The Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995

Alternative convictions on certain charges

95.  For Article 140 of the Order of 1981, there shall be substituted the following Article—

“Alternative verdicts

140.— (1) Where—

(a) a person charged with an offence under a provision of the Order of 1995 specified in the first column of the Table below (where the general nature of the offences is also indicated) is found not guilty of that offence, but

(b) the allegations in the indictment or complaint amount to or include an allegation of an offence under one or more of the provisions of that Order specified in the corresponding entry in the second column,

he may be convicted of that offence or of one or more of those offences.

(1)	(2)
Offence charged	Alternative
Article 9 (causing death, or grievous bodily injury, by dangerous driving)	Article 10 (dangerous driving) Article 12 (careless, and inconsiderate, driving)
Article 10 (dangerous driving)	Article 12 (careless, and inconsiderate, driving)
Article 14 (causing death, or grievous bodily injury, by careless driving when under influence of drink or drugs)	Article 12 (careless, and inconsiderate, driving)
	Article 15(1) (driving when unfit to drive through drink or drugs)
	Article 16(1)(a) (driving with excess alcohol in breath, blood or urine)
	Article 18(7) (failing to provide specimen)
Article 15(1) (driving or attempting to drive when unfit to drive through drink or drugs)	Article 15(2) (being in charge of a vehicle when unfit to drive through drink or drugs)
Article 16(1)(a) (driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol in breath, blood or urine)	Article 16(1)(b) (being in charge of a vehicle with excess alcohol in breath, blood or urine)
Article 42 (dangerous cycling)	Article 43 (careless, and inconsiderate, cycling)

(2) Where the offence with which a person is charged is an offence under Article 14 of the Order of 1995, paragraph (1) shall not authorise his conviction of any offence of attempting to drive.

(3) Where a person is charged with having committed an offence under Article 15(1) or 16(1)(a) of the Order of 1995 by driving a vehicle, he may be convicted of having committed an offence under the provision in question by attempting to drive.

(4) Where by virtue of this Article a person is convicted before the Crown Court of an offence triable only summarily, the court shall have the same powers and duties as a court of summary jurisdiction would have had on convicting him of that offence.

(5) This Article has effect without prejudice to section 6(2) of the Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1967(1) (alternative verdicts on trial on indictment).”

(1)

1967 c. 18 (N.I.)