21Direction to move road vehicle

21 Direction to move road vehicle

(1)  An authorised officer may, for compliance purposes, direct the driver of a vehicle to which this Division applies to move it or cause it to be moved to the nearest suitable location that is within the prescribed distance and specified by the officer.

(2)  A person who is given a direction under subsection (1) must comply with the direction.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 50 penalty units.

(3)  In proceedings for an offence against subsection (2) , it is a defence if the person charged establishes that –

(a) it was not possible to move the vehicle concerned because it was broken down; and

(b) the breakdown occurred for a physical reason beyond the driver’s control; and

(c) the breakdown could not be readily rectified in a way that would enable the direction to be complied with within a reasonable time.

(4)  In this section –

prescribed distance means a distance (in any direction) within a radius of 30 kilometres of –

(a) the location of the vehicle when the direction is given; or

(b) any point along the forward route of the journey, if the direction is given in the course of a journey of the vehicle;

suitable location means a location that the authorised officer believes on reasonable grounds to be a suitable location having regard to any matters the officer considers relevant in the circumstances.