Careless Driving
Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 states:
‘If a person drives a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other public place without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or place, he is guilty of an offence’.
The prosecution need to prove that your driving fell below the standard expected of a competent and careful driver. The Highway Code is often used by the courts as a guide to what constitutes safe or careful driving.
Examples of careless driving are
Acts of driving caused by more than momentary inattention and where the safety of road users is effected, such as:
- Driving inappropriately close to another vehicle
- Driving through a red light
- Emerging from a side road into the path of another vehicle
- Turning into a minor road and colliding with a pedestrian
- Conduct which clearly caused the driver not to be in the position to respond in the event of an emergency on the road for example tuning a car radio
- Reading a newspaper or map
- Lighting a cigarette
- Talking to and looking at a passenger which causes the driver more than momentary attention
- Flashing of lights to force other drivers in front to give way
- Misuse of lanes to avoid queuing or to gain some other advantage over other drivers
- Unnecessarily slow driving or breaking without good cause
Our road traffic specialist will first check whether any of the defences apply to your case, check that the police have followed the correct procedures, and if a guilty plea is the only option we shall do all that we can to ensure you receive the most lenient sentence possible.
Possible defences include:
- Mechanical defects
- Reduced visibility
- Medical defences
- Road and weather Conditions
- The actions of the other party involved in the incident.
Each case will depend on its own facts, a slight variation in the particular facts of the case e.g. visibility, amount of traffic or geography, may make a difference to the outcome of the case.
We are specialist in defending cases of careless driving and our team will quickly identify the positive aspects in your case and fearlessly defend the prosecution.
Punishment
Cases involving Careless driving can only be heard in the Magistrates Court before a Magistrate, or 3 lay Magistrates.
It is punishable by:
- a fine of up to £2,500
- discretionary disqualification
- Endorsement is obligatory and it carries 3-9 points except where there are special reasons.
If the only option is to plead guilty, we will focus all our attention on mitigation and endeavour to obtain the lowest sentence possible. We shall put forward a plea of mitigation setting out the valid and convincing reasons as to why the court ought to view your case with some empathy, and take those reasons into account before sentencing you.
We shall obtain character references for you and put these before the court in advance of the hearing, laying the foundation for a positive result.
We shall keep you informed of every hearing date and arrange only the best representation for you. Though our experience we have carefully selected experts and barristers who have demonstrated they are the best in the field to defend such cases. As a result, our road traffic specialist team have achieved a high rate of success.
If you or any member of your family is facing a charge of careless driving, contact us today for free advice about your case.