Traffic Act 1925

The Act’s reach is deliberately broad. Section 55 states that it “shall apply to persons in the public service of the Crown”, removing any implied Crown immunity. In practice it binds:

• Drivers and riders — anyone driving a motor vehicle or riding an animal on a public street (s 3(1) definitions of “driver” in s 33(1) and the extended definition of “vehicle” in s 3(1)).
• Registered operators and owners — the “owner-onus” scheme in s 54 makes the registered operator prima facie liable for certain offences unless they nominate the actual driver by statutory declaration (s 43GA, s 43HA). This is reinforced by the notice-of-demand regime in s 43G.
• Pedestrians, cyclists and users of personal mobility devices — the Road Rules made under s 31A apply to them, and the Act’s obstruction and hazardous-light provisions (ss 41G–41J) can affect anyone who places objects near a road.
• Local councils and road authorities — they must comply with Commission directions on traffic signs (s 59), road humps (s 49A) and removal of visual obstructions (s 60). Councils can also issue infringement notices through authorised officers (s 9(3)).
• The Transport Commission, police and authorised officers — the Act confers investigative, seizure and prosecution powers on these bodies (ss 9, 41, 41A, 41E, 43L).
• Commercial operators — public passenger vehicles and freight vehicles are subject to additional identification, loading and stand-use rules (s 10(1)(jb), (rc)–(re)).

Because the definition of “public street” (s 3(1)) includes any place “open to or used by the public”, the Act can apply on private land if the public have access. The only explicit exclusion is aircraft (s 2, now repealed but historically significant).

Duties

• Drivers must drive with due care: reckless driving (s 32(1)) carries up to 4 years’ imprisonment for a repeat offence; negligent driving causing death carries up to 3 years (s 32(2A)).
• The duty to stop and render assistance after a crash is absolute (s 33(2)), subject only to the defences of unawareness or seeking emergency help (s 33(3)–(4)).
• Registered operators must respond to a notice of demand by statutory declaration identifying the driver (s 43G(3)). Failure triggers a 14-day registration suspension for corporate operators (s 43GC).
• Users must obey traffic signs and road markings lawfully placed under s 59; the Act facilitates proof that a sign “applied” to a length of road (s 51(1)(m)).
• No person may display hazardous lights, obscure traffic control devices or tamper with them (ss 41G–41I).

Rights

• A person served with an infringement notice may elect to have the matter heard in court or may provide a statutory declaration naming the actual driver (s 43HA).
• An electronic billboard approval (s 79) gives a limited right to place an illuminated sign on a public street, subject to conditions.
• The Act preserves common-law rights and other statutory remedies (s 56); a breach of the Act can be relied on as evidence in civil proceedings.
• Owners or operators can defend owner-onus charges by proving they took reasonable precautions or by nominating the driver (s 54(2)–(3)).

Penalties are graduated. Summary offences under s 52 carry 20 penalty units for a first offence and 40 penalty units or 3 months’ imprisonment for repeats, “except where elsewhere specially provided”. Specific maxima include:

• Reckless driving — 20/40 penalty units or 2/4 years (s 32(1)).
• Negligent driving causing death — 10/20 penalty units and 2/3 years (s 32(2A)).
• Failure to stop after a crash — 80 penalty units or 2 years (s 33(2)).
• Tampering with traffic control devices — 40 penalty units (s 41I).
• Contravening an electronic billboard approval condition — 20 penalty units (s 79(8)).

Enforcement tools are extensive. Police or authorised officers may:

• Issue traffic infringement notices (s 43H) that can be enforced through the Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act 2005.
• Serve notices of demand requiring the registered operator to identify the driver (s 43G).
• Seize vehicles that are abandoned, dangerous or evidential (s 41E), detection devices (s 41D), or personal mobility devices used contrary to the Road Rules (s 41B).
• Forbid an apparently incapable person from driving and confiscate keys (s 41A).
• Remove obstructions to vision (s 60) or hazardous lights (s 41G(5)).

Evidentiary aids are generous: owner-onus (s 54), facilitation of proof (s 51), photographic evidence (s 43P), and the presumption that a statutory declaration naming a driver is prima facie evidence (s 43GA(2)).

The Act is expressly linked to the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 by s 3(2): words defined in the latter have the same meaning here, and references to “this Act” include both. The Road Rules made under s 31A are the practical rulebook; the 1925 Act supplies the offences and penalties.

It sits alongside the Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act 2005 for collection of fines (ss 43H(4), 43M) and the Justices Act 1959 for extended limitation periods (s 32(8), s 43P). Criminal Code offences (dangerous driving causing death) can be charged concurrently (s 32(5)).

Local Government Act 1993 councils act as “authorised officers” within their municipal areas (s 9(3)). The Passenger Transport Services Act 2011 supplies the definition of “public passenger vehicle” used in the 1925 Act (s 3(1)).

Common-law nuisance actions are preserved (s 42(5), s 79(5)(b)), and breaches of the Act are admissible in civil negligence suits (s 56).

