Proposed changes to Death by Dangerous Driving Sentences

Proposed changes to Death by Dangerous Driving Sentences and the introduction of the offence of Causing Serious Injury by Careless Driving

The government has recently announced that they will finally be implementing the proposed amendments to the sentencing guidelines for the offences of causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The amendment will provide Courts with the power to impose life sentences for the most serious cases. The current maximum sentence for both offences is 14 years imprisonment.

Furthermore, there will be a new offence of “causing serious injury by careless driving” which will enable Courts to hand down harsher sentences for careless driving offences that have resulted in serious injury to the other road user. At present, if someone causes serious injury by driving carelessly, the worst penalty they can receive is a driving ban and a fine.

Do these proposals make sense?

From my perspective as a lawyer, I have dealt with countless cases in which someone has caused serious injury to a person by driving carelessly only to be charged with the offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. Such an occurrence should never happen because the police/CPS should firstly judge the standard of the defendant’s driving before deciding on the most appropriate charge. If someone had caused serious injury simply by driving carelessly then they should be charged with careless driving. The police should not be charging drivers with the more serious offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving when the standard of driving does not meet the legal threshold for “dangerous driving”. The fact that serious injury has been sustained should not be a relevant factor when making charging decisions in such cases.
Therefore, the introduction of the new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving should prevent erroneous charging decisions from being made at the very least. My concern, however, is that it may place drivers at risk of going to prison simply for losing concentration for a fraction of a second.

Sentencing in driving cases is already very difficult in that the offence often arises from a momentary lapse in concentration and then has catastrophic consequences. The purpose of the new offence would be to fill the “gap” between careless driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. At present, someone could lose concentration for a second and cause someone to suffer serious and life-changing injuries and then only expect to receive penalty points and a fine. Under the new legislation, that individual could find themselves at risk of going to prison.

The big question is – is it fair to send someone to prison for a momentary lapse in concentration regardless of the consequences? I would suggest that it is not and that the current sentencing structure is sufficiently robust to deal with offenders fairly, however recent public polls disagree so it is understandable that the government are pressing on with the new legislation. Hopefully, its introduction will increase vigilance on the roads and lead to fewer road traffic accidents.

My hope is that the sentencing guidelines on the new offence are clear and fair when they are introduced. The most recent significant change in road traffic law was the introduction of drug drive limits and the new offence of driving with excess drugs which were rolled out in 2015. We are still waiting on clear sentencing guidelines for this offence, five years after its introduction.

This new piece of legislation is too important to rush as it could result in people losing their liberty for committing acts that, prior to its introduction, would have resulted in penalty points. It is therefore imperative that the sufficient thought and consultation go into producing its guidelines.