Road Traffic Act, 1933

Unauthorised interference with mechanism of vehicle.

167.—(1) Every person who, without the consent of the owner or the person in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle and without other lawful authority or reasonable cause interferes or attempts to interfere in any way with the mechanism of such vehicle while it is stationary in a public place or gets on or into or attempts to get on or into such vehicle while it is so stationary shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

(2) A member of the Gárda Síochána taking steps in pursuance of this Act for the temporary disposition of a mechanically propelled vehicle shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to be the person in charge of such vehicle.

(3) Any member of the Gárda Síochána may arrest without warrant any person whom he reasonably suspects to be engaged in committing an offence under this section.

(4) This section shall not apply to a person taking, in relation to a mechanically propelled vehicle which is obstructing his lawful ingress or egress to or from any place, such steps as are reasonably necessary to move such vehicle by human propulsion for a distance sufficient to terminate such obstruction.

(5) Where a person is charged with having committed an offence under this section it shall be a good defence to such charge for such person to show that when he did the act alleged to constitute such offence he believed and had reasonable grounds for believing that he had lawful authority for doing such act.