Road Traffic Act 1960

Forgery, false Statements, &c

233 Forgery of documents, and c

(1) This section applies to the following documents and other things, namely,—

(a) any licence under any Part of this Act;

(b) any test certificate;

(c) any document, plate or mark by which, in pursuance of regulations made under Part IV of this Act, a vehicle is to be identified as being an authorised vehicle within the meaning of the said Part IV;

(d) any document evidencing the appointment of an examiner or other officer for the purposes of Part IV of this Act;

(e) any certificate of insurance or certificate of security under Part VI of this Act;

(f) any document issued under regulations made by the Minister in pursuance of his power under paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section two hundred and twenty-six of this Act to prescribe evidence which may be produced in lieu of a certificate of insurance or a certificate of security.

(2) A person shall be guilty of an offence who, with intent to deceive,—

(a) forges or alters, or uses or lends to, or allows to be used by, any other person, a document or other thing to which this section applies, or

(b) makes or has in his possession any document or other thing so closely resembling a document or other thing to which this section applies as to be calculated to deceive.

In the application of this subsection to England and Wales, " forges " means forges within the meaning of the Forgery Act, 1913.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under the last foregoing subsection shall be liable—

(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years ;

(b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding four months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

234 Falsification of records

A person who, with intent to deceive, alters an entry made in a record under section one hundred and eighty-six of this Act or paragraph 14 of the Twelfth Schedule thereto shall be liable—

(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years;

(b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding four months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

235 False statements and withholding material information

(1) A person shall be guilty of an offence who knowingly makes a false statement for the purpose—

(a) of obtaining the grant of a licence under any Part of this Act to himself or any other person, or the variation of any such licence ; or

(b) of preventing the grant or variation of any such licence; or

(c) of procuring the imposition of a condition or limitation in relation to any such licence.

(2) A person shall be guilty of an offence who makes a false statement or withholds any material information for the purpose of obtaining the issue—

(a) of a certificate of insurance or certificate of security under Part VI of this Act; or

(b) of any document issued under regulations made by the Minister in pursuance of his power under paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section two hundred and twenty-six of this Act to prescribe evidence which may be produced in lieu of a certificate of insurance or a certificate of security.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

236 Issue of false documents

If a person issues any such document as is referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (2) of the last foregoing section, or a test certificate, and the document or test certificate so issued is to his knowledge false in a material particular he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

237 Power to seize articles with respect to which offences under sections 233 to 236 may have been committed

(1) If a police constable has reasonable cause to believe that a document produced to him in pursuance of any of the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act (other than a document produced by virtue of subsection (2) of section two hundred and twenty-seven) is a document in relation to which an offence has been committed under any of the four last foregoing sections, he may seize the document; and when a document is seized under this subsection, the person from whom it was taken shall, unless the document has been previously returned to him or he has been previously charged with an offence under any of those sections, be summoned before a magistrates' court to account for his possession of the said document and the court shall make such order respecting the disposal of the said document and award such costs as the justice of the case may require.

(2) If a police constable, a certifying officer appointed under Part III of this Act or an examiner appointed under Part IV thereof has reasonable cause to believe that a document or plate carried on a motor vehicle or by the driver thereof is a document or plate in relation to which an offence has been committed under any of the four last foregoing sections in so far as they apply—

(a) to carriers' licences under Part IV of this Act, or

(b) to documents or plates by which, in pursuance of regulations made under Part IV of this Act, vehicles are to be identified as being authorised vehicles within the meaning of the said Part IV, or

(c) to documents evidencing the appointment of examiners or other officers for the purposes of Part IV of this Act, or

(d) to records under section one hundred and eighty-six of this Act,

he may seize the document or plate ; and when a document or plate is seized under this subsection, either the driver or the owner of the vehicle shall, if the document or plate is still detained and neither of them has previously been charged with an offence in relation thereto under any of the four last foregoing sections, be summoned before a magistrates' court to account for Ms possession of, or the presence on the vehicle of, the said document or plate and the court shall make such order respecting the disposal of the said document or plate and award such costs as the justice of the case may

For the purposes of this subsection the power to seize shall include power to detach from a vehicle.

(3) In the application of this section to Scotland for any reference to a magistrates' court there shall be substituted a reference to the sheriff.

238 Personation of, or of person employed by, authorised examiner

If a person with intent to deceive falsely represents himself to be, or to be employed by, a person authorised by the Minister for the purposes of section sixty-five of this Act he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.