The Road Traffic (Carriage of Dangerous Substances in Road Tankers and Tank Containers) Regulations 1992

Meaning of operator

5.—(1) For the purposes of these Regulations, the operator of a road tanker or of any other vehicle carrying a tank container shall be—

(a) the person who holds an operator’s licence (granted under Part V of the Transport Act 1968(1)) for the use of that vehicle for the carriage of goods on a road; except that where by virtue of regulation 32(1) to (3) of the Goods Vehicles (Operators' Licences, Qualifications and Fees) Regulations 1984(2) the vehicle is included in a licence held by a holding company and that company is not operating the vehicle at the relevant time, the “operator” shall be the subsidiary company specified in the application made under the said regulation 32(1) or, if more than one subsidiary company is so specified, whichever one is operating the vehicle at the relevant time, and in this sub-paragraph “holding company” and “subsidiary company” have the same meanings as in the said Regulations of 1984; or

(b) where no such licence is held—

(i) (in the case of a vehicle which is not registered in the United Kingdom) the driver of the vehicle, and

(ii) (in the case of any other vehicle, but subject to paragraph (2)) the keeper of the vehicle; and, for this purpose, where the vehicle is on hire or lease to any person, that person shall be treated as its keeper.

(2) Where an employee who would otherwise be the operator of a vehicle in accordance with sub-paragraph (b)(ii) of paragraph (1) uses that vehicle for the carriage of any dangerous substance on behalf of his employer, that employer shall, notwithstanding that sub-paragraph, be regarded as the operator of the vehicle for the purposes of these Regulations.

(3) For the purposes of these Regulations, the operator of a tank container shall be either—

(a) the owner of the tank container, if that person—

(i) has a place of business in Great Britain, and

(ii) is identified as the owner of the tank container on the tank container itself or in a document carried in the vehicle on which the tank container is carried; or

(b) if no person satisfies the requirements set out in sub-paragraph (a) above, the agent of the owner of the tank container if that agent—

(i) has a place of business in Great Britain, and

(ii) is identified as the agent of that owner on the tank container itself or in a document carried in the vehicle on which the tank container is carried; or

(c) if no person falls within sub-paragraph (a) or (b) above, the operator of the vehicle on which the tank container is carried.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (3), a person to whom a tank container is leased or hired shall be deemed to be the owner of that tank container unless the lessor or, as the case may be, the hirer has made an agreement in writing with the person to whom he has leased or hired the tank container to the effect that the lessor or hirer shall assume the responsibilities of the owner imposed by or under these Regulations.

(1)

1968 c. 73; section 60(1) was modified by S.I. 1980/637.

(2)

S.I. 1984/176; relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1987/841.