Section 2
Section 2 of the Road Traffic Act creates the offence of dangerous driving on a road or public place
(2) Offence of Dangerous Driving
A person who drives a mechanically propelled vehicle dangerously on a road or other public place is guilty of an offence.
Notes
MPV
The term 'mechanically propelled vehicle' has a wider meaning that 'motor vehicle' as the former does not have to be 'intended or adapted for use on a road'.
Manner of driving
The offence has two distinct parts and two separate questions for the jury or magistrates to answer. First, there is the actus reus (guilty act) of the offence. They must consider whether a defendant's driving fell far below the fixed and objective standard of a competent and careful driver, irrespective of their experience.
The standard expected is the same for a learner driver holding a provisional licence as it is for a driver who has passed his driving test or even an experienced professional driver. Although the standard of driving required is fixed and objective in the sense that it must always be that of the competent and careful driver, it may vary according to road and driving conditions. It is perfectly possible for driving to be held to be competent and careful in one situation and to have fallen below that standard in another. The weather, visibility, and traffic conditions are examples of factors which affect the degree of care required. For this reason, juries and magistrates decide each case on its own facts. The standard of driving required, and failure to reach it, is easier to recognise in practice than to define generally.
Any aspect of a defendant's driving (control of the vehicle) may fall far below the standard expected, whether it be by excessive speed, failure to comply with a road sign, etc. The second question for the jury or magistrates is whether it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in the way the defendant drove would be dangerous. Dangerous in this context refers to danger of injury to any person or serious damage to property. The test is what would be obvious to the hypothetical competent and careful driver. However, in determining what would be obvious to a competent and careful driver in a particular case, regard shall be had not only to the circumstances of which he could be expected to be aware but also to any circumstances shown to have been within the knowledge of the defendant.
This provision introduces an element of subjectivity into the objective test and enables the jury to fix the hypothetical 'competent and careful driver' with the defendant's actual knowledge before asking whether it would be obvious to the former that the defendant's driving would be dangerous.
Condition of vehicle
A person is also to be regarded as driving dangerously for the purposes of sections 1, 1A, and 2 above if it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving the vehicle in its current state would be dangerous.
Owner of vehicle
The owner of the vehicle, by allowing it to be driven dangerously, is guilty of aiding and abetting and is liable to be convicted as a principal offender.
Summary: 6 months imprisonment and/or a fine Indictment: 2 years imprisonment and/or a fine
Licence endorced with three to eleven penalty points
Mandatory retest required
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