ABSTRACT
The offences discussed in this chapter relate most directly to the prevention of risk-taking and the promotion of safety on the roads. Dangerous driving and careless driving are committed when a driver drives below the required standard of a competent and careful driver; the degree by which he or she fails to meet the requirement will determine which of the offences has been committed. Driving below the required standard is more likely to lead to road trafc collisions, which in turn are likely to cause injury, serious injury or death. The term ‘collision’ is preferred in this book to that of ‘accident’ because the latter implies a chance occurrence for which no-one is to blame. It is rare for collisions to be caused in such a way: although mechanical defects and factors such as road and weather conditions may contribute to collisions, the principal reason for collisions is human error. Police forces are moving away from the use of the word ‘accident’ and replacing it with terms such as ‘collision’ or, in the case of a fatal collision, ‘road death incident’. For example, the guidance provided in the Road Death Investigation Manual used by police is based on: ‘our perception that there are very few “accidents” on our roads and that most are caused by human error’ (ACPO 2004, 2). The CPS are following suit, with a commitment to avoiding use of the term ‘accident’ and replacing it with ‘collision’ to refer to bad driving that results in death or serious injury (CPS 2007b, para.6.9).
