Regulation 2 Interpretation

In these Regulations—

• “the 1995 Act” means the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995;

• “hiring agreement” has the same meaning as in section 66 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988^f1;

• “immobilisation notice” has the meaning given in regulation 5(3);

• “licence” means an operator’s licence (whether standard or restricted) as defined in section 2(1) of the 1995 Act;

• “owner” means, in relation to a vehicle or trailer which has been detained in accordance with regulation 3—

  1. (a)

     in the case of a vehicle which at the time of its detention was not hired from a vehicle-hire firm under a hiring agreement but was registered under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994^f2, the person who can show to the satisfaction of an authorised person that he was at the time of its detention the lawful owner (whether or not he was the person in whose name it was so registered);

  2. (b)

     in the case of a vehicle or trailer which at the time of its detention was hired from a vehicle-hire firm under a hiring agreement, the vehicle-hire firm; or

  3. (c)

     in the case of any other vehicle or trailer, the person who can show to the satisfaction of an authorised person that he was at the time of its detention the lawful owner.

• “release” in relation to a vehicle means release from an immobilisation device;

• “vehicle” has the same meaning as “goods vehicle” in section 58(1) of the 1995 Act but excludes a small goods vehicle as described in Schedule 1 to that Act; and

• “vehicle-hire firm” has the same meaning as in section 66 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.