Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.-(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Dartford-�Thurrock Crossing Regulations 1994 and shall come into force on 1st September 1994.

(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires-�

(a)"axle", "axle weight" and "wheel" have the same meaning as they have in the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986(3) for the purpose of those Regulations other than regulations 26 and 27;

(b)"designated parking area" means an area laid out by the crossing operator for the parking, repair or refuelling of vehicles;

(c)"large breakdown vehicle" means a breakdown vehicle with an unladen weight in excess of 4,000 kg;

(d)"registered keeper" in relation to a vehicle means the person in whose name the vehicle was at the relevant time registered under or by virtue of the Vehicle (Excise and Registration) Act 1994(4);

(e)"trailer" has the same meaning as in section 185 of the Road Traffic Act 1988(5);

(f)"wheel weight" means the weight transmitted to the road surface by a wheel not transversely in line with any other wheel.

Abnormal loads

2.-(1) No person shall, except with the permission of the crossing operator, take or cause or permit to be taken-�

(a)into the tunnels any vehicle which exceeds any of the dimensions or weights set out in column (1) of the table below;

(b)onto the bridge any vehicle which exceeds any of the dimensions or weights set out in column (2) of the table below.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1) above, the weight of a vehicle shall be taken to include the weight of any trailer drawn by it and of any load carried on the vehicle or any such trailer.

(3) The permission of the crossing operator referred to in paragraph (1) above may be granted subject to conditions and it shall be the duty of the person to whom permission is granted to comply with any such conditions or procure that any such conditions are complied with.

3.-(1) Application for the permission of the crossing operator referred to in regulation 2 above shall, unless the crossing operator otherwise agrees, be made in writing to it at the Crossing Offices, South Orbital Way, Dartford, Kent, DA1 5PR not less than two clear days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, any bank holiday, Christmas Day or Good Friday) before the proposed date of arrival of the vehicle the subject of the application.

(2) The application shall state the proposed date of arrival of the vehicle and the dimensions and weights, as referred to in regulation 2 above, of the vehicle together with its load and any trailer drawn by it.

(3) In paragraph (1) above "bank holiday" means a day which is, or is to be, observed as a bank holiday or a holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971(6) in the locality in which the tunnel offices are situated.

4.-(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, the driver of a vehicle which is of a description set out in the first column of the table below, or a person on his behalf, shall pay to the crossing operator, in addition to any toll payable for the use of the crossing by that vehicle-�

(a)such charge for the use of the tunnels by that vehicle as is set out in respect thereof in Part I of that table;

(b)such charge for the use of the bridge by that vehicle as is set out in respect thereof in Part II of that table.

PART I

PART II

(2) Where, by virtue of its characteristics, two or more charges are prescribed by paragraph (1) above in respect of any vehicle, the person specified in that paragraph shall be liable to pay only the higher or the highest (as the case may be) of such charges in respect of that vehicle.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1) above, the weight of a vehicle shall be taken to include the weight of any trailer drawn by it and of any load carried on the vehicle or any such trailer.

Dangerous goods

5.-(1) Subject to regulation 6 below, no person shall, except with the permission of the crossing operator, take or cause or permit to be taken into the tunnels any vehicle conveying any article or substance the name and description of w hich appears in the table entitled "List of Restrictions on Dangerous Goods" set out in the booklet entitled "Dangerous Traffic", 7th edition(7) issued in 1993 by and on behalf of the Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority and Dartford River Crossing Ltd as a list of restrictions on dangerous goods applied at the Mersey, Tyne and Dartford tunnels.

(2) The permission of the crossing operator referred to in paragraph (1) above may be granted subject to conditions and it shall be the duty of the person to whom the permission is granted to comply with any such conditions or procure that any such conditions are complied with.

6. The prohibition in paragraph (1) of regulation 5 above does not apply-�

(a)to any article or substance which is classified as "unrestricted" in the table referred to in that paragraph, or

(b)to fuel, other than liquid petroleum gas, conveyed by a vehicle in a fuel tank in connection with the propulsion of that vehicle.

7. If a traffic officer suspects that a vehicle is conveying any article or substance to which the prohibition in regulation 5(1) above applies, he may require that vehicle to stop and he may search it to ascertain whether it is conveying any such article or substance.

Removal of stationary vehicles

8. The driver of a vehicle shall not allow it to stop or to remain at rest in any part of the crossing, other than in a designated parking area, or on the approach roads except-�

(a)when directed to do so by a constable or traffic officer;

(b)to enable payment of a toll or charge;

(c)when prevented from proceeding by traffic or other obstruction of the highway;

(d)by reason of breakdown; or

(e)when he is incapacitated by reason of illness or injury.

9. No person, other than a constable or traffic officer, shall-�

(a)carry out, or attempt to carry out, any repair, adjustment or refuelling of a vehicle which is at rest by reason of breakdown in any part of the crossing, other than a designated parking area, or on the approach roads except with permission expressly given by a constable or traffic officer; or

(b)move, or attempt to move, any such vehicle from the position in which it is at rest.

10. A constable or traffic officer may remove to a designated parking area any vehicle which is at rest in any part of the crossing, other than a designated parking area, or on the approach roads, if-�

(a)it is at rest in contravention of regulation 8 above; or

(b)it is necessary for it to remain at rest by reason of breakdown; or

(c)no person is for the time being in charge of it or the person in charge of it is not present in or on it; or

(d)the person in charge of it is incapable of moving it by reason of illness or injury.

11.-(1) Where a traffic officer removes a vehicle referred to in regulation 10 above or, at the request of the person in charge of it, repairs, adjusts or refuels such a vehicle instead of removing it, the person in charge of the vehicle (if any) and the registered keeper shall jointly and severally be liable to pay to the crossing operator a charge of an amount calculated in accordance with the following table and paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) below-�

(2) Any question as to whether or not a vehicle with two axles could be removed otherwise than by a large breakdown vehicle shall be decided by the crossing operator.

(3) The minimum charge, referred to in column (1) of the table in paragraph (1) above, is payable in respect of the first fifteen minutes of attendance or part thereof calculated from the time the crossing operator dispatches a breakdown vehicle to the vehicle which is at rest.

(4) The additional charge, referred to in column (2) of the table in paragraph (1) above is payable in respect of each additional period of 10 minutes or part thereof after the first fifteen minutes of attendance.

Revocation of the Dartford-�Thurrock Crossing Regulations and transitional provisions

12. The Regulations specified in the Schedule are hereby revoked but any application made or permission granted in relation to any vehicle under such Regulations shall, where the time of commencement of the passage of the vehicle occurs after the coming into force of these Regulations, have effect as if made or granted under regulations 2 or 5 above (as the case may be) and accordingly any charge prescribed by regulation 4 above shall apply to such vehicle.

Regulation 12

SCHEDULEREGULATIONS REVOKED

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations consolidate with minor drafting amendments the Dartford-�Thurrock Crossing Regulations 1989 and regulations amending those Regulations between 1990 and 1993. In addition, the following changes of substance are made.

The charges made in respect of loads of abnormal length or width using the crossing are increased as follows:-�

The charges made in respect of the removal, repair, etc. of broken down vehicles on the crossing are increased as follows:-�

The crossing operator (as defined in section 12(4) of the Dartford-�Thurrock Crossing Act 1988) is Dartford River Crossing Limited (whose address is given below).

The booklet entitled "Dangerous Traffic" referred to in regulation 5 may be obtained in person or by post from either Dartford River Crossing Ltd, Crossing Offices, South Orbital Way, Dartford, Kent, DA1 5PR or the Mersey Tunnels, Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority, Georges Dock Building, Georges Dock Way, Pier Head, Liverpool, L3 1DD or the Tyne Tunnel, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear NE28 0PD.