Section 42 of Traffic Act CAP 403: Speed of motor vehicles
(1) No person shall drive, or, being the owner or person in charge of a vehicle, cause or permit any other person to drive, a vehicle on a road at a speed greater than such speed as may be prescribed as the maximum speed for that class of vehicle.
(2) On a vehicle subject to a speed restriction under subsection (1), except a vehicle registered as a motor-car or motorcycle or a private hire vehicle, there shall be painted or affixed to the rear, as close as possible to the rear number plate and so as to be clearly legible to a person within ten metres of the rear of the vehicle, a mark in the prescribed form indicating its maximum permitted speed in kilometres per hour.
(3) No person shall drive, or, being the owner or person in charge of a vehicle, cause or permit any other person to drive, any vehicle at a speed exceeding fifty kilometres per hour or any road within the boundaries of any trading centre, township, municipality or city:
Provided that the highway authority shall erect and maintain traffic signs as prescribed so as plainly to indicate to drivers entering or leaving such roads or areas where the fifty kilometer per hour speed limit restriction begins and ends.
(4) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (3), it shall be lawful for the Minister—
(a) to impose on any road such lower limit of speed as it considers necessary in circumstances when, by reason of repairs, reconstruction or damage to the road or the condition of the road, any lower limit of speed is necessary for the public safety or to prevent damage to the road:
Provided that such lower limit shall be imposed only for such period as is necessary to carry out repairs or reconstruction or until the condition of the road is satisfactory;
(b) to impose on any road or area, either permanently or for such time as he considers appropriate, such lower limit of speed as may be necessary to prevent damage to the road or for the safety of the public having regard to any permanent or temporary hazards, the alignment or characteristics of the road, the width of streets, nature of traffic or general development of the area:
Provided that, in any case whilst such lower limit is in force under this subsection, indication of the maximum speed permitted shall be given by prescribed traffic signs erected and maintained so as plainly to indicate to drivers entering or leaving such restricted road where the lower speed limit begins and ends.
(4A) The Minister may by notice in the Gazette delegate the power conferred by subsection (4) to a highway authority of other public body.
(4B) A delegation under subsection (4A) may—
(a) be made subject to such conditions, exceptions and limitations as are specified in the notice;
(b) be made either generally or with respect to any particular road or area; and
(c) be revoked or varied by a subsequent notice made in like manner, and shall not prevent the exercise by the Minister of any power so delegated.
(5) The provisions of this section or of this or any other Act, imposing a speed limit on motor vehicles, shall not apply to any vehicle on an occasion when it is being used for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes, if the observance of such provisions would be likely to hinder the use of the vehicle for the purpose for which it is being used on that occasion.
(6) Nothing in subsection (5) authorizes a person to use a motor vehicle for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes in contravention of any other provision of this Act.
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