244   Liability of owner of vehicle for certain driving offences

(1)  This section applies to any offence against this Act or the regulations:

(a)  that arises from a failure or refusal to pay any toll or charge (including a private toll or charge) in respect of vehicles using any tollway, bridge, tunnel or road-ferry, or

(b)  that arises from the driving, using, standing, waiting or parking of a vehicle and that is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section,

      in this section referred to as a driving offence.

(2)  The owner of a vehicle with respect to which a driving offence is committed is, by virtue of this section, guilty of the offence as if the person were the actual offender, unless:

(a)  if the offence is dealt with by penalty notice, the owner satisfies an authorised officer that the vehicle was, at the relevant time, a stolen vehicle or a vehicle illegally taken or used, or

(b)  in any other case, the court is satisfied that the vehicle was, at the relevant time, a stolen vehicle or a vehicle illegally taken or used.

(3)  Nothing in this section affects the liability of an actual offender in respect of a driving offence but, if a penalty has been imposed on, or recovered from, any person in relation to a driving offence, no further penalty can be imposed on or recovered from any other person in relation to the offence.

(4)  The owner of a vehicle is not, by virtue of this section, guilty of an offence if, where the offence is dealt with by penalty notice:

(a)  within 21 days after service on the owner of the penalty notice in respect of the offence, the owner gives notice to the authorised officer (verified by statutory declaration) of the name and address of the person who was at all relevant times in charge of the vehicle, or

(b)  the owner satisfies the authorised officer that the owner did not know, and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained, that name and address.

(5)  The owner of a vehicle is not, by virtue of this section, guilty of an offence if, in any other case:

(a)  within 21 days after service on the owner of a summons in respect of the offence, the owner gives notice to the informant (verified by statutory declaration) of the name and address of the person who was at all relevant times in charge of the vehicle, or

(b)  the owner satisfies the court that the owner did not know, and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained, that name and address.

(6)  If a statutory declaration supplying the name and address of a person for the purposes of this section is produced in any proceedings against the person in respect of the driving offence to which the declaration relates, the declaration is evidence that the person was, at all relevant times relating to that offence, in charge of the vehicle involved in the offence.

(7)  A statutory declaration that relates to more than one driving offence is taken not to be a statutory declaration supplying a name and address for the purposes of subsection (6).

(8)  This section does not limit any other provision of this Act, any provision of any other Act or any provision of any instrument in force under this or any other Act.

(9)  If action is taken under Part 5.3 of the Road Transport (General) Act 2005 in relation to an offence to which this section applies:

(a)  a reference in this section to a penalty notice is taken to be a reference to a penalty notice under that Division, and

(b)  a reference in this section to an owner of a vehicle is a reference to a responsible person for a vehicle within the meaning of that Act, and

(c)  a reference in this section to an authorised officer is a reference to an authorised officer within the meaning of that Division.