey,

except under a special authorisation granted under this Part of this Act.

(2)For the purposes of the foregoing subsection, a controlled journey is a journey between places in Great Britain separated by a distance exceeding one hundred miles, being—

(a)in relation to goods to which paragraph (b) of this subsection does not apply, a journey for the whole of which the goods are carried on the same large goods vehicle without being taken off it;

(b)in relation to goods in a container having a volume (ascertained by external measurement) of not less than six hundred cubic feet or on a pallet having a surface area of not less than fifty square feet, a journey for every part of which they are carried by a large goods vehicle (whether the same vehicle or successive vehicles) without being taken out of the container or off the pallet;

and, where the vehicle on which the goods are carried is a trailer, it is immaterial whether it is drawn on the journey by the same vehicle or different vehicles.

(3)For the purposes of this section goods shall be treated as carried on a vehicle notwithstanding the fact that the vehicle is itself being carried on a vessel, aircraft or other means of transport, but, in relation to a journey in the course of which a vehicle is so carried, the distance to be taken into account for the purposes of subsection (2) of this section shall be the aggregate of the distances separating the points between which the vehicle is not so carried on the journey.

(4)Where in the case of any controlled journey—

(a)no one person uses a vehicle or vehicles to carry the goods in question between places separated by a distance exceeding one hundred miles; and

(b)a special authorisation applicable to that journey is held by any one of the persons who use a vehicle or vehicles to carry those goods in the course of that journey,

then, if under that authorisation the journey is one which may be undertaken in part by persons other than the holder of the licence, it shall not be necessary for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) of this section for any of those other persons to hold a special authorisation.

(5)The Minister may by regulations direct—

(a)that subsection (1) of this section shall not apply—

(i)to carriage on journeys in the case of which the distances specified in the regulations are not exceeded;

(ii)to carriage by vehicles of any class specified in the regulations;

(b)that paragraph (a) of that subsection shall not apply to the carriage of any prescribed goods ;

and regulations under paragraph (b) of this subsection or prescribing goods for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of this section may describe the goods in question by reference to their nature, to the amount in which, or the places between which, they are carried, or by reference to any other circumstances.

(6)For the purposes of this section and the subsequent provisions of this Part of this Act, a large goods vehicle is a goods vehicle (other than a hauling vehicle) which—

(a)has a relevant plated weight exceeding sixteen tons or (not having a relevant plated weight) has an unladen weight exceeding five tons; or

(b)forms part of a vehicle combination (not being an articulated combination) which is such that—

(i)if all the vehicles comprised in the combination (or all of them except any small trailer) have relevant plated weights, the aggregate of the relevant .plated weights of the vehicles comprised in the combination (exclusive of any such trailer) exceeds sixteen tons;

(ii)in any other case, the aggregate of the unladen weights of those vehicles (exclusive of any such trailer) exceeds five tons ; or

(c)forms part of an articulated combination which is such that—

(i)if the trailer comprised in the combination has a relevant plated weight, the aggregate of the unladen weight of the motor vehicle comprised in the combination and the relevant plated weight of that trailer exceeds sixteen tons ;

(ii)in any other case, the aggregate of the unladen weights of the motor vehicle and the trailer comprised in the combination exceeds five tons.

In any provision of this subsection " relevant plated weight" means a plated weight of the description specified in relation to that provision by regulations; and in paragraph (b) of this subsection " small trailer " means a trailer having an unladen weight not exceeding one ton.

(7)Subsection (1)(b) of this section shall apply to the carriage of an amount exceeding eleven tons in weight of any prescribed goods in two or more vehicles forming part of a vehicle combination such as is mentioned in subsection (6)(b) or (c) of this section as it applies to the carriage of such an amount in a single vehicle, whether forming part of such a combination or not.

(8)In this section—

• " hauling vehicle " means a motor tractor, a light loco-' motive, a heavy locomotive or the motor vehicle comprised in an articulated combination ;

• " pallet " means a moveable deck on which a quantity of goods can be assembled for the purpose of being handled, loaded or transported as a single unit, and " surface area " in relation to a pallet means the area on which the goods can be assembled as aforesaid.

(9)Nothing in this section shall apply to the use of a vehicle by any person for the carriage of goods otherwise than for hire or reward or for or in connection with any trade or business carried on by him.

(10)Any person who uses a vehicle in contravention of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200.

72Applications for special authorisations

(1)An application for a special authorisation shall be made to the licensing authority for the area containing the operating centre or operating centres of the vehicles proposed to be used under the authorisation.

