Motor-cycles and Auxiliary Bicycles (Specia Measures of Control) Act 1953

[15 May 1953]

[preamble and words of enactment omitted]

Interpretation

1 In this Act —

"motor-cycle" and "auxiliary bicycle" have the meanings respec tively assigned to them by the Motor Car Act;

"the Auxiliary Bicycles Act" means the Auxiliary Bicycles Act 1954 [title 21 item 7]; and any reference to the Auxiliary Bicy cles Act shall be construed as including a reference, where the context allows, to any statutory instrument for the time being in force thereunder;

"driver's licence" means a driver's licence within the meaning of the Motor Car Act, and any reference to a driver's licence shall be construed as including, where the context allows, a reference to a learner's permit within the meaning of that Act;

"the Minister" means the Minister of Transport;

"the Motor Car Act" means the Motor Car Act 1951 [title 21 item 4]; and any reference to the Motor Car Act shall be construed as including a reference, where the context allows, to any statutory instrument for the time being in force thereunder.

Savings for other Acts

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, nothing in this Act shall be construed so as to derogate from or abridge any provision of the Motor Car Act or of the Auxiliary Bicycles Act, or of the Motor Car Insurance (Third Party Risks) Act 1943 [title 21 item 5], or of the Road Traffic Act 1947 [title 21 item 3].

Minister may declare certain auxiliary bicycles to be motor-cycles

3 (1) Subject to this section and notwithstanding anything in the Motor Car Act, or in the Auxiliary Bicycles Act, the Minister may declare all auxiliary bicycles of any particular class, make or model to be motor-cycles; and, as from the day on which any such declaration becomes ef fective as hereinafter provided, such bicycles shall for the purposes of any Act or statutory instrument be treated, subject to this Act, as motor-cycles.

(2) The Minister shall not exercise the power conferred upon him by subsection (1) unless he is satisfied that, as respects the auxil iary bicycles of the class, make or model in question, it is expedient to exercise such power in the interests of road safety or of the maintenance of the amenities of Bermuda.

(3) Any such declaration as is mentioned in subsection (1) shall be published in the Gazette, and shall become effective on a day six weeks after such publication, or on such later day as may be specified in the declaration:

Provided that as from the date that any such declaration is pub lished in the Gazette the Minister may refuse to register for the first time, under the Auxiliary Bicycles Act, any auxiliary bicycle of the class, make or model affected by the declaration, where the applicant has acquired the auxiliary bicycle (whether by purchase or otherwise) since the date of publication of the declaration.

(4) The negative resolution procedure shall apply to a declara tion made under this section.

Minister may approve particular class, make or model

4 (1) Without prejudice to section 3, the Minister may declare by notice published in the Gazette that motor-cycles or auxiliary bicycles of a particular class, make or model are approved motor-cycles or auxiliary bicycles for use in Bermuda.

(2) Any person who imports into Bermuda any motorcycle or auxiliary bicycle which is not an approved motor-cycle or auxiliary bicy cle commits an offence against this Act:

Punishment on summary conviction: imprisonment for 6 months or a fine of $3,360; and in addition to any punishment which may be im posed, the court shall order that the motor-cycle or auxiliary bicycle con cerned in the offence shall be impounded for a period of not less than one month and not exceeding six months.

(3) Subsection (2) shall not apply to a person who is a dealer in motor-cycles or auxiliary bicycles and who imports a motor-cycle or aux iliary bicycle into Bermuda for the sole purpose of demonstration to the Minister.

(4) The negative resolution procedure shall apply to a declara tion made under this section.

Restriction on importation of motor cycle over 100cc

5 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the importation of any motor-cy cle the motor of which has a cubic capacity exceeding 100 cubic cen timetres is prohibited.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to any motor cycle which is imported under the authority of a permit issued by the Minister and in accordance with any conditions specified in the permit.

(3) Any person who imports a motor-cycle in contravention of subsection (1) commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: imprisonment for 6 months or a fine of $3,500.

Protective headgear must be worn

6 (1) Every person driving or riding on a motor-cycle on any highway shall wear protective headgear.

(2) Any person who drives or rides on a motor-cycle in contra vention of subsection (1) or who drives a motor-cycle on a highway when any passenger riding thereon does not wear protective headgear as re quired by that subsection commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: the penalty specified in Schedule 1 to the Traffic Offences (Penalties) Act 1976 [title 21 item 13].

(3) In this section —

"estate road" has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Motor Car Act;

"highway" means any street, road or place over which the general public have a right of way and includes an estate road;

"protective headgear" means headgear which —

(a) is either

(i) a helmet bearing a marking applied by the man ufacturer indicating compliance with the British Standards for protective headgear for the time being in force in the United Kingdom; or

(ii) a helmet of a type or model declared by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette to provide protection from injury equivalent to that provided by a helmet complying with the specifi cations in sub-paragraph (i); and

(b) is securely fastened to the head of the wearer by means of straps or other fastening provided on the headgear for that purpose.

(4) A person who sells or offers for sale any protective headgear other than a headgear conforming with the standard of protective head gear specified in subsection (3)(a)(i) or (ii) commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: imprisonment for 6 months or a fine of $3,500.

Issue of drivers' licences for auxiliary bicycles declared by Minister to be motor cycles

7 (1) Notwithstanding anything in the Motor Car Act, where the auxiliary bicycles of any particular class, make or model are declared by the Minister in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by section 3 to be motor-cycles, the succeeding provisions of this section shall have
ef fect with respect to drivers' licences for the driving of such motor-cycles.

(2) Any person of or above the age of sixteen years who was, immediately before any declaration of the Minister made under section 3 became effective, registered as the owner of an auxiliary bicycle affected by such declaration, may, subject to compliance with the other condi tions relating to the issue of a driver's licence under the Motor Car Act, be entitled to be issued with a driver's licence valid for the driving of that particular bicycle subsequent to its being declared to be a motor-cycle, notwithstanding that he has not attained the age of twenty-one years; and any such licence may be re-issued, subject to compliance with such conditions as aforesaid, from time to time:

Provided that any such driver's licence shall for so long as the holder thereof is under twenty-one years of age be endorsed with the registration number of the motor-cycle of which the holder of the licence was, immediately before the declaration became effective, the registered owner under the Auxiliary Bicycles Act; and any such driver's licence shall not be valid for the riding of any other motor-cycle until such time as the holder of the driver's licence attains the age of twenty-one years.

8 [repealed by 1976:30]

[Amended by

Bermuda Consolidated Legislation

Motor-cycles and Auxiliary Bicycles (Specia Measures of Control) Act 1953