Difference between Careless and Dangerous?

[tonyrec]

Purely from a Police point of view, whats the difference between reporting someone for Careless Driving and Dangerous Driving?

[Plotloss]

Complete Guess:

Carless can be if you are the only car on the road but Dangerous has to cause a danger to other road users?

[streaky]

Plotloss said:

Complete Guess: Carless can be if you are the only car on the road but Dangerous has to cause a danger to other road users?

"Carless" would mean that even you were not in a car - S

[tonyrec]

The answer is........about 2 hours to compile a Full Prosecution File.

[motco]

Tonyrec,
Is it still the case - if it ever was - that "dangerous" is a criminal offence, and "careless, or without due care" is a road traffic offence? If so, what is the difference as far as the effect on your life is concerned?

[d-man]

[cynic mode]
If you get caught going really fast on a speed camera thats dangerous. If you get pulled by a BiB for anything else there isn't enough evidence for dangerous so its careless.
[/cynic mode]

[Mon Ami Mate]

I had always thought that the boundary lies with intent - that it can only be dangerous if there is proven malice aforethought.

[stackmonkey]

Generalising...

Careless is basically not concentrating enough, not paying enough attention to the road, the surroundings and your driving.

Dangerous is the above the extent that you're a danger to anyone (including yourself) or deliberately ignoring hazards etc

[Muncher]

Mon Ami Mate said:

I had always thought that the boundary lies with intent - that it can only be dangerous if there is proven malice aforethought.

I doubt that, but I'm not familiar with the road traffic act.

[nick_f]

Careless driving falls 1% below the standard that might be expected of a reasonable and prudent driver, whereas dangerous driving falls far below the same standard.

It's as grey as you need it to be and totally in the eye of the beholder - ie if a reasonably competent person says your driving fell below the standard, then as far as the courts are concerned, it did.

Nick.

[john robson]

Not posted here for a bit but just visited after a long absence. Careless or Due care and attention = driving that falls below that of a careful and competant driver. Dangerous = driving that falls FAR below that of a careful and competant driver. Dangerous driving can also be used for certain defects that the driver knew of, or that would, or should, have been obvious to the driver i.e. no brakes, defective steering. Dangerous driving replaced reckless driving as reckless was quite difficult to prove, it was therefore simplified and replaced with dangerous. Just to quote sections etc Death X Dangerous is sometimes refered to as Section 1 RTA (Road Traffic Act) Dangerous = Sec 2 RTA and Careless Sec 3 RTA

[john robson]

Just going back to a few other points raised, death x dangerous = up to 10yrs prison + criminal record only tried a Crown Court, Not sure on the sentence for straight dangerous but again it goes to Crown Court and cant get you a criminal record Due care is magistrates court and is just points on yer licence, unless it is causing death x due care whilst unfit through drink or drugs in which case it is the same as death x dangerous

[mojocvh]

Strange how the prisons are full of motorists these days..............

[james_j]

Not answering the question, but to a camera of course there is no difference.

[kevinday]

Welcome back John, we (I) hope to hear more from you again.