(2)An application for a special authorisation shall be made in such form as the licensing authority may require, and shall contain a statement giving such particulars as the licensing authority may require—

(a)of the vehicles proposed to be used under the authorisation ; and

(b)of the transport service proposed to be provided under the authorisation, that is to say—

(i)the goods proposed to be carried ;

(ii)the places between which they are to be carried;

(iii)the person or persons (so far as known) for whom they are to be carried; and

(iv)where applicable, the occasions on which or the circumstances in which they are to be carried.

(3)In subsection (2)(b)(iii) of this section references to the person or persons for whom any goods are to be carried are references, if the goods are to be carried for hire or reward, to the person or persons for whom they are to be so carried, and, if the goods are to be carried by any person for or in connection with any trade or business carried on by him, to that person.

73Objections to grant of special authorisations

(1)Where a licensing authority receives an application for a special authorisation, the authority shall, subject to subsection (2) of this section and to section 75 of this Act, send a copy of the application to the Railways Board and, unless the application is made by the Freight Corporation, to that Corporation.

(2)Where an application for a special authorisation is accompanied by a statement signed by a person on behalf of the Railways Board or the Freight Corporation to the effect that the body in question has no objection to the application, no copy of the application shall be sent to that body under subsection (1) of this section ; and where an application for a special authorisation is made solely for the purpose of section 71(1)(b) of this Act, no copy of the application shall be sent to the Freight Corporation.

(3)Within fourteen days of the date on which a copy of an application for a special authorisation is sent to either of the said bodies under subsection (1) of this section that body may, by a notice sent to the licensing authority and the applicant, object to the grant of the application—

(a)in respect of the whole of the transport service proposed to be provided in pursuance of the special authorisation ; or

(b)in respect of any part of that service,

on the ground that the service or part can be provided by that body, or by a subsidiary of that body, wholly or partly by rail.

(4)A service or part of a service to which an objection under this section relates is hereafter in this Part of this Act referred to as " the disputed service ".

(5)If an objection is duly made under this section—

(a)the body making the objection shall submit to the licensing authority a statement containing particulars of the manner in which, and the charges at which, the disputed service can be provided by that body, or by a subsidiary of that body, wholly or partly by rail, and of any other matters on which that body relies for the purposes of the objection ;

(b)the applicant shall submit to the licensing authority a statement containing particulars of the grounds on which he relies in support of his application;

and, unless on a consideration of those statements it appears to the licensing authority that the application can, without further investigation, be granted in accordance with section 74 of this Act in respect of the whole of the disputed service, the licensing authority shall, before coming to a decision on the application, send to the applicant and the objector a copy of, the statement submitted by the other party and hold an inquiry.

(6)Any statement to be submitted to a licensing authority under this section shall be submitted within such time and shall be in such form as the licensing authority may require.

74Decision on applications for special authorisations

(1)If no objection to an application is duly made under section 73 of this Act, or if such an objection is duly made under subsection (3)(b) of that section, the licensing authority shall, subject to subsection (7) of this section, grant the application or, as the case may be, grant it in respect of the part of the transport service to which the objection does not relate.

(2)If an objection to an application is duly made under the said section 73, the licensing authority—

(a)shall grant the application in respect of the whole of the disputed service if satisfied that the condition mentioned in subsection (3) of this section is fulfilled in the case of the whole of the disputed service;

(b)shall grant the application in respect of any part of the disputed service if satisfied that the said condition is fulfilled in the case of that part;

but, save as aforesaid and subject to subsection (4) of this section, the licensing authority shall refuse the application.

(3)The condition referred to in subsection (2) of this section is that the provision of the disputed service, or of the part of that service in question, by the objector, or a subsidiary of the objector, wholly or partly by rail, as compared with its provision in pursuance of the special authorisation, will be less advantageous for the person for whom the goods in question are to be carried.

(4)If in the case of the whole or any part of the disputed service the licensing authority is not satisfied as mentioned in subsection (2) of this section, the authority shall nevertheless grant the application in respect of the disputed service or of any part of it if satisfied—

(a)that the provision of the service, or of that part of it, by the objector, or a subsidiary of the objector, wholly or partly by rail, as compared with its provision in pursuance of the special authorisation, will be equally advantageous for the person for whom the goods in question are to be carried; and

(b)that, if a special authorisation is not granted for the provision of the service or the part of it in question, serious detriment will result to a person (whether the applicant himself or some other person) for whom the applicant provides or proposes to provide a transport service other than the disputed service or other than the part of it in question.

(5)The factors relevant for making the comparison mentioned in subsections (3) and (4)(a) of this section shall be speed, reliability, cost, and such other matters relevant to the needs of the person for whom the goods in question are to be carried as may be prescribed; and the licensing authority shall assess the relative importance of those factors by reference to the needs of the person for whom the goods in question are to be carried and to the nature of those goods.

