69Offence to drive unregistered vehicle in toll zone

69 Offence to drive unregistered vehicle in toll zone

(1) A person must not drive a vehicle in a toll zone unless the vehicle is registered in respect of that toll zone by the relevant North East Link Tolling Corporation at that time.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of—

(a) a vehicle that is exempted, in accordance with the regulations, from the requirement to be registered under this Part; or

(b) a vehicle that under the regulations is exempt from the payment of tolls; or

(c) a vehicle that is covered by a tollway billing arrangement that was not suspended at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed.

(3) If during the course of one trip a person commits an offence against subsection (1), the person is guilty of only one offence against that subsection regardless of how many toll zones the person drives in during the course of the trip.

(4) In a proceeding for an offence against subsection (1), it is a defence to the charge for the driver to prove that the driver believed on reasonable grounds, at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed, that the vehicle—

(a) was registered under this Part in respect of the relevant toll zone by the relevant North East Link Tolling Corporation; or

(b) was covered by a tollway billing arrangement that was not suspended at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed.

(5) A certificate purporting to be given by a tollway operator certifying that, at the time an offence against subsection (1) is alleged to have been committed, a tollway billing arrangement was suspended, is admissible in evidence in any proceedings and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, is proof that, at that time, the tollway billing arrangement was suspended.

(6) In a proceeding for an offence against subsection (1), it is a defence to the charge for the driver to prove—

(a) that the driver received, or was issued, an invoice in respect of the trip that is the subject of the charge; and

(b) that the invoice was paid in full (even though it may also have related to trips other than the trip that is the subject of the charge) in any manner, and within the time, permitted by the invoice.

(7) In subsection (6), invoice means a request for the payment of a toll in respect of a trip and any associated toll administration fee.

(8) On a person being found guilty of an offence against subsection (1), any debt that arose under this Part as a result of the person driving in the toll zone in the vehicle that was the subject of the offence is extinguished.