Causing Death by Dangerous Driving
| Author | J. L. Thomas |
| Published date | 01 May 1963 |
| Date | 01 May 1963 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X6303600508 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
SUPERINTENDENT
J. L.
THOMAS
City
of
Bradford Police
(;AUSING
DEATH
BY
DANGEROUS
DRIVING
Prior to 1956, a person who caused the death of another person by
reckless or dangerous driving was often charged with what was
commonly termed
"motor
manslaughter," that is, an offence
contrary to s. 5 ofthe Offences Against the Person Act, 1861. How-
ever, owing to the exceedingly grave nature of the charge, juries
were often reluctant to convict-sometimes in the face of over-
whelming evidence. Furthermore, the need for a more suitable
offence to meet these circumstances was exposed in the decision of
the House of Lords in Andrews v. The Director
of
Public Prosecutions
Atkin stated:
"Section
11
of the Road TrafficAct, 1930, imposes a
penalty for driving recklessly or at a speed or in a manner which is
dangerous to the public. There can be no doubt that this section
covers driving with such a high degree of negligence as that, if death
were caused, the offender would have committed manslaughter.
But the converse is not true, and it is perfectly possible that a man
may drive at a speed or in a manner dangerous to the public, and
cause death, and yet not be guilty
of
manslaughter."
Very belatedly, Parliament therefore created the offence of
"Causing
death by reckless or dangerous driving", contrary to
1960), and the following figures, taken from the annual Criminal
Statistics, show that the number of prosecutions for this offence
has risen steadily.
It
may be edifying, also, to note the comparatively
large number
of
acquittals: apparently it is still hard to convince
juries.
._----
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...-
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Year Total Males IFemales Acquittals
Males
I
Females
1957
246
241
5
III
2
1958
291
282 9
125
4
1959
311 302 9104 i4
1960
375 367 8
143
4
1961
429 424 5 130 I0
_.-~-------
As this provision has been operating for a reasonable length of
time, it may now be opportune to review the manner in which it
has functioned, and, in particular, to comment on police action in
228
May
1963
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