40I—Direction to move vehicle to enable exercise of other powers
(1) An authorised
officer may, for the purpose of or in connection with the exercise of other
powers under a road law, direct the driver or operator of a vehicle 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 commits
an offence if—
(a) the
person is subject to a direction under subsection (1); and
(b) the
person engages in conduct that results in a contravention of the direction.
Maximum penalty: $5 000.
(4) In proceedings for
an offence in relation to a contravention of a direction under
subsection (1), 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 or operator'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.
(5) 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 concerned
believes on reasonable grounds to be a suitable location having regard to any
matters the officer considers relevant in the circumstances.