Didn't Mean To Kill..... It Was A Car Accident!

Car Crash Compilation - More videos are here

From 18 August 2008 drivers who cause death by careless driving or by driving while unlicensed or disqualified may go to prison. In Scotland you can expect to be tried on indictment before a Sheriff and Jury and get up to 5 years inside!


This is for something you had no intention of doing. You may have even tried very hard not to do it! Lets not get confused here. If you kill someone because of Dangerous Driving you can already go to jail. The distinction is that if it was a genuine error, a moment of inattention then you can now go to jail for a long time!

In the past Scottish courts have been unable to take the consequences of careless driving into account in their sentencing- For one obvious reason. "The driver didn't mean it and his driving did not fall far below what a reasonably competent driver would have done in the same circumstances" I have been practising law in the courts of Scotland for 24 years and there is no doubt in my mind that this is a poor piece of legislation drafted by those who are more concerned with placating the tabloid press than justice.

How can it be just to jail a person for being involved in an accident caused by poor driving. We are none of us perfect and can all from time to time experience a lapse in concentration or make a momentary error in judging a speed or a distance. Do we need to be crucified because another family has been devastated by our error?

"Killer driver jailed" may be a good headline but does it make sense where for instance we learn that the careless driving amounted to a driver who swerved to avoid a collapsed drain cover causing his car to roll over and crash into another vehicle causing death? There but for the grace of God go you or I. Believe me when I tell you that the stress of knowing that you are facing conviction and jail for accident could drive a decent law abiding motorist to suicide.

The 'Don't drive distracted' announcement from Justice Secretary Jack Straw is supposed to highlight a range of new careless driving laws but seems to refer to those people who choose to drive while putting on their makeup, host a conference call on their mobile or chomp down their Big Mac and fries as they scald their legs with coffee and drive to work. THAT IS DANGEROUS DRIVING and we have a law that protects us all. If you cause a death whilst doing so I have no doubt any reasonably minded jury would find you guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and off to jail you could go. We do not need a new law extending "careless driving". If the consequence of your careless driving is a death the court say it must be taken into account does this therefore mean that if the consequences are not death but injury that must also now be taken into consideration. I would suggest that the answer is now, yes. In Scotland we will have to see what the High Court makes of our new laws and how to interpret same.

Changing the law in relation to those idiots who cause death whilst deliberately driving without insurance or a licence has been a long time coming but again it does open the general public to a level of judicial jeopardy that they have never been in before. If you haven't checked your insurance company direct debits I suggest you do so today! (If you have any questions about this blog piece you may want to Ask A Lawyer