Transport Act 1982

27 Fixed penalty offences and fixed penalty notices

(1) Subject to subsection (3) below, where a constable in uniform finds a person on any occasion and has reason to believe that on that occasion he is committing or has committed a fixed penalty offence, he may give him a fixed penalty notice in respect of the offence.

(2) Subject to subsection (4) below, where on any occasion a constable has reason to believe in the case of any stationary vehicle that a fixed penalty offence is being or has been committed in respect of it on that occasion, he may affix a fixed penalty notice in respect of the offence to that vehicle.

(3) A constable may not give a fixed penalty notice to any person under subsection (1) above in respect of an offence which appears to the constable to be an offence involving obligatory endorsement unless—

(a) he produces his driving licence for inspection by the constable; and

(b) the constable is satisfied, on inspecting the licence, that he would not be liable to be disqualified under section 19(2) of the [1981 c. 56.] Transport Act 1981 (disqualification where penalty points number twelve or more) if he were convicted of that offence ; and

(c) he surrenders his driving licence to the constable to be retained and dealt with in accordance with this Part of this Act.

(4) A constable may not affix a fixed penalty notice to a vehicle under subsection (2) above in any case where the offence in question appears to the constable to be an offence involving obligatory endorsement.

(5) Subject to subsection (6) below and any limitation or exception mentioned in the entry relating to any enactment in column 2 of Schedule 1 to this Act, any offence in respect of a vehicle committed or punishable under an enactment specified in column 1 of that Schedule is a fixed penalty offence for the purposes of this Part of this Act.

(6) An offence committed under an enactment so specified is not a fixed penalty offence for those purposes if it is committed by causing or permitting a vehicle to be used by another person in contravention of any provision made or restriction or prohibition imposed by or under any enactment.

(7) In relation to any enactment specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 to this Act

(a) the enactment is contained in the Act referred to in the heading under which that enactment appears;

(b) the entry in column 2 of that Schedule broadly describes offences under that enactment, indicating any limitation or exception with respect to the offences under that enactment which are fixed penalty offences for the purposes of this Part of this Act; and

(c) the entry in column 3 of that Schedule indicates whether a person's driving licence is subject to endorsement on conviction of any such offence.

(8) In this Part of this Act, " fixed penalty notice " means a notice offering the opportunity of the discharge of any liability to conviction of the offence to which the notice relates by payment of a fixed penalty in accordance with this Part of this Act.

(9) For the purposes of this Part of this Act an offence is an offence involving obligatory endorsement if—

(a) it is an offence under an enactment specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 to this Act in relation to which there appears in column 3 of that Schedule the word " obligatory " or the word " obligatory " qualified by conditions relating to the offence ; and

(b) where the word " obligatory " is so qualified, the conditions are satisfied in the case of that offence.