Death by Driving: Careless Driving (Simple) Volumes 1 and 2

241.5a Deceased more culpable than defendant

Example: R v Arshad 2011 EWCA Crim 2092 (Convicted of death by careless. Plea to death by driving whilst disqualified. When driving a taxi, and whilst performing a three-point-turn, he collided with motorcyclist who was speeding at twice the limit. Culpability reduced due to the motorcyclist being largely responsible for the accident.)

241.6 Defendant aged 16-20

See also: R v Landon 2011 EWCA Crim 1755 (Early plea. Defendant had held licence for 1 month. Drove at 64-71 in a 40mph area. Wet road, poorly lit. Killed two passengers. Aged 17. Good character. Remorseful. 20 months’ YOI upheld.)

241.10a Inappropriate manoeuvres

Example: R v Arshad 2011 EWCA Crim 2092 (Convicted of death by careless. Plea to death by driving whilst disqualified. When driving a taxi, and whilst performing a three-point-turn, he collided with motorcyclist who was speeding at twice the limit. Disqualified in 1996, but never took an extended retest. Did not realise he remained disqualified. Previous driving offences including dangerous driving and driving whilst disqualified. Level 2. 36 weeks not 15 months.)

241.11 Misjudgement

R v Middlebrook 2011 EWCA Crim 502 D pleaded (full credit) to death by careless driving, causing death when not having insurance and causing death by driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence. He was driving his Audi A3 car which he had recent purchased and there were no ‘L’ plates displayed. His passenger was not a qualified driver. The road was a 60 mph-limited single carriageway which was wet. D was driving at 50 mph and on a slight right-hand bend he lost control, crossing into the oncoming lane. He collided with the victim’s car, a man known to D, and the Audi went in to a violent spin. The victim died from his injuries. D’s passenger was thrown from the vehicle and suffered two broken legs. D suffered a fractured neck, leg and arm with internal injuries. D’s car had suffered a slow puncture from a screw in the tyre, which would have affected the steering ability and stability of the car. However, the screw could not have been in the car very long and D could not have known about it. D, 20, had no previous convictions and would be offered a job with an electrical firm once business improved. D was devastated by the death and was described as kind and trustworthy. The Judge placed the case in category 1, but “only just” and passed a global sentence. Held. With the plea and full acceptance of responsibility, 2 years not 3. It may be that the Judge gave insufficient weight to the under-inflated tyre.

241.11a No insurance/No licence etc.

R v Middlebrook 2011 EWCA Crim 502 see 241.11 in this update.

See also the DEATH BY DRIVING: DISQUALIFIED, NO LICENCE, UNINSURED chapter.

241.15 Speeding

R v Tyro 2010 EWCA Crim 2597 D pleaded to two counts of causing death by careless driving. When carrying three passengers on a road he was familiar with, he took a bend within the speed limit. However the speed was either at, or faster than what a police expert stated was the maximum speed to safely negotiate the bend. Being partially on the wrong side of the road, he swerved and collided with a tree, careered 30ft down an embankment and came to rest. Two passengers died. The third suffered serious injuries including a broken jaw, a collapsed lung and a large clot on the brain. He said it had ruined his life. D’s case was that he had become distracted by a passenger, and reacted late to the curve of the road. There was evidence to support this. An expert stated that it appeared that D attempted to steer through the curve, rather than brake. Had he braked, he would have avoided the collision. D, 22 at appeal, was treated as being of good character. He accepted full responsibility and showed genuine remorse. Held. This was a truly tragic case and a very difficult sentencing exercise. It does not fall neatly into the most serious category for this offence, in fact, straddling the higher two levels. Starting at 3 so 2 years not 3.

R v Brassington 2010 EWCA Crim 2729 D pleaded to causing death by careless driving. Whilst driving along a 40mph restricted road, in the dark and whilst it was wet, he overtook another car on an approach to a left-hand bend. The occupants of that car estimated the speed to be 60mph possibly more. On the bend, D lost control of the car and in an attempt to regain control, over-corrected the steering, striking an on-coming car. It mounted the kerb and came to rest on its side against a tree. The other car rotated and came to rest facing the verge. The occupants of the other car included V, her mother, V1, and her daughter V2. V suffered three broken ribs and a collapsed lung. V2 suffered cuts and bruising. V3 died. D was unconscious and had to be cut from the car. He showed very genuine remorse. Held. The Judge was entitled to say that this could well have been a case where the prosecution was for dangerous driving and in that sense D may be fortunate that that was not the charge he faced. 18 months was not manifestly excessive.

R v Powell 2010 EWCA Crim 3265, 2011 2 Cr App R (S) 41 (p 244) D pleaded (late) to causing death by careless driving. D had been drinking with his passenger, V. Whilst driving on an unrestricted road, at night, in the dark, and when the conditions were wet, D lost control of the car. The vehicle veered into a ditch, back across the carriageway and turned upside down, colliding with a wooden gatepost. It leapt into the air and landed in a field. V, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the car. He died instantly. D was taken to hospital where it was found his blood/alcohol level was between 73 and 157µg (just under, and twice the legal limit). An expert stated that the vehicle could not have been travelling at more than 75 mph unless it had taken ‘the racing line’. The limit was 60 mph. D, 17, had only passed his driving test 1 month previous. He showed great remorse and was of positive good character. There had been a delay between the offence and his sentence. The Judge said D was driving too fast. Held. D was a young and inexperienced driver. He had by his own admission been drinking underage. D had shown genuine remorse. This was a thoroughly and unnecessarily bad piece of driving in the highest category of culpability. 15 months YOI was not manifestly excessive.

See also: R v Landon 2011 EWCA Crim 1755 (Early plea. Defendant had held licence for 1 month. Drove at 64-71 in a 40mph area. Wet road, poorly lit. Killed two passengers. Good character. Aged 17. Remorseful. 20 months’ YOI upheld.)