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Dangerous driving

By Cherry Allan on 14 March 2012

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Driver

Headline Messages:

Most people would regard 'dangerous' driving as something they witness time and time again, but in practice, the annual number of convictions for this charge is comparatively low.
To prove dangerous driving in law, the standard must fall “far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver”, and it should “be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in that way would be dangerous”. This is often very difficult to prove.
This means that 'careless', rather than 'dangerous' driving ends up being used to catch those offences that fall short of the “far below” definition. As a result, 'dangerous' driving - i.e. driving that causes danger, regardless of whether it was unintentional or otherwise - is often not recognised in law for what it is.
CTC is preparing briefings on how we think the legal situation should be changed to address this.

CTC View (formal statement of CTC's policy):

Penalising bad driving offences effectively by reforming the legal framework, would help create a safer and more attractive environment for cycling and walking.

Publication Date:

March 2012

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