Penalties:

• £5,000 maximum fine. Alternatively, a community order or custodial sentence can be imposed. This is an either way offence but in the crown court it carries a maximum sentence of 2 years
• The minimum disqualification is 12 months. However, disqualification for at least 2 years must be ordered if there are two or more disqualifications for periods of 56 days or more in preceding 3 years
• Extended re-test must be ordered

How we can help you…

A dangerous driving charge can have grave consequences, including a custodial sentence.

Our specialist motoring offence team will call upon their years of experience and knowledge to find mitigating circumstances to help you avoid a prison sentence, large fine, or lenghtly Disqualification. We might aloso get the charge dropped or obtain a not guilty verdict.

We will always construct our cases thoroughly examining the evidence from the prosecution for any weaknesses.

All cases are different, but we have dealt with enough traffic offences to know precisely how to approach a case for the best possible outcome given the circumstances. This approach is what makes us leading motoring law experts.

Road Traffic Law Experts

What is Dangerous Driving?

Driving is deemed dangerous if you could potentially endanger yourself or other drivers:

• the way he/she drives falls far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver, and it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in that way would be dangerous; or
• if it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving the vehicle in its current state (for the purpose of the determination of which regard may be had to anything attached to or carried on or in it, and to the manner in which it is attached or carried) would be dangerous.

Examples of dangerous driving include:

• Competitive Driving
• Dangerous Overtaking
• Driving On The Pavement
• Excessive Speed

Driving offences causing death

Where death occurs as a result of the driving of the suspect, then a death by dangerous driving charge may apply as per section 1 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Road Traffic Act 1991. The maximum sentence is 14 years and a minimum disqualification of 2 years must be imposed.

The Road Safety Act 2006 introduced two new offences:

• Causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving, carrying 5 years imprisonment
• Causing death by driving when unlicensed, uninsured or disqualified, carrying 2 years imprisonment

If you are to be interviewed by the police, or have been charged / summoned to attend court for dangerous driving, contact us as soon as possible.

Notable case

• A professional client was taken to court charged with dangerous driving and other matters. This related to an episode where he was driving his very expensive sports car, returning home from his practice address late at night. The weather conditions were good, there was hardly any traffic on the road and he did not have a passenger. However, two aggravating features were:
  a) part of his speeding occurred while going through the suburbs of a town and across roundabouts
  b) his speed over a 1.5 mile recorded journey was 123mph on a dual carriageway with a 70mph limit
  However, our representations proved successful and the dangerous driving charge was reduced to speeding