Miscellaneous amendments to sentencing guidelines 2024
Careless driving
The issue
When various motoring guidelines were revised in 2022-2023, the careless driving guideline was not included, as it had been revised in 2017. The consequence of this is that there are inconsistencies between the culpability factors in the simple careless driving guideline and the causing death and causing serious injury by careless driving guidelines.
The Council considered that it would be logical and preferable for the culpability factors in all three guidelines for careless driving to be the same and for the harm factors and the step 2 factors in simple careless driving to be aligned with those for simple dangerous driving.
The proposed change
The Council proposes to change the Careless driving guideline to read:
Step 1 – Determining the offence category
The court should determine the offence category with reference only to the factors identified in the following tables. In order to determine the category the court should assess culpability and harm.
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Culpability Where there are factors present from more than one category of culpability, the court should weigh those factors in order to decide which category most resembles the offender’s case. |
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A
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B
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C
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| Harm |
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Category 1
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Category 2
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Step 2 – Starting point and category range
Having determined the category at step one, the court should use the corresponding starting point to reach a sentence in the table below. The starting point applies to all offenders irrespective of plea or previous convictions.
| Culpability | |||
| Harm | A | B | C |
| Harm 1 |
Starting point Band D Fine |
Starting point Band C Fine |
Starting point Band B Fine |
| Harm 2 |
Starting point Band C Fine |
Starting point Band B Fine |
Starting point Band A Fine |
Fines [dropdown]
- Must endorse and may disqualify. If no disqualification impose 3 – 9 points
| Culpability level | Disqualification/points |
| A | Consider disqualification OR 7 – 9 points |
| B | 5 – 6 points |
| C | 3 – 4 points |
See Step 6 for more information on driving disqualification
The court should then consider adjustment for any aggravating or mitigating factors. Below is a non-exhaustive list of additional elements providing the context of the offence and factors relating to the offender. Identify whether a combination of these or other relevant factors should result in any upward or downward adjustment from the sentence arrived at so far.
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Factors increasing seriousness |
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Statutory aggravating factors:
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Other aggravating factors:
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Factors reducing seriousness or reflecting personal mitigation |
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Step 3 – Consider any factors which indicate a reduction for assistance to the prosecution
The court should take into account section 74 of the Sentencing Code (reduction in sentence for assistance to prosecution) and any other rule of law by virtue of which an offender may receive a discounted sentence in consequence of assistance given (or offered) to the prosecutor or investigator.
Step 4 – Reduction for guilty pleas
The court should take account of any potential reduction for a guilty plea in accordance with section 73 of the Sentencing Code and the Reduction in Sentence for a Guilty Plea guideline.
Step 5 – Totality principle
If sentencing an offender for more than one offence, or where the offender is already serving a sentence, consider whether the total sentence is just and proportionate to the overall offending behaviour in accordance with the Totality guideline.
Step 6 – Disqualification, compensation and ancillary orders
In all cases the court should consider whether to make compensation and/or other ancillary orders.
Disqualification guidance [Drop down]
Step 7 – Reasons
Section 52 of the Sentencing Code imposes a duty to give reasons for, and explain the effect of, the sentence.
The impact
The maximum sentence for Careless driving is an unlimited fine and so the proposal will not have an impact on prison or probation resources.
The proposed guideline has six starting points in the sentence table (compared to three in the existing guideline) but only four different starting points. The proposal adds a band D fine as a starting point for the most serious cases. There are no category ranges in the proposed table as the sentence levels for this offence are very limited, but each fine band represents a range. For example, a band B fine has a starting point of 100% of relevant weekly income with a range of 75 – 125% of relevant weekly income.
In the existing guideline suggested penalty points or disqualification are given in the sentence table for each of the three sentence levels. Moving to a six-box sentence table makes this more difficult and so – given that the standard of driving is more pertinent to both future road safety and punishment – what is proposed is to link the points or disqualification to the three levels of culpability in a separate table below the sentence table.
It is not clear whether the proposed changes would result in more or fewer cases of disqualification. Disqualification remains as an option alongside points, so there may not be any material difference.
Careless driving is a relatively high volume offence with around 12,000 adult offenders sentenced in 2023 (source: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2023), and so responses from those who sentence in magistrates’ courts will be valuable in understanding the potential impact of the changes.