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driver charged (at last...)



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 20th 06, 01:56 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
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Default driver charged (at last...)

You may remember postings on here about Zak Carr being killed on the A11
last October. Basically he was rear-ended by a terminally unobservant fule
as far as I know.

At long last, someone has been actually charged in this sad matter.

See

http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/conte...A00%3A58%3A873


or

http://tinyurl.com/s8yl8

It says, "A man was today due to appear in court facing charges over the
death of a champion cyclist.

Donald Pearce, 48, of Colman Road, Norwich, has been charged with causing
death by reckless driving following the death of Zak Carr last year.
Following his arrest by police, Pearce was bailed to appear at Norwich
Magistrates Court today."

Can those who know the technicalities of the law advise me, please - I
thought that 'death by reckless driving' had been changed to 'death by
dangerous driving' some time ago. Am I thinking completely out of my tree
here??

If it is the case that it was changed, I hope that it's just the reporter
getting it wrong and not the guy being incorrectly charged and going to get
off on a technicality...

Cheers, helen s




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  #2  
Old April 20th 06, 03:39 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
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Default driver charged (at last...)

wafflycat wrote:

Can those who know the technicalities of the law advise me, please -
I thought that 'death by reckless driving' had been changed to 'death
by dangerous driving' some time ago. Am I thinking completely out of
my tree here??


IIRC, Causing Death by Reckless Driving was the old offence pre the 1991
Road Traffic Act. Its big problem was the judgement of recklessness
required an assessment of the thinking of the driver, which was
notoriously difficult to prove. The new offence of Causing Death by
Dangerous driving was based on the standard of driving, not the why the
person was driving that way.

Out of interest, pre 1977 it was Causing Death by Reckless or Dangerous
Driving but was reworded in the Criminal Law Act as Causing Death by
Reckless Driving. This was following a lot of debate as to whether the
Causing Death by.. part should be dropped altogether as it was the
standard of driving that was being prosecuted, not whether or not it led
to injury or death. The charge was introduced in the first place though
in 1956 because with only Careless and Reckless Driving charges, it
required juries to convict drivers of manslaughter or murder to get a
higher penalty if someone was killed, something the juries proved very
reluctant to do. Which brings us full circle to the recent debate in
this parish about whether such deaths should be prosecuted as
manslaughter or murder.


--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham
  #3  
Old April 20th 06, 03:56 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
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Default driver charged (at last...)

So the EDP and EEN decided to treat Zak's death with the respect and
courtesy it deserved (Traffic chaos after accident) and then get the
details of the charges wrong?

  #4  
Old April 20th 06, 04:52 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
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Default driver charged (at last...)


"spindrift" wrote in message
ps.com...
So the EDP and EEN decided to treat Zak's death with the respect and
courtesy it deserved (Traffic chaos after accident) and then get the
details of the charges wrong?


That would not surprise me in the slightest.

helen s

  #5  
Old April 20th 06, 06:43 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
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Default driver charged (at last...)

wrote:
wafflycat wrote "Can those who know the technicalities of the law
advise me, please - I
thought that 'death by reckless driving' had been changed to 'death by
dangerous driving' some time ago. Am I thinking completely out of my
tree
here?? "

I think both offences still exist.



CPS Chapter and verse:
DRIVING OFFENCES INVOLVING FATALITIES
When a death occurs on the road in circumstances which suggest an offence
has been committed, the police will investigate. Whether an offence has been
committed will depend on the conduct of the driver of the vehicle. Where a
death has been caused, one of the following offences may have been
committed:

a.. careless driving or inconsiderate driving - section 3 Road Traffic Act
(RTA) 1988;
b.. causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or
drugs - section 3A RTA 1988;
c.. causing death by dangerous driving - section 1 RTA 1988;
d.. manslaughter - contrary to common law (rarely - used mainly where a
person intends to cause some harm, eg by deliberately driving into someone).
The offence of driving without due care and attention is committed when the
driving falls below the standard expected of a reasonable, prudent and
competent driver in all the circumstances of the case. If a death has
occurred as a result of careless driving, this can only be reflected in the
charge if the driver is under the influence of drink or drugs. There is no
offence of causing death by careless driving. A person drives dangerously
when:

a.. the way he drives falls far below what would be expected of a
competent and careful driver; and
b.. it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in
that way would be dangerous.
The manner of the driving must be considered objectively. In practice, the
difference between the two types of bad driving will depend on the degree to
which the driving falls below the minimum acceptable standard. If the manner
of the driving is below that which is expected, the appropriate charge will
be careless driving; if the manner of the driving is far below that which is
expected, the appropriate charge will be dangerous driving. There is no
statutory guidance about what behaviour constitutes a manner of driving
which is "below" and "far below" the required standard.

