Is Speeding Dangerous?

Is Speeding Dangerous?

The title of this article is deliberately misleading. As a specialist motoring lawyer, the question is posed from a purely legal perspective and not from a political standpoint. Exceeding the speed limit in Scotland in a criminal offence and what I will attempt to do is highlight huge variations between jurisdictions as to the prosecution and subsequent sentencing of the hapless motorist who is caught speeding.

Take the following example: motorist A drives at 108 mph, for half a mile on a straight stretch of new motorway at dusk in conditions of good weather and visibility.

Now, putting aside the various technical defences that may exist in relation to the offence itself, legal authorities support the proposition that the charge should be libelled as dangerous driving (Abbas v Houston SCCR 1019). It is the speed per se that takes the offence into the realms of dangerous driving. With a twelve month minimum period of disqualification and a compulsory resit order, this is a very serious matter.

However, some jurisdictions will instigate proceedings under the Motorways Traffic (Speed Limit) Regulations 1974, Regulation 3 and the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, Section 17(4). In layman’s terms, a straight speeding charge. This is where the sentencing options alter dramatically. Presuming the case is before a Sheriff or Stipendiary Magistrate, the Court can endorse the licence with 3-6 penalty points or invoke powers of discretionary disqualification. Now, common sense would suggest that the Court would certainly be looking to impose something at the higher end although it must be observed that the sentencing options are more flexible.

Furthermore, section 37(1)(A) of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 as introduced by s.33 of the Road Traffic Act 1991 makes provision for a short-term ban which is defined as a period of disqualification of less than 56 days. The licence is effectively frozen during the disqualification period and becomes live upon expiry. This also saves the administrative hassle of reapplying to DVLA etc.

Now back to our hapless motorist. He would clearly rather be charged with straight speeding to allow for greater sentencing options. However if the same offence is prosecuted as a dangerous driving then an inevitable disqualification of at least twelve months will be imposed, regardless of his personal circumstances. This is assuming there were no special reasons, in the legal sense, relating to why the vehicle was driven at that speed.

The point of all this is to show that the same offence can be treated differently depending upon where the speeding offence took place. I like flexibility so, on the face of it, the fact that there are differences in way Dumfries and Glasgow deal with speeding offences is not a great concern. However the flexibility should work both ways. There is no prejudice to the Crown to libel charges that contain a prosecution based on speed as a straight statutory speeding charge. The Sheriff can still impose a hefty ban, and usually will for high speeds, but can also take into account persuasive mitigation that might merit a particular case being dealt with in a more lenient manner.

Historically, serious criminal charges can be devalued by overuse. Frequently my clients are aghast when they discover that they have been charged with dangerous driving rather than speeding and struggle to understand that it is the speed per se that makes the manner of driving dangerous. The common view is that this is not what the dangerous driving charge was intended for.

Routinely I have defended clients who are charged with dangerous driving with an alternative charge of speeding tagged on as a fall back for the Crown. I have never, in all my time of defending road traffic cases throughout Scotland, come across a charge of dangerous driving with an alternative drink driving charge libelled as a fall back.

I can see no cogent reason for using the dangerous driving provisions to prosecute a speeder. There may, of course, be exceptional cases and I make no mention of aggravating factors such as road and vehicle conditions that may make a dangerous driving charge appropriate.

So in answer to my initial question, is speeding dangerous?

Depends where you’re caught!