ROAD TRAFFIC ACT 1961 - SECT 34
ROAD TRAFFIC ACT 1961 - SECT 34
34—Road closing for emergency use by aircraft
(1) A
prescribed police officer may close a road to enable an aircraft to use the
road in response to an emergency.
(2) For the purpose of
closing a road and enabling its use by an aircraft under this section, a
prescribed police officer (or a police officer acting under the direction of a
prescribed police officer) may—
(a)
install or display traffic control devices on or near a road; or
(b) give
such reasonable directions to—
(i)
the driver of a vehicle on a road; or
(ii)
the owner or person apparently in charge of or with care
or custody of a vehicle on a road; or
(iii)
a person who appears to have left a vehicle standing on a
road (whether or not the vehicle is attended by another person); or
(iv)
a pedestrian; or
(v)
the pilot of the aircraft,
as are, in the opinion of the police officer giving the directions, necessary
for the safe use of the road by the aircraft or the safety of other road
users.
(3) A police officer
must, in exercising a power conferred by this section, comply with such
procedures and requirements as may be stipulated by the Minister by notice in
writing to the Commissioner of Police.
(4) A person to whom a
direction of a police officer is given under this section must forthwith
comply with it.
(5) If a direction is
given under subsection (2)(b) to a person who appears—
(a) to
have charge, care or custody of a vehicle on a road; or
(b) to
have left a vehicle standing on a road,
that person is not guilty of an offence against this Act of failing to comply
with the direction if it is proved that the person did not have charge, care
or custody of the vehicle and did not leave the vehicle standing on the road.
(6) If action is taken
under this section by a police officer to close a road or enable an aircraft
to use a road—
(a)
nothing in this Act is to be taken to prevent the use of the road by the
aircraft; and
(b) the
aircraft is not to be taken to be a vehicle for the purposes of this Act; and
(c) no
liability will be incurred by the police officer or the Crown in respect of
injury, damage or loss arising out of the use of the road by the aircraft.
(7) The powers
conferred by this section are in addition to and do not derogate from any
other power conferred by this or any other Act.
(8) A road closed for
the purposes of enabling an aircraft to use it in response to an emergency
must be re-opened for ordinary traffic as soon as practicable after the road
is no longer required for that purpose.
(9) In this
section—
"prescribed police officer" means a police officer who is—
(a) in
charge of a police station; or
(b) of
the rank of inspector or above;
"road" includes a road closed under this section and part of a road.