How is death by dangerous driving defined?
The Road Traffic Act 1991 states that ‘a person who causes the death of another person by driving a mechanically propelled vehicle dangerously on a road or other public place is guilty of an offence’. [1] A person is regarded as driving dangerously if: the way they are driving 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 [2] What are the sentencing guidelines? Following a limited public consultation, the Sentencing Advisory Panel published a series of guidelines in 2003, with the intention of helping sentencers to strike an appropriate balance between the level of culpability (deserving blame) of the offender and the magnitude of the harm resulting from the offence. [4] The Panel recognised that this was a key problem for a person sentencing an offender. However, it expressed the view that although the outcome of the offence should have some effect, the off
