Road Traffic Act, 1961

Consequential disqualification orders.

26.—(1) Where a person is convicted of an offence specified in the Second Schedule to this Act, the court shall make an order (in this Act referred to as a consequential disqualification order) declaring him to be disqualified for holding a driving licence.

(2) A disqualification under this section shall disqualify the convicted person for holding any driving licence whatsoever during a specified period or during a specified period and thereafter until he has produced to the appropriate licensing authority a certificate of competency or a certificate of fitness or both.

(3) (a) The period of a disqualification specified in a consequential disqualification order shall, where the person to whom the order relates is convicted of—

(i) an offence under section 49 of this Act, or

(ii) an offence under section 53 of this Act where the contravention caused death or serious bodily harm to another person,

be not less than one year in the case of a first offence and not less than three years in the case of a second or any subsequent offence.

(b) Where a person has been convicted of an offence under section 30 of the repealed Act, the conviction shall, for the purposes of the foregoing paragraph, be regarded as a conviction of an offence under section 49 of this Act.

(4) The period of disqualification specified in a consequential disqualification order shall, in a case not coming within subsection (3) of this section, be not less than six months.

(5) (a) Where—

(i) a person is convicted of an offence under section 49 of this Act, being a second or any subsequent offence, and

(ii) a period of four years or more during which such person was not disqualified for holding a driving licence has elapsed since his last previous conviction for an offence under that section,

the court may, for the purposes of this section, deal with the offence as a first offence.

(b) Where a person has been convicted of an offence under section 30 of the repealed Act, the conviction shall, for the purposes of the foregoing paragraph, be regarded as a conviction of an offence under section 49 of this Act.

(6) Subject to subsections (7) and (8) of this section, in every case in which an appeal may be brought in respect of a conviction of an offence on conviction of which a consequential disqualification order may be made, jurisdiction to make, confirm, annul or vary a consequential disqualification order is hereby conferred on the appellate court unless it otherwise has that jurisdiction or the conferring of that jurisdiction is unnecessary because the appeal is by way of rehearing.

(7) A consequential disqualification order shall not be annulled on appeal unless the conviction by reference to which it was imposed is reversed.

(8) Where a consequential disqualification order is, on an appeal, made or varied, the requirements of subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section shall be complied with and the provisions of subsection (5) of this section, where relevant, shall also apply.