(6)In assessing the factors mentioned in subsection (5) of this section and the detriment mentioned in subsection (4)(b) of this section the licensing authority shall act in accordance with any directions contained in regulations made by the Minister.

(7)Where an application for a special authorisation is made by the Freight Corporation and no objection to it is made by the Railways Board, or where such an application is made by a subsidiary of that Corporation and no objection to it is made by that Board or by the Corporation, the licensing authority to whom the application is made shall grant the application only if and so far as he considers that it would have been granted if any objection reasonably open to the Board or, as the case may be, to the Board or the Corporation, had been made by them; and the licensing authority may for that purpose require the Board and the Corporation to give him such information and explanations as he may reasonably require.

(8)In exercising his functions under this section, a licensing authority may be assisted by an assessor drawn from a panel of persons appointed by the Minister for that purpose; and there shall be paid by the licensing authority to any such assessor in respect of his services remuneration on a scale prescribed by the Minister with the approval of the Treasury.

(9)In this section references to the person for whom any goods are to be carried are references, if the goods are to be carried for hire or reward, to the person for whom they are to be so carried, and, if the goods are to be carried by any person for or in connection with any trade or business carried on by him, to that person; and, subject to regulations under subsection (6) of this section, references to the cost of carrying any goods are references, where they are carried for hire or reward, to the charges made for their carriage and, where they are not so carried, to the cost of carrying them.

75Expedited grant of special authorisation in cases of urgency

(1)If, on an application to a licensing authority for a special authorisation, it appears to the authority—

(a)that the application is made solely for the purpose of enabling the applicant to provide a transport service in circumstances which he could not reasonably have foreseen; and

(b)that by reason of the urgency of the case the purposes of the application would be defeated if it were dealt with in accordance with section 73 of this Act,

the licensing authority may grant that application without reference to that section if and so far as he considers that no objection to the application could reasonably have been made under that section or that any such objection could not reasonably have succeeded.

(2)Any special authorisation granted by virtue of this section shall expire at the end of the period of three months beginning with the date on which it comes into force or of such shorter period beginning with that date as the licensing authority may direct.

76Terms and conditions of special authorisations

(1)In granting a special authorisation the licensing authority shall attach thereto such conditions as he thinks requisite for defining the transport service which is authorised by the special authorisation, and may attach thereto such other conditions as he thinks fit, including in particular conditions—

(a)as to the vehicles which may be used under the special authorisation;

(b)requiring the holder of the authorisation to make and preserve records as to his operations in pursuance of the authorisation;

(c)requiring the holder of the authorisation to secure that a copy of the conditions defining the transport service authorised by the authorisation is carried by the driver of any vehicle used by him for a purpose for which such an authorisation is required.

(2)In granting a special authorisation for the purposes of section 71(1)(a) of this Act the licensing authority shall include in the authorisation a statement as to whether any controlled journeys authorised by the authorisation may be undertaken in part by persons other than the holder of the authorisation; and, if the statement permits such journeys to be undertaken as aforesaid, the licensing authority may specify conditions to be observed by persons other than the holder of the licence who undertake such journeys.

(3)Any person who contravenes any condition attached under this section to a special authorisation of which he is the holder, or, being a person who undertakes part of a controlled journey by virtue of a statement included in a special authorisation under subsection (2) of this section, contravenes any condition specified under that subsection, shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200.

77Duration of special authorisations

(1)There shall be specified in every special authorisation the date on which the authorisation is to come into force.

(2)Regulations may specify the dates in the year on which special authorisations shall expire, and, subject to subsections (3) and (4) of this section, a special authorisation shall, unless previously revoked, continue in force up till and including that one of the specified dates which occurs next before the expiration of the period of five years beginning with the date on which the authorisation came into force or of such shorter period beginning with that date as the licensing authority may direct.

(3)If at the date on which a special authorisation is due to expire, proceedings are pending before the licensing authority on an application by the holder of that authorisation for the grant to him of a new authorisation in substitution therefor, the existing authorisation shall continue in force until—

(a)that application ; and

(b)any appeal under section 80 of this Act arising out of the application,

are disposed of, without prejudice however to the exercise in the meantime of the powers conferred by section 79 of this Act

(4)Nothing in this section shall preclude the grant of a special authorisation authorising the carriage of goods only on occasions or in circumstances specified in the authorisation: and subsection (2) of this section shall not apply to any special authorisation granted by virtue of section 75 of this Act.

78Variation of special authorisations

(1)The holder of a special authorisation may at any time while it is in force apply to the licensing authority by whom it was granted for a variation thereof so as to permit him to provide under it a transport service differing in any respect from that already authorised thereby or for a variation of any condition attached to the licence under subsection (1) of section 76 of this Act or of any statement included in it under, or of any condition specified by virtue of, subsection (2) of that section.