The most significant recent amendments reflect three policy drivers: national uniformity, technological enforcement and road-safety innovation.

• The Road Rules were inserted via s 31A in 1999 (No 71 of 1999) to implement the Australian Road Rules. Subsequent amendments (No 40 of 2009) allowed State-specific rules while preserving national consistency.
• The notice-of-demand and owner-onus reforms (No 27 of 2004, No 27 of 2022) tightened the ability of registered operators to avoid liability, responding to “ghost driver” problems in photographic enforcement.
• Electronic billboard provisions (Part VIII, inserted by No 32 of 2007) were added to control illuminated advertising that could distract drivers; 2022 amendments (No 31 of 2022) clarified approval durations and multiple-billboard events.
• Demerit-point and infringement-notice machinery has been progressively moved into the Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act 2005, leaving the 1925 Act with residual offence-creating provisions.

These changes reflect a shift from prescriptive detail in the principal Act to regulation-making powers and national model laws, while retaining Tasmania-specific enforcement tools.

Tasmanian courts have considered several recurring issues.

In Tasmania v. McGee (unreported, 2001) the Supreme Court examined the interaction between s 32 reckless driving and Criminal Code s 167 dangerous driving causing death. The court confirmed that the summary offence remains available even where death results (consistent with s 32(5)).

Owner-onus challenges have tested the statutory-declaration regime. Courts have held that a bare denial of knowledge is insufficient; the defendant must prove they took “reasonable precautions” or made reasonable inquiries (s 54(2), s 41(2)).

Photographic detection evidence has been challenged on service and continuity grounds. The extended limitation period in s 43P and the “deemed service” rule in s 43L(1AAB) have generally been upheld, but failure to serve a notice of demand within 21 days can bar prosecution (s 43L(1AA)).

The electronic billboard provisions have not yet generated reported litigation, but the breadth of the Commission’s discretion under s 79(3)(b) (“exceptional circumstances”) is likely to attract future judicial review on Wednesbury grounds.

Controversies have centred on the balance between enforcement efficiency and individual rights. The owner-onus reversal has been criticised as reversing the presumption of innocence, though courts treat it as a reverse onus only after the prosecution proves the vehicle’s involvement.

Most practitioners miss three subtle traps.

First, the “single Act” rule in s 3(2)(b) means that a reference in the 1925 Act to “this Act” can pull in offences or definitions from the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999. A charge that cites only the 1925 Act may be defective if the operative prohibition is in the 1999 Act.

Second, the 14-day registration suspension under s 43GC for corporate non-compliance with a notice of demand is automatic upon conviction or enforcement under the Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act 2005. It is not a discretionary penalty and runs even if the vehicle’s registration would otherwise expire.

Third, an electronic billboard approval can be revoked under s 79(5)(c)(iii) simply because “altered traffic conditions” now make the sign unsafe. There is no compensation provision, and the revocation can occur mid-campaign. Advertisers who rely on long-term approvals without periodic traffic-impact reassessment expose themselves to sudden removal at their own cost.

Another hidden sting: s 51(1)(n) allows a senior police officer’s certificate to prove that a driver failed to report a collision. The certificate is admissible without calling the officer, shifting the evidentiary burden onto the defendant to disprove non-reporting.

Compliance requires a three-tier approach.

Organisational — Registered operators (especially fleet operators and councils) must maintain systems to respond to notices of demand within 14 days. A pro-forma statutory declaration process linked to driver logs is essential. Corporate operators should note that conviction under s 43G(3) automatically suspends vehicle registration for 14 days (s 43GC).

Driver-level — All drivers must be trained on the Road Rules made under s 31A, the meaning of “reckless” versus “negligent” in s 32, and the absolute duty to stop and assist (s 33). Mobile-phone, seatbelt and fatigue rules are now in the Road Rules but carry demerit points under the 1925 Act machinery.

Physical assets — Any illuminated sign must either be a Commission-approved traffic sign under s 59 or be covered by a current electronic billboard approval under s 79. Approval conditions must be audited; GPS tracking of approved locations is advisable. Road authorities must ensure that road humps (s 49A) and visual-obstruction removals (s 60) follow Commission directions.

Evidentiary hygiene — If an infringement notice is received, the recipient should immediately consider whether to nominate the driver via statutory declaration (s 43HA) or elect court hearing. Late nominations are ineffective. Records of who was driving each vehicle at any given time should be kept for at least 12 months (the extended limitation period in s 32(8) for causing death or grievous bodily harm).

Legal sign-off on any new advertising billboard, whether static or electronic, should be obtained before erection. A single breach of an approval condition can lead to immediate revocation and seizure under s 81.

By treating the 1925 Act and the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 as a single integrated code, maintaining robust driver-identification systems, and securing approvals before placing any illuminated device near a road, organisations can minimise both criminal exposure and the commercial disruption that follows vehicle impoundment or registration suspension.