M.O.T. ‘discretion’ fears

Press, 7 June 1982, Page 4

M.O.T. ‘discretion’ fears

PA Wellington A forthcoming amendment to the Ministry of Transport policy regarding road-user charges offences will mean that chief traffic officers will become judge and juror, says the New Zealand Road Transport Association. The association has had a letter from the Ministry, saying that it will stop a general discretion policy whereby truck operators who exceed their user licences by no more than 500 km or 5 per cent in weight, and who later pay for the excess distance

or weight, are not prosecuted. The tolerance has allowed for variances in weighing methods, loads which vary in weight, and the necessity of purchasing the licences from a post office during business hours. The Ministry has indicated that, after August 1, such discretion will be left to individual chief traffic officers. Their judgments on whether to prosecute will be based on the carrier's record, the circumstances of the offence, and the prevalence of such offences in the

area. “This means that the chief traffic officer of an area will become both judge and juror," said the president of the N.Z.R.T.A.. Mr Jim Stuart, on Saturday. He said that a carrier who unwittingly broke the roaduser charges legislation by having a load which was wet and therefore heavier, or because he could not reach a post office during working hours to renew his licence, would be at the officer's mercy. "We fear that there will be

a wide variance between different areas and different offices, leading to a possible travesty of justice. We feel that a general directive from the Ministry would ensure a uniform standard of justice and a common-sense discretion. to allow for the complex and labourintensive administration of the road user charges system." said Mr Stuart. "This only serves to illustrate that road user charges is a very complex system which is difficult to use in a workaday business environment," he said.