Crackdown on fleet danger drivers

Company car drivers face jail if they cause accidents through bad driving under Government proposals to reflect in court the true cost of vehicle accidents on victims' families. The move follows a detailed study of hundreds of court cases which showed drivers who kill can escape with fines of just £100 because of technical arguments by defence legal teams.

The case studies compiled in a TRL report for the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR), called "Dangerous Driving and the Law", show how arguments over legal definitions of different charges are hampering the courts.

Prosecutions for causing death by dangerous driving are hard to pursue successfully, prompting a shift towards lesser charges such as careless driving, which offer a drastic reduction in punishments. The cases in the report make chilling reading for anyone driving for a living, as fleet drivers face some of the greatest risk of being involved in accidents, either as the cause of accidents or as victims.

One of the most tragic cases involved a driver who clipped the back of a car he was trying to overtake, before losing control and forcing both vehicles off the carriageway. The victims' car rolled over in a field, throwing two children in the rear seats out of the vehicle, killing one and leaving a front seat passenger dead. However, the Crown Prosecution Service could only bring a charge of driving without due care and attention, resulting in a £250 fine, £70 costs and a year's driving ban.

Radical proposals from the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions include a new offence between dangerous driving and careless driving, called negligent driving and causing death or serious injury by negligent driving. This would fit between dangerous driving and careless driving and carry penalties including imprisonment, disqualification and community service. The offence would focus on the driver's duty of care to other drivers.

Penalties for causing death by dangerous driving would be extended to include severe injuries. A new offence called causing death by careless driving will also be considered.

The reports have increased debate about the role of employers in ensuring drivers are safe and whether tougher penalties are fair when fatal crashes are put down to simple errors of judgment.
This document is for general guidance and research purposes only, and does not purport to give professional advice. Please check the date at the top of the article; the Workplace Law Network retains historic articles for general research.