Where a death has occurred it is especially important that offenders are
brought to justice. But, as the law stands, death does not, by itself, turn
an accident into careless driving or turn careless driving into dangerous
driving.

When considering the appropriate charge, it is the behaviour that is the
deciding factor, ie whether the driving was careless or dangerous rather
than the consequences. However, The CPS requires that in any prosecution for
driving without due care and attention, where a death has resulted from the
manner of the driving, those presenting the facts of the case to the court
should give full details, including the fact that a death resulted.


pk


  #6  
Old April 20th 06, 06:45 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
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Default driver charged (at last...)


wrote in message
ups.com...


I think both offences still exist.
Put crudely, sub-standard driving comes in degrees of severity, from
relatively minor 'careless driving' then 'dangerous driving' up to the
extreme ' reckless driving'. Put very crudely, reckless driving is the
sort which will probably cause an accident every time, while dangerous
driving is the sort where the driver might manage to get away with it
for months but will sooner or later cause a serious accident. Careless
driving creates a enhanced risk of minor accidents and/or slight risk
of a major one.


Having done a swift check on Auntie Beeb's handy online law terminology
guide, causing death by reckless driving has been superceded by causing
death by dangerous driving. See
http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/law/jargonbuster_c.shtml Now there is 'carless or
inconsiderate driving' and 'causing death by dangerous driving' which is the
more serious offence.

Cheers, helen s

  #7  
Old April 20th 06, 06:52 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
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Default driver charged (at last...)

wafflycat wrote:


Having done a swift check on Auntie Beeb's handy online law terminology
guide, causing death by reckless driving has been superceded by causing
death by dangerous driving. See
http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/law/jargonbuster_c.shtml Now there is
'carless or inconsiderate driving' and 'causing death by dangerous
driving' which is the more serious offence.


I'm trying to imagine the offence of "carless driving." Have cars
become mandatory now?

--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham
  #8  
Old April 20th 06, 07:00 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
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Default driver charged (at last...)


"Tony Raven" wrote in message
...


I'm trying to imagine the offence of "carless driving." Have cars become
mandatory now?


Just checking on your proof reading skills, Tony ;-)

Cheers, helen s

  #9  
Old April 20th 06, 07:55 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
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Default driver charged (at last...)

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 18:52:38 +0100, Tony Raven said:

I'm trying to imagine the offence of "carless driving." Have cars
become mandatory now?


It's quite common.

http://www.ntk.net/2003/07/25/#ANTI_NEWS

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%22carless+driving%22

And I'm sure the .gov.uk one wasn't there at number one
two and a half years ago.

--
Alan J. Wylie http://www.wylie.me.uk/
"Perfection [in design] is achieved not when there is nothing left to add,
but rather when there is nothing left to take away."
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
  #10  
Old April 20th 06, 08:18 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
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Default driver charged (at last...)

Tony Raven writes:

I'm trying to imagine the offence of "carless driving." Have cars
become mandatory now?


It almost seems that way...
After a minor prang last week our car is off the road with a smashed
headlight. Other party admitted liability, and the letter from their
insurance mentioned "replacement car if you can demonstrate a need".
Now I don't think we /need/ a car but it comes in handy at times, so I
called, prepared to discuss to what extend I need it. Turns out that the
only criteria is that our car is off the road.
Same with the rental company shortly after: when would I need the car?
While I was thinking about what upcoming trips were necessary and which I
could do by bike he continued by asking if our car was away for repairs
yet, and as soon as I mentioned I couldn't drive it at the moment it
meant I needed a car right away.

And back to cycling: car rental company guy did say the Brompton was very
handy when I used it to pick up the car.

Roos
 




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