(2)Subsections (2) and (3) of section 72 of this Act shall, so far as applicable and subject to any necessary modifications, apply to any application under this section as they apply to an application for a special authorisation.

(3)Where a licensing authority receives an application under this section, the authority (unless satisfied that the grant of the application would not result in any material change in the transport service already authorised by the special authorisation) shall send copies of the application to any body to which they would be required to be sent under subsection (1) of section 73 of this Act if the application were an application under that section; and where copies of the application are so sent in pursuance of this subsection, the other provisions of that section and the provisions of section 74 of this Act shall, so far as applicable and subject to any necessary modifications, apply to that application as they apply to an application for a special authorisation.

79Revocation and suspension of special authorisations

(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, the licensing authority by whom a special authorisation was granted may direct that it be revoked or suspended on the ground—

(a)that the holder has contravened section 71 of this Act by using a large goods vehicle otherwise than as permitted by the authorisation or has contravened any condition attached to the authorisation under section 76 of this Act;

(b)that since the authorisation was granted the holder has been convicted under section 81(4) of this Act;

(c)that the holder of the authorisation made or procured to be made for the purposes of his application for the authorisation, or for the purposes of an application for the variation of the authorisation, a statement of fact which (whether to his knowledge or not) was false, or a statement of intention or expectation which has not been fulfilled; or

(d)that there has been since the authorisation was granted or varied a material change in any of the circumstances of the holder of the authorisation which were relevant to the grant or variation of the authorisation;

and during any time of suspension the authorisation shall be of no effect.

(2)In any case in which a licensing authority has power to give a direction under subsection (1) of this section in respect of any authorisation, the authority shall also have power to direct that any alteration be made in its terms so as to restrict in any respect the transport service which it authorises, or that there be attached to the authorisation any, or any additional, condition such as is mentioned in section 76 of this Act, or that any such condition be altered.

(3)Where the licensing authority directs that a special authorisation be revoked, the authority may order the person who was the holder thereof to be disqualified, indefinitely or for such period as the authority thinks fit, from holding or obtaining a special authorisation, and so long as the disqualification is in force—

(a)notwithstanding anything in section 74 or 75 of this Act, no special authorisation shall be granted to him and any special authorisation obtained by him shall be of no effect; and

(b)if he applies for or obtains a special authorisation he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200.

An order under this subsection may be limited so as to apply only to the holding or obtaining of a special authorisation in respect of the area of one or more specified licensing authorities and, if the order is so limited, paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection shall apply only to any special authorisation to which the order applies.

(4)A licensing authority who has made an order under subsection (3) of this section may, in such circumstances as may be prescribed, cancel that order.

(5)Where the licensing authority gives a direction under this section in respect of a special authorisation held by any person, the authority may also direct that any operator's licence held by that person be revoked, suspended or curtailed and, if he directs that it be revoked, may exercise the powers conferred by section 69(5) to (7) of this Act; and the provisions of section 69(8), (9) and (10) and of section 70(1)(5) of this Act shall apply to any direction or order given or made under or by virtue of this subsection as they apply to any direction or order given or made under any provision of section 69 of this Act.

(6)The licensing authority shall not exercise any of his powers under subsection (1), (2) or (3) of this section in respect of any authorisation or the holder of any authorisation without first holding an inquiry, if the holder of the authorisation requests him to do so.

(7)The licensing authority may direct that any direction or order given or made by him under subsection (1), (2) or (3) of this section shall not take effect until the expiration of the time within which an appeal may be made to the Transport Tribunal against the direction or order and, if such an appeal is made, until the appeal has been disposed of; and if the licensing authority refuses to give a direction under this subsection the holder of the authorisation may apply to the tribunal for such a direction, and the tribunal shall give its decision on the application within fourteen days.

80Rights of appeal in connection with special authorisations

(1)Subject to subsection (2) of this section, a person who—

(a)being an applicant for, or for the variation of, a special authorisation, is aggrieved by the refusal of the application or, as the case may be, by the terms or conditions of the authorisation or of the variation; or

(b)being the holder of a special authorisation in respect of which, or a person in respect of whom, a direction or order has been given or made under section 79(1), (2) or (3) of this Act, is aggrieved by that direction or order; or

(c)having duly made an objection to an application for, or for the variation of, a special authorisation, is aggrieved by the grant of the application,

may appeal to the Transport Tribunal.

(2)No appeal shall lie under subsection (1) of this section on the ground that a direction has been given under section 77(2) of this Act in the case of a special authorisation granted to any person if the effect of the direction is that the authorisation will expire on the same day as an operator's licence held by that person.