Causing Death by Careless Driving

Careless drivers who kill to be held accountable

As of Monday, careless drivers who cause the death of another person will be held accountable for their actions. No longer will they be charged with the minor offence of Careless Driving, the same offence which applied if they had hit a tree or a post or had a near miss. This charge did not even mention the death.

When someone dies as a result of an offence being committed, the death has to be central to the charge. For years, families suffered the insult of listening to traffic offences, while the deaths of their loved ones caused by those offences were not even mentioned or recorded.
RoadPeace has campaigned since its inception 16 years ago for this serious anomaly to be redressed.
    Although we welcome the new charge, we consider it just the start to treating negligent and inconsiderate driving with greater seriousness.
Brigitte Chaudhry, RoadPeace Founder and President

The new Causing Death by Careless Driving charge not only mentions the death, but it also can be heard in the Crown Court, and very serious cases can incur a custodial sentence. But this will be rare as findings from a recent CPS survey implied that only 10-20 drivers a year would receive custodial sentences for a death caused by careless driving. The new charge also carries a driving ban of 12 months.

We want careless drivers taken off the road and the new charge includes a driving ban of 12 months minimum. Under the old system, careless drivers who killed were allowed to continue driving—much to the horror of the bereaved.

But these changes only affect fatal crashes. Drivers who cause injury and disability are still treated lightly by our justice system. To have a deterrent effect on drivers, the courts need to close this gap. For every fatal crash, there are over 60 injury crashes, 8 of which are serious.                  
            Amy Aeron-Thomas, RoadPeace Executive Director



For further information contact
RoadPeace office                 0208 838 5102
Amy Aeron-Thomas, Executive Director    07905 847917

Notes to Editor
1.    The Sentencing Guidelines can be found at http://www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk/docs/causing_death_by_driving_definitive_guideline.pdf
2.    The Advice given to the Sentencing Guidelines Council by the Sentencing Advisory Panel can be read at http://www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk/docs/death-by-driving-advice.pdf. It includes an Annex that summarises the CPS 10 month survey and contains summary details of the fatal cases where the CPS thought the new Causing Death by Careless Driving Charge would apply.