Causing serious injury by careless, or inconsiderate, driving

Monday 28 June 2022 saw a new offence under the Road Traffic Act (RTA) take effect, giving the Police another string to their bow in pursuing motorists who they consider to be driving in a way that falls below the standard of a competent and careful driver, where that driving has caused serious (but non-fatal) injuries. The new provisions introduce the offence of ‘causing serious injury by careless, or inconsiderate, driving,’ and assist both the Police and the Prosecution by easing the pressure of having to choose between charging a person with the offence of careless driving, or charging them with dangerous driving.

The new offence comes as part of the changes brought in by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.

The offences

There are a number of offences under Part 1 of the RTA that refer to both ‘dangerous’ and ‘careless’ driving, with consideration for the standard of a careful and competent driver. In respect of ‘dangerous’ driving, those offences start with the basic offence of dangerous driving, i.e., driving in a way that obviously falls far below the standard of a careful and competent driver, and can range all the way up to causing serious injury or even death by dangerous driving.

In respect of careless driving, however, there has only ever been the starting offence of careless driving, i.e., driving in a way that simply falls below the expected standard, and another offence of causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving. There has not been an offence of causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving, as there has been with dangerous driving offences.

That being said, there is the additional offence of causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs, however this has the additional substance element not included in the two offences described in the paragraph above (although that is not to say that substance levels are not relevant to those offences).

One of the aims of the new legislation is to bring in provisions that create a new offence of ‘causing serious injury by careless, or inconsiderate, driving’ which carries with it a maximum sentence of 2 years’ custody.

Sentencing

In addition to the creation of the new offence, which carries with it the custodial sentence of 2 years, the new legislation looks to increase the sentencing available to the courts for existing offences.

The offence of causing death by dangerous driving has seen its maximum possible sentence raised from a 14-year custodial sentence up to life imprisonment. Equally, the offence of causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs has also seen the same changes, i.e., the previous maximum of a 14-year custodial sentence has been increased to potential life imprisonment.

When you consider the fact that under the old law, a conviction for careless or inconsiderate driving carried with it a punishment ranging from 9 penalty points to a driving disqualification, it becomes clear that there was something of a gap between the offence of careless driving and the offences that come under the umbrella of ‘dangerous driving.’

Causing serious injury by careless, or inconsiderate, driving

The definition of “serious injury” under the new offence is the same as the type of harm required under the Offences against the Person Act to show grievous bodily harm. There is, therefore, a standard in terms of the injuries that those involved in an accident must suffer, before the offending motorist is charged with the offence of causing serious injury by careless, or inconsiderate, driving. However, on this definition, the meaning of serious injury under this new offence is not reserved only for the most catastrophic incidents and will most likely include broken bones, or even an accumulation of minor injuries that result overall in a major impact on the individual.

If the Police establish that the injuries caused are such that the new offence may be engaged, they will most likely then look at the standard of driving displayed by the offending motorist, to assess whether it could be regarded as “careless or inconsiderate”.

As per section 3ZA of the RTA, to avoid being considered to drive in a careless or inconsiderate manner, a person must drive in a way that would be expected of a competent and careful driver, considering the circumstances in question and the knowledge that the driver had at the time.

Driving not in accordance with the standard described would, historically, see a motorist charged with the offence of careless driving (depending on the circumstances). The difference now between an individual being charged with careless driving and an individual being charged under this new offence, will be whether injury was caused and the extent of those injuries. The consequence of this is that a number of cases that might previously have been charged as careless driving (which comes with no risk of a custodial sentence) may now be charged with this new, more serious offence, which attracts a maximum sentence of 2 years’ custody.

Just how fast the courts are likely to be in imposing this 2-year sentence is yet to become clear; however, it does place far more importance on how an accused motorist presents their case in court, not only if they wished to defend the charge, but also if they want to make the court aware of any mitigating circumstances that might dissuade the court from ordering the maximum or a custodial sentence.

Impact

The impact of these legislative changes is likely to be severe, as motorists involved in serious collisions or accidents find themselves charged under this new offence.

Car drivers will have to drive with consideration for the fact that a lapse in concentration resulting in a serious accident with serious injuries poses a risk of a custodial sentence. In the political spheres, this may be identified as a motive to push car users onto public transport and/or to walk/cycle short journeys, which aligns with the government’s latest green initiatives.

Another major concern may come to professional drivers such as HGV and PSV drivers, who cover higher mileages annually, and who may therefore have an increased likelihood of being involved in a serious collision. It is important that these drivers remain self-aware of their levels of fatigue when driving and, as they already should, have consideration for their driver’s hours and compliance with those rules and regulations. These drivers may also expect the Senior Traffic Commissioner’s Statutory Document No. 6 covering ‘Vocational Driver Conduct’ to be updated to include consideration for this new offence.

The Traffic Commissioner has the power, even if such drivers are not disqualified from driving in the magistrates’ court, to call the driver in to attend a driver conduct hearing, and potentially suspend or revoke that driver’s entitlement to drive an HGV or a PSV.

This new offence will also impact employers, particularly commercial vehicle operators, who should now mitigate the risk of their employees being convicted of this new offence. This may be achieved through the provision of additional training, e.g., driver CPC modules, and/or by making sure there are sufficient policies in place, e.g., mobile phone policies, to ensure that employees are not driving in a way that falls below the standard of a careful and competent driver.

Overall, the new legislative changes creating this new offence and increasing sentences already in place, shows an attitude of tackling poor standards of driving through severe deterrents.

The author of this article, Patrick Boyers, has extensive experience representing individuals and companies who are prosecuted for road traffic offences and/or who are called in front of the Traffic Commissioners either to attend a public inquiry or a driver conduct hearing. For further information about the services that can be offered, please do not hesitate to contact JMW on 0345 872 6666 or enquiries@jmw.co.uk.