Interrupted travel

Interrupted travel

The Concise Oxford Dictionary gives the following definition of “interrupt”:

“1 act so as to break the continuous progress of (an action, speech, a person speaking, etc) ... 3 break the continuity of.”

An interruption can only occur if a journey has already commenced and can best be seen as a distinct break in that particular journey.

Assessors should collect the following information before establishing whether or not an interruption to the member's journey has occurred:

• a map of the journey taken, including where it was intended to finish;
• how long the interruption was for;
• how long the complete journey would usually take;
• the reason for the interruption, particularly if factors outside the control of the client contributed to the interruption.

On the basis of this information, a judgment should be made whether an interruption has occurred or whether the deviation is better characterised as part of the overall journey.

Note that a journey should not be considered to be “interrupted” if the client is unable to continue the intended journey because of travel factors outside his or her control (eg. a blocked road, mechanical breakdown, etc) and changes to a different mode of travel.

Examples - no interruption of journey

1. The member stopped at the local shop to collect a loaf of bread - not a significant break in the journey.
2. The member travelled past their home to pick up children from child care - as a daily deviation, this would usually be considered to be part of the journey route, and not an interruption.
3. An employee who went to a hairdresser on the way home from work did not interrupt her journey: Sarbin and Telstra Corporation Limited (1995).

Examples - interruption of journey

1. Where the break in the journey exceeds the usual time of the total journey to a significant extent, it would be appropriate to characterise this as an interruption to the journey (eg. a 1 hour deviation to play squash during a 30 minute journey).
2. If a member changes their mode of transport for reasons unconnected with the travel, this may constitute an interruption in the journey (eg. the member usually drives home from work, but on this occasion parks their car near a forest reserve and sets out on a walk through the forest).

Where there has been no interruption to the travel, it is unnecessary to consider the further issue of “substantially increased risk” before answering the rulebase question.