NEW OFFENCE OF CAUSING DEATH BY CARELESS OR INCONSIDERATE DRIVING- SENTENCING GUIDELINES - by Tim Ridyard, Solicitor

Published today are the Sentencing Guidelines Council draft guidelines on sentencing fatal accident offences. The Road Safety Act 2006 introduced a new offence of causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving. It has not yet become law but will be in force in the near future. It fills a gap in that hitherto only the offence of careless driving could be charged in fatal accident cases (unless drink/drugs are involved or there was more serious driver conduct constituting dangerous driving). Importantly the existing offence of careless driving is not imprisonable. The new fatal driving offence will attract a maximum 5 year prison sentence. It has arisen from road safety pressure groups' lobbying. Some groups have already expressed outrage that it is conceivable that the starting point for consideration of sentencing in a fatal accident case could possibly be less than that of immediate custody. However, it is pointed out in the papers published today that “sometimes death results from a relatively minor error of judgment, to which every, however experienced, motorist is liable from time to time. Cases like these present sentencing judges with very difficult decisions, because the gravest consequences have to be balanced against varying levels of culpability”.

The proposals published do not suggest that prison sentences will not normally be imposed. This is currently being misrepresented and misreported. What is suggested is that cases of causing death by careless driving fall into three categories:

(a) the ones which are particularly serious and are not far from dangerous driving;

(b) 'middle band' seriousness cases and;

(c) cases of careless or inconsiderate driving which arise from momentary inattention.

It is being recommended that the last of these categories ( i.e. momentary lapse cases) should be sentenced by way of community penalties e.g. tagging, community service etc whereas the first categories should have starting points of custody periods ranging from 26 weeks to 2 years imprisonment when sentencing is being considered.

The new provisions and others dealing with fatal accident cases involving uninsured, unlicensed or disqualified drivers ( max. 2 years' imprisonment) will be in force soon

Tim Ridyard is a partner, solicitor advocate and road transport lawyer at Ipswich-based Barker Gotelee Solicitors: tim.ridyard@barkergotelee.co.uk