No. 15/1973:

ROAD TRAFFIC (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1973

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 Definition.

2 Amendment of section 27 of Act of 1968.

3 Amendment of section 30 of Act of 1968.

4 Amendment of section 33 of Act of 1968.

5 Amendment of section 36 of Act of 1968.

6 Amendment of section 43 of Act of 1968.

7 Amendment of section 44 of Act of 1968.

8 Short title and collective citation.

AN ACT TO AMEND THE ROAD TRAFFIC ACT, 1968 .

[26th July, 1973]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS.

1.—In this Act "the Act of 1968" means the Road Traffic Act, 1968 .

2.—Section 27 of the Act of 1968 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following for the definition of "designated":

"'designated' means designated by a member of the Garda Síochána;".

3.—Section 30 of the Act of 1968 is hereby amended—

( a ) by the substitution in subsection (1) of "a member of the Garda Síochána" for "the member of the Garda Slouching then in charge there",

and

( b ) by the substitution in subsection (2) of "a member of the Garda Síochána" for "the member of the Garda Síochána in charge of the station",

and, accordingly, the said subsections shall have effect as set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(1) Where a person (in this section referred to as the arrested person) arrested under section 49 (4) of the Principal Act or section 28 (a) of this Act has been brought to a Garda station a member of the Garda Síochána may do either or both of the following—

( a ) require the arrested person to provide in the prescribed manner a specimen of his breath by exhaling into an apparatus designed for showing the concentration of alcohol in the breath or blood or into a receptacle designed for preserving the specimen for subsequent analysis,

( b ) require the arrested person either to permit a designated registered medical practitioner to take from the arrested person a specimen of his blood or, if the arrested person so opts, to provide for the designated registered medical practitioner a specimen of the arrested person's urine in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), when an arrested person who opted to provide in accordance with the prescribed procedure a specimen of urine fails to do so, he may be required by a member of the Garda Síochána to permit the designated registered medical practitioner to take from the arrested person a specimen of his blood.

4.—Section 33 of the Act of 1968 is hereby amended—

( a ) by the substitution in subsection (1) of "a member of the Garda Síochána" for "the member of the Garda Síochána then in charge there",

and

( b ) by the substitution in subsection (2) of "a member of the Garda Síochána "for" the member of the Garda Síochána in charge of the station",

and, accordingly, the said subsections shall have effect as set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(1) Where a person (in this section referred to as the arrested person) arrested under section 50 (6) of the Principal Act or section 28 (b) of this Act has been brought to a Garda station, a member of the Garda Síochána may do either or both of the following—

( a ) require the arrested person to provide in the prescribed manner a specimen of his breath by exhaling into an apparatus designed for showing the concentration of alcohol in the breath or blood or into a receptacle designed for preserving the specimen for subsequent analysis,

( b ) require the arrested person either to permit a designated registered medical practitioner to take from the arrested person a specimen of his blood or, if the arrested person so opts, to provide for the designated registered medical practitioner a specimen of the arrested person's urine in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), when an arrested person who opted to provide in accordance with the prescribed procedure a specimen of urine fails to do so, he may be required by a member of the Garda Síochána to permit the designated registered medical practitioner to take from the arrested person a specimen of his blood.

5.—Section 36 of the Act of 1968 is hereby amended by the substitution in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of "a member of the Garda Síochána" for "the member of the Garda Síochána then in charge there" and of "such a member" for "such member", and, accordingly, the said subsection shall have effect as set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(1) In a prosecution for refusing or failing to permit a designated registered medical practitioner to take a specimen of blood, it shall be a good defence for the defendant—

( a ) to show that, when brought to the Garda station and before a requisition under section 30 (1) (b) or section 33 (1) (b) was made on him, he was not given an opportunity by a member of the Garda Síochána (having requested such an opportunity of such a member) of providing in the prescribed manner a specimen of his breath by exhaling into an apparatus designed for the purpose of indicating the presence of alcohol in the breath, or

( b ) to show that, when required to permit the taking of the specimen, he had not been cautioned in the prescribed terms of the possible effects of his refusal or failure, or

( c ) to satisfy the court that there was a special and substantial reason for his refusal or failure.

6.—Section 43 of the Act of 1968 is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) of "the member of the Garda Síochána who made the requisition" for "the member of the Garda Síochána then in charge of the station", and, accordingly, the said subsection shall have effect as set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(1) Whenever a designated registered medical practitioner has, following a requisition under section 30 or section 33, taken a specimen of blood or obtained a specimen of urine from a person, he shall certify the prescribed particulars on a prescribed form which he shall then give to the member of the Garda Síochána who made the requisition, and the specimen and a copy of the certificate shall be forwarded in accordance with the prescribed procedure to the Bureau.

7.—Section 44 of the Act of 1968 is hereby amended—

( a ) by the substitution in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of "be sufficient evidence until the contrary is shown" for "be conclusive evidence",

( b ) by the substitution in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of "facts in relation to which records are required" for "facts obtained from records required", and

( c ) by the insertion after subsection (2) of the following new subsection:

"(3) In a prosecution for an offence under section 49 or 50 of the Principal Act, it shall be presumed until the contrary is shown that a person who took from a person, referred to in section 30 or 33 of this Act as the arrested person, a specimen of the arrested person's blood, or for whom the arrested person provided a specimen of his urine, is a registered medical practitioner.",

and, accordingly, the said section shall have effect as set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

Provisions relating to evidence.

44.—(1) A certificate expressed to be issued under section 43 (1) shall, without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign the certificate or that that person was the proper person so to sign, be sufficient evidence in any legal proceedings of the matters certified in the certificate, until the contrary is shown.

(2) Where a certificate is expressed to have been issued under section 43 (3), the following provisions shall, without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign the certificate or that that person was the proper person so to sign, apply:

( a ) where the certificate states that it has been determined that a specimen of blood contained a specified concentration of alcohol or that a specimen of urine contained a concentration of alcohol equivalent to a specified concentration of alcohol in the blood, the certificate shall, in a prosecution for an offence under section 49 or 50 of the Principal Act, but subject to section 45 (4) of this Act, be sufficient evidence until the contrary is shown that, at he time the specimen was taken or provided, the concentration of alcohol in the blood of the person from whom the specimen was taken or by whom the specimen was provided was the specified concentration of alcohol;

( b ) where the certificate states other facts in relation to which records are required to be kept under this Part, it shall be sufficient evidence in any legal proceedings of the correctness of those facts until the contrary is shown.

(3) In a prosecution for an offence under section 49 or 50 of the Principal Act, it shall be presumed until the contrary is shown that a person who took from a person, referred to in section 30 or 33 of this Act as the arrested person, a specimen of the arrested person's blood, or for whom the arrested person provided a specimen of his urine, is a registered medical practitioner.

8.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 1973 .

(2) This Act and the Road Traffic Acts, 1961 and 1968, may be cited together as the Road Traffic Acts, 1961 to 1973.