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Written by
Shaun Pascoe
Criminal Defence Lawyer


Driving - Other Traffic Offences - VIC
Welcome to the VIC General duty of driver or person in charge of motor vehicle article page. Everything you need to know about General duty of driver or person in charge of motor vehicle according to VIC law - Dated: 09/01/2009

What the Law States according to VIC Law for General duty of driver or person in charge of motor vehicle

According to VIC Law for the charge of General duty of driver or person in charge of motor vehicle, (1) The driver or person in charge of a motor vehicle on a highway has the
following duties-

   (a)  to stop the motor vehicle, produce for inspection his or her driver
        licence document or permit document and state his or her name and
        address if requested or signalled to do so by-

   (i)  a member of the police force or an officer of the Corporation or of
        the Department of Infrastructure (being an officer authorised in
        writing by the Corporation or the Secretary of the Department of
        Infrastructure, as the case requires, in that behalf); or

   (ii) an officer of or person authorised in writing in that behalf by any
        municipal council who has reasonable grounds for believing that any
        provision of the regulations relating to the mass or dimensions of a
        motor vehicle or trailer or to the number of hours during which a
        person may drive a motor vehicle or to the carrying of a log book on a
        motor vehicle is being contravened; and

   (b)  to obey any lawful direction given to him or her by a member of the
        police force under subsection (5); and





   (c)  if requested or signalled to do so by a member of the police force or
        an officer of the Corporation (being an officer authorised in writing
        by the Corporation in that behalf), to stop the motor vehicle, produce
        for inspection his or her log book, permit any entry in the log book
        to be copied and permit the person inspecting it to make any entry in
        it and to search the motor vehicle if that person has reasonable
        grounds for suspecting that more than one log book is carried on the
        vehicle; and

   (d)  if requested or signalled to do so by a member of the police force or
        an officer of the Corporation (being an officer authorised in writing
        by the Corporation in that behalf) or by an officer of or person
        authorised in writing in that behalf by any municipal council, to stop
        the motor vehicle and allow it together with its load and any trailer
        attached to the motor vehicle and the load of the trailer (whether
        those loads are goods or passengers or both) to be weighed or to be
        taken to be weighed at a weighbridge or weighing machine that is
        agreed on by the driver or person in charge of the motor vehicle and
        the person making the request or, if there is no agreement, at the
        weighbridge or weighing machine that is nominated by the person making
        the request.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), a person who fails to do anything that
he or she is required to do under subsection (1), or who when required to
state his or her name and address states a false name or address, is guilty of
an offence and liable-

   (a)  if the offence consists of failing to obey any lawful direction given
        by a member of the police force or failing to produce for inspection
        his or her driver licence document or permit document, to a penalty of
        not more than 5 penalty units;

   (b)  if the offence consists of failing to produce for inspection his or
        her log book or failing to state his or her name or address or stating
        a false name or address or failing to permit an entry in his or her
        log book to be copied or failing to permit an entry to be made in his
        or her log book or failing to permit his or her vehicle to be searched
        for another log book, to a penalty of not more than 5 penalty units or
        imprisonment for a term of not more than 1 month;

   (c)  if the offence consists of failing to stop the motor vehicle or
        failing to allow it together with its load to be weighed, to a
        penalty, in the case of a first offence, of not more than 10 penalty
        units or, in the case of a subsequent offence, of not more than 20
        penalty units or imprisonment for a term of not more than 4 months.

(3) A person, other than a person who holds a probationary driver licence or
who is driving or in charge of a large vehicle in respect of which section
19(5) applies or who has been issued with a driver licence under an order of
the Magistrates' Court made on an application under section 50(4), who fails
to produce for inspection his or her driver licence document or permit
document is not guilty of an offence if that person-

   (a)  gives a reasonable excuse for the failure; and

   (b)  provides a specimen of his or her signature; and

   (c)  within 7 days produces his or her driver licence document or permit
        document at the police station (if any) specified by the member of the
        police force or other person who requested its production.

(4) A driver or person in charge of a motor vehicle who fails to stop when
required to do so in accordance with subsection (1)(a) is not guilty of an
offence if-

   (a)  the person making the request or signal is not in uniform; and

   (b)  the driver or person in charge believed that that person was not-

   (i)  a member of the police force or an authorised officer of the
        Corporation or of the Department of Infrastructure, as the case
        requires; or

   (ii) an officer of or person authorised in writing in that behalf by a
        municipal council.

(5) A member of the police force may give such reasonable directions to a
person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle on a highway as are, in the
opinion of that member, necessary-

   (a)  for carrying into execution the provisions of this Act or the
        regulations; or

   (b)  for the purposes of any traffic survey being carried out in the
        vicinity of the highway.

(6) If a driver or person in charge of a motor vehicle who is requested under
subsection (1)(d) to allow his or her motor vehicle together with its load to
be weighed fails to allow it to be so weighed, the person making the request
may impound the vehicle and its load, together with any trailer attached to
the vehicle and the load of the trailer, and may cause the vehicle to be
driven or towed onto a weighing device or to a weighbridge or weighing machine
that is agreed on by the driver or person in charge and the person making the
request or, if there is no agreement, to the weighbridge or weighing machine
that is nominated by the person making the request, to be weighed.

(7) If a motor vehicle that is used on a highway and its load, together with
any trailer attached to the motor vehicle and the load of the trailer, exceeds
the prescribed maximum weight or any prescribed maximum dimension, a member of
the police force or an officer of the Corporation (being an officer authorised
in writing by the Corporation in that behalf) may require the driver or person
in charge of the motor vehicle to unload any part of the load that is
necessary to bring the motor vehicle, trailer or load within the prescribed
maximum weight or dimension.

(8) If a driver or person in charge of a motor vehicle fails to comply with a
requirement under subsection (7) to unload-

   (a)  the driver or person in charge is guilty of an offence and is liable
        for a first offence to a penalty of not more than 5 penalty units and
        for a subsequent offence to a penalty of not more than 10 penalty
        units; and

   (b)  the person making the requirement may drive the motor vehicle and the
        trailer, if any, to a police station or other convenient place and the
        vehicle, trailer and load may be impounded there by any member of the
        police force.

(9) A reference in this section to a driver licence document or permit
document includes a reference to any other document which evidences the
authorisation of the driver to drive the motor vehicle.

(10) Neither the Crown nor the person making a request under subsection (1)(d)
or a requirement under subsection (7) nor any other person is liable for any
loss or damage occasioned by or arising out of anything done in the exercise
or purported exercise in good faith of the powers conferred by this section.

The Maximum Penalty - General duty of driver or person in charge of motor vehicle

According to VIC Law for the charge of General duty of driver or person in charge of motor vehicle,

1. For failing to stoper motor vehilce upon request: 20 penalty units or 4 months imprisonment. 

2. For failing to allow motor vehicle to be weighed: 20 penalty units or 4 months imprisonment.

3. For failing to provide for inspection log books upon request: 5 penalty units or impriosnment for 1 month.

4. Failing to probide license upon request: 5 penalty units

5. Stating a false name: 5 penalty units.

 

What the Police must prove according to VIC Law for General duty of driver or person in charge of motor vehicle

1. A failure to comply with a lawful request/direction to:

a. produce license upon request

b. produce log books for inspection

c. stop motor vehicle

d. permit motor vehicle to be weighed

e. accused provided a false name

 

Possible Defences under VIC Law - General duty of driver or person in charge of motor vehicle

For the offence of fail to produce license for inspection (s. 59(1)(a).

1. Driver is hold an open drivers license, and is not in charge of a large, or who has had their license restored under s. 50(4) of the RSA, is not guilty of the offence if that person:


   (a)  gives a reasonable excuse for the failure; and

   (b)  provides a specimen of his or her signature; and

   (c)  within 7 days produces his or her driver licence document or permit
        document at the police station (if any) specified by the member of the
        police force or other person who requested its production.

For the offence of fail to stop motor vehicle when requested (s. 59(1)(a))

A driver or person in charge of a motor vehicle is not guilty of this offence if:


   (a)  the person making the request or signal is not in uniform; and

   (b)  the driver or person in charge believed that that person was not-

   (i)  a member of the police force or an authorised officer of the
        Corporation or of the Department of Infrastructure, as the case
        requires; or

   (ii) an officer of or person authorised in writing in that behalf by a
        municipal council.

In VIC which court will hear the matter - General duty of driver or person in charge of motor vehicle

Offences under s. 59 are summary offences, so Magistrates Court will hear these offences.

Fail to stop

Fail to give license

State False Name

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