Accidents caused by careless driving
Many accidents are caused by careless driving. In the majority of cases careless driving offences would be dealt with by a fixed fine, penalty points and possibly a period of disqualification. In August 2008 the laws regarding careless driving were made more stringent and depending on the circumstances and outcome of the accident, a court can now impose a prison sentence of up to 2 years for the offence.
The offence is defined as when a driver has allowed his/her standard of driving to fall below that of a prudent motorist. Whether or not someone has fallen below this standard, and to what extent, will be decided by the court, based on the evidence supplied by the police accident investigators and any witnesses to the accident.
Examples of careless driving could include:-
- Driving dangerously close to another vehicle
- Overtaking on the inside lane
- Driving through a red light
- Emerging from a junction into the path of another vehicle
What penalty points would go on the licence of a careless driver?
The number of points would depend on the classification of the offence and its severity. The classifications and their penalty point ranges are shown below.| CD30 | Driving without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other road users | 3–9 |
| CD40 | Causing death through careless driving when unfit through drink | 3–11 |
| CD50 | Causing death through careless driving when unfit through drugs | 3–11 |
| CD60 | Causing death by careless driving with alcohol level above the limit | 3–11 |
| CD70 | Causing death by careless driving then failing to supply a specimen for analysis | 3–11 |
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