Careless Driving In Scotland

What is the Offence of Careless Driving in Scotland?

Careless Driving in Scotland occurs when:

• A person drives without due care and attention and/or reasonable consideration for other road users
• Source: Road Traffic Act 1988 section 3

The legal test for careless driving is whether the driving in question falls below what would be expected of a careful and competent driver

• Source: Road Traffic Act 1988 section 3ZA

Examples of Careless Driving could include:

• Excessive speed for the road or road conditions
• Failing to keep a proper lookout for other road users
• Failing to obtemper lane markings or traffic signals
• Being momentarily, but avoidably, distracted

Penalties for Careless Driving 

Discretionary Driving Ban OR 3-9 penalty points

The penalty for careless driving, should the matter proceed to court is either:

• Discretionary disqualification
• 3-9 penalty points

A financial penalty – a fine – of up to £5000 will also be imposed. In most cases, the fine will be in the £100s rather than the £1000s.

If the penalty points imposed take you to 12 points, you may be disqualified under totting up. Avoid this by successfully arguing “exceptional hardship”.

It is competent, and common, for a driver to be offered a fixed penalty for 3 penalty points and a £100 fine in cases involving a minor degree of carelessness. Such an offer can only be accepted if the driver has fewer than 9 penalty points on their licence

Legislation:

• Road Traffic (Offenders) Act 1988, section 29
• Road Traffic (Offenders) Act 1988, schedule 2
• Road Traffic (Offenders) Act 1988, section 35

Will I Receive a Disqualification for Careless Driving?

Disqualification is discretionary. Our job is to persuade the court to refrain from disqualification.

Potential factors which will minimise the risk of disqualification are:

• lack of previous convictions
• good driving record
• the error occurred as a momentary lapse or a single manoeuvre rather than an extended piece of driving
• compelling reasons why a driving licence is required for professional or personal reasons

In practice, many cases of careless driving will result in penalty points rather than disqualification. However, disqualification is competent. The charge should not be taken lightly and legal advice should always be sought. Contact us to discuss your case. An early plea of Guilty will attract a discount. This discount applies to the fine and the penalty points/length of disqualification. It is competent for a court to apply a discount by reducing a disqualification to penalty points.

Case Law:

• Gemmell and Others v HMA 2011 HCJAC 129: amongst other things, determined that discount should apply to “driving” penalties such as the amount of penalty points or the length of the disqualification. Prior to Gemmell, the discount did not apply to the driving penalty. The discount cannot result in less than the minimum amount of points being imposed.

Are there Sentencing Guidelines and what do they say?

There are no Scottish sentencing guidelines specific to careless driving. There are published guidelines in England:

• Sentencing Council: Careless Driving

In England the court will take into account the following:

• Level of Culpability ranging from driving falling just short of dangerous driving (Category A) to momentary inattention (Category C).
• Level of Harm
• Aggravating factors such as the offence being committed in the presence of vulnerable road users
• Mitigating factors such as a good driving record or remorse

It should be noted that only the level of culpability is relevant to the driving penalty. The level of harm only relates to the level of fine.

Case Law:

• HMA v Noche [2011 HCJAC 108]; Geddes v HMA 2015 SCCR 230: the English guidelines can competently be taken into account by Scottish courts. However they should not be applied in a mechanistic way.

Potential Defences to a Careless Driving Charge

There are numerous potential defences to a Scottish careless driving charge. These may include:

Standard of driving not below that of a careful and competent driver:

• Explanation: The prosecution must prove that your driving fell below the standard expected of a careful and competent driver
• Defence: You drove to an acceptable standard, even though an incident occurred. Driving is not an exercise in perfection. Even a momentary lapse may not reach the threshold of criminality.

Mechanical defect or sudden medical issue:

• Explanation: A sudden and unexpected vehicle fault or medical episode may have impaired your ability to drive safely.
• Defence: If you had no warning of a mechanical issue or medical condition, you may not be at fault. The law requires negligence or carelessness, not unavoidable accidents.

Exculpatory Dashcam or CCTV evidence:

• Explanation: Video evidence may show that you drove appropriately, that another driver caused the crash, or that your driving wasn’t careless. This can also discredit witness accounts.
• Defence: Objective evidence will be stronger than memory or interpretation. If footage shows you acted responsibly, it can cast doubt on the prosecution’s case or completely refute their version of events.

Charged with Careless Driving in Scotland – What do I do now?

• Make notes while the incident is still fresh in your mind
• Take photographs or video of the location or any damage
• Note the contact details of any witnesses
• Obtain legal advice from a Scottish careless driving lawyer as soon as possible. We provide a free case a FREE case consultation either online or by telephone. You need to assess not only your case prospects but the ability and skills of the law firm that you intend to instruct. Please check out what some of our clients have been kind enough to write about our firm at conclusion of their cases.

Why Instruct Us for your case?

Reason 1 – We Are The Pioneers

Other firms also claim this. But see when the domain was registered to see how long the firm have actually been online. Our domain was registered in 2001. We believe we were registered years in advance of any rival firm. We are invited, founder members of the Association of Motor Offence Lawyers.

Reason 2 – Our Statistics 

We base our success rate on 1000 independently analysed cases chosen at random. Other firms may claim even higher success rates but do not simply accept them at face value. Ask them what their case sample size was. How do they define case success? We have successfully defended sports stars, famous personalities, peers of the realm, members of the Royal Family, fellow solicitors, advocates, leading QCs and police officers. We do not name names unless the case is already in the public domain but you can see some of our reported cases here.  As we helped them, so we can help you:

Careless Driving Charges: Case Outcomes

Reason 3 – Our Independent Reviews

All of our quoted reviews are reviews posted on independent review sites such as Trustpilot and Review Solicitors.

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Reason 4 – Our Fixed Fee

We guarantee a Fixed Fee. It does not change no matter how often we need to attend court. There is no small print. There are no hidden costs.

Reason 5 – Nationwide Representation

Although our offices are in Glasgow, we regularