The Act Commentary on Sections Part 3: Protection of property from disproportionate enforcement action Section 55: Extension of powers to remove vehicles from land
216.This section amends section 99 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 so as to extend the power to make regulations for the police and others to remove vehicles in certain circumstances. Section 99 of the Act enables the Secretary of State to provide in regulations for the removal of vehicles that are illegally, obstructively or dangerously parked or broken down on a road. A road is defined for these purposes as ‘any length of highway or any other road to which the public has access, and includes bridges over which a road passes’ (section 142 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984). Section 99 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act also enables regulations to be made governing the removal of vehicles that have been abandoned on a road or ‘on any land in the open air’. The current regulations made under section 99 include the Removal and Disposal of Vehicles Regulations 1986 (SI 1986/183), as amended. These regulations give the police, local authorities and others the power (not a duty) to remove vehicles in the circumstances described in section 99. The effect of the amendments to section 99 will be to enable regulations to be made which confer a power on the police, local authorities or others to remove vehicles that are illegally, dangerously or obstructively parked on any land (subsections (2) and (3)). The power to remove abandoned vehicles is similarly extended so that it is no longer restricted to vehicles abandoned ‘on any land in the open air’, so ensuring that the power could cover places such as an underground car park.