Statutes of Newfoundland and Labrador 2012 Chapter 17

Important Information
(Includes details about the availability of printed and electronic versions of the Statutes.)

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSNL1990 cH-3
as amended

1. Section 43 of the Highway Traffic Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Drivers licence

43. (1) A person shall not operate upon a highway a motor vehicle or class of motor vehicle, unless that person holds a driver's licence that

(a) has been issued to that person;

(b) authorizes that person to operate that motor vehicle or that class of motor vehicle; and

(2) A person

(a) whose drivers licence has been suspended or cancelled;

(b) who has been disqualified from holding or obtaining a drivers licence;

(d) who has been prohibited from driving a motor vehicle

shall not operate upon a highway a motor vehicle or class of motor vehicle.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1) or (2), a person who, under this Act,

(a) is taking a drivers examination for the purpose of obtaining a licence to operate a motor vehicle or class of motor vehicle; or

(b) as part of an approved driving course being conducted by an approved driving school, is undergoing an on-road driver evaluation,

may, for the purpose of the examination or evaluation, drive an appropriate motor vehicle upon a highway when accompanied by an examiner or approved driving instructor.

(4) A person who drives a motor vehicle without a drivers licence in violation of paragraph (1)(b) is guilty of an offence and is liable

(a) in the case of a first conviction, to a fine of $50;

(b) in the case of a second conviction, to a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $200; and

(i) a fine of not less than $300 and not more than $500,

(ii) imprisonment for a term of not more than 30 days, or

(iii) both a fine and imprisonment.

(5) A person who drives a motor vehicle without a drivers licence in violation of paragraph (1)(a) or (c) is guilty of an offence and is liable

(a) in the case of a first conviction, to a fine of $50;

(b) in the case of a second conviction, where that second conviction is entered within 2 years of the first conviction, to

(i) a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $200,

(ii) imprisonment for a term of not more than 30 days, or

(iii) both a fine and imprisonment; and

(c) in the case of a third or subsequent conviction, where that third or subsequent conviction is entered within 5 years of the first conviction, to

(i) a fine of not less than $300 and not more than $500,

(ii) imprisonment for a term of not less than 31 days and not more than 6 months, or

(iii) both a fine and imprisonment.

(6) A person who drives a motor vehicle in violation of subsection (2) is guilty of an offence and is liable

(a) in the case of a first conviction, to a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $200;

(b) in the case of a second conviction, where that second conviction is entered within 2 years of the first conviction, to

(i) a fine of not less than $200 and not more than $300,

(ii) imprisonment for a term of not more than 30 days, or

(iii) both a fine and imprisonment; and

(c) in the case of a third or subsequent conviction, where that third or subsequent conviction is entered within 5 years of the first conviction, to

(i) a fine of not less than $300 and not more than $500,

(ii) imprisonment for a period of not less than 31 days and not more than 6 months, or

(iii) both a fine and imprisonment.

(7) Where a judge imposes sentences of imprisonment under 2 or more of the following provisions:

(a) paragraph (5)(b);

(b) paragraph (5)(c);

(d) paragraph (6)(c);

(e) paragraph 75(5.1)(a); or

(f) paragraph 75(5.1)(b),

the judge may, in his or her discretion, direct that the sentences be served consecutively.

(8) For the purpose of this section, an approved driving course is a course offered by an approved driving school in accordance with the regulations and an approved driving instructor is a driving instructor approved in accordance with the regulations.

2. Section 68 of the Act is amended by deleting the reference "subsection 73(2)" and substituting the reference "subsection 43(6)".

3. Subsection 73(2) of the Act is repealed.

4. Subsection 75(5.2) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(5.2) Where a judge imposes sentences of imprisonment under 2 or more of the following provisions:

(a) paragraph (5.1)(a);

(b) paragraph (5.1)(b);

(d) paragraph 43(5)(c);

(e) paragraph 43(6)(b); or

(f) paragraph 43(6)(c),

the judge may, in his or her discretion, direct that the sentences be served consecutively.

