KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
In this month’s edition we feature more road traffic issues relevant to the trade supplied by Patterson Law. If you need any advice on motoring matters, please email
advice@pattersonlaw.co.uk or call 01626 359800 for free legal advice.
CHANGES TO THE LAW
On Friday 16 June it was announced that new sentencing guidelines for certain offences would come into effect from Saturday 1 July 2023. The guidelines represent another step in the continual shift by the government to punish drivers more harshly, and these new guidelines could potentially have severe consequences for professional drivers.
Sentencing guidelines are guidelines which the courts must follow when they
sentence offences. For
example, if you are caught speeding in a 30mph limit, the guidelines suggest you should be given 3 points for speeds up to 40mph, 4-6 points or up to a 28-day ban for speeds up to 50mph, and for 50mph and above, 6 points or an even longer ban, i.e. the more serious the offence, the harsher the sentence.
The biggest changes cover three offences: causing serious injury by careless driving, drug driving and dangerous driving. Below we have given examples of how these guidelines have changed, what typical sentences would have been given under the old law and what they could be now.
Causing serious injury by careless driving
Question: I had a fare to collect in XXX Street. As I turned left into the street I didn’t notice a cyclist on my left side and he came straight into the side of me. He fell over and complained that his arm hurt. I later found out that his arm was broken in two places. I stopped and I exchanged details with him, I was very apologetic. The police weren’t even involved. But I have now got a letter saying I am being accused of causing serious injury by careless driving. What does this mean?
Old law: This wasn’t even an offence until June 2022. Before then the case would simply have been charged
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as driving without due care and attention, the driver would be looking at somewhere in the region of 5-8 points. Yes, there were injuries, but it was a low-speed collision, he stopped and exchanged details and the injuries weren’t excessive. So it would likely attract 5-6 points or if he was unlucky, 7-8 points.
New law: Under the new law this could now be charged as causing serious injury by careless driving. The guidelines now tell courts to consider the injuries and the fact that he was working as aggravating factors. This offence would now see you disqualified for about 18 months, together with a low-level community order or if you are unlucky a short prison sentence.
This new offence with the new guidelines could have particularly grave consequences for professional drivers. Even the most minor of errors can result in a collision, as we all know. With increasing cyclists on the road, the risk of serious injury increases, especially if a cyclist is knocked off and happens to break a bone. A broken bone can be classed as a serious injury.
Although the law was introduced last year, this is the first time we have seen the sentence guidelines. We have seen more cases like this come to court at Patterson Law and the consequences for professional drivers can be devastating. It is especially important now that professional drivers are extra vigilant on the roads, especially surrounding cyclists.
Drug driving
Question: I’ve been stopped for drug driving, my blood results came back as 3.2 in cannabis. I was delivering a takeaway and I was only pulled over as I accidentally swerved out of my lane. What am I looking at?
Old law: Although this offence was introduced in 2015, no sentencing guidelines were ever introduced. So, most drug driving cases used to be punished with a simple 12-month disqualification. It would only ever increase in the gravest of offences, for example if somebody has previous convictions or if they had a crash and caused injury.
New law: The new guidelines, emphasise the importance of two factors – ‘harm’ and ‘culpability’. If there is both, it is a top-level offence. If there is one or the other, it’s a mid-level offence and if there’s neither,
JULY 2023 PHTM
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