5. (1) Section 186 of the Act is amended by renumbering it as subsection 186(1).

(2) Paragraph 186(1)(g.1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(g.1) respecting the seizure and impoundment of vehicles under paragraph 75(6.1)(b), including

(i) requiring that a notice of seizure be given to the driver and sent to the registrar and the owner of the vehicle, and prescribing the timing and form of this notice,

(ii) prescribing the fees to be paid in relation to the impoundment and release of the vehicle, and

(iii) prescribing the types of fees and charges that shall be a lien on the impounded vehicle, the priority of those liens and how those liens may be enforced, including the sale or other disposal of the vehicle by the garage operator who takes and stores the seized and impounded vehicle or by the registrar, which sale or other disposal may vary according to the value of the vehicle;

(3) Paragraph 186(1)(i) of the Act is amended by deleting the reference "73(2)" and substituting the reference "43(6)" and by repealing subparagraph (x) and substituting the following:

(x) prescribing the types of fees and charges that shall be a lien on the impounded vehicle, the priority of those liens and how those liens may be enforced, including the sale or other disposal of the vehicle by the garage operator who takes and stores the seized and impounded vehicle or by the registrar, which sale or other disposal may vary according to the value of the vehicle;

(4) Subsection 186(1) of the Act is amended by adding immediately after paragraph (i) the following:

(i.1) respecting the seizure and impoundment of vehicles that are dangerous or unfit for use, including

(i) requiring that a notice of seizure be given to the driver and sent to the registrar and the owner of the vehicle, and prescribing the timing and form of this notice,

(ii) prescribing the period of impoundment,

(iii) prescribing the fees to be paid in relation to the impoundment and release of the vehicle, and

(iv) prescribing the types of fees and charges that shall be a lien on the impounded vehicle, the priority of those liens and how those liens may be enforced, including the sale or other disposal of the vehicle by the garage operator who takes and stores the seized and impounded vehicle or by the registrar, which sale or other disposal may vary according to the value of the vehicle;

(5) Section 186 of the Act is amended by adding immediately after subsection (1) the following:

(2) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, in addition to or instead of regulations made under subsection (1), adopt by reference and constitute as regulations the whole or part or provisions of a code adopted or standards fixed, with or without modification, and including amendments now or afterward made to the code or standard, by an organization acceptable to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

(3) A certificate of the minister that a document is a copy of a code or standard referred to in subsection (2) or an extract from, a modification of, or an amendment to, a code or standard is without further proof presumptive evidence of the content of that code, standard, extract or amendment.

6. The Act is amended by adding after section 204 the following:

Action barred

204.1 (1) An action or other legal proceeding does not lie and may not be brought against the registrar, an employee of the department, a peace officer, a traffic officer or a garage operator in respect of anything done under subsection 75(6.1) or under regulations respecting the seizure, impoundment and sale or other disposal of vehicles, where the action or other proceeding is not based on malfeasance or misfeasance.

(2) For the purpose of this section, a garage operator is a person who takes and stores a motor vehicle seized and impounded under subsection 75(6.1) or under regulations respecting the seizure, impoundment and sale or other disposal of vehicles and who may subsequently dispose of that vehicle in accordance with those regulations.

7. Section 207 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Second or subsequent offence

207. For the purpose of this Act, except section 110 and paragraphs 43(5)(b) and (c) and 43(6)(b) and (c) and subsection 75(5.1), and the regulations and regulations made under section 189, an offence shall not be considered a second or subsequent offence unless it has been committed within one year from the date of the last previous offence.

8. (1) The Schedule to the Act is amended by adding immediately after the row starting with a reference to paragraph 42(k) the following:

43(4)

No licence for class of motor vehicle
Second offence
Subsequent

50
200
500

50
100
300

2 days
7 days
17 days

1 day
2 days
6 days

(2) The Schedule to the Act is amended by deleting the reference "43(3)" and substituting the reference "43(5)".

(3) The Schedule to the Act is amended by deleting the reference "73(2)" and substituting the reference "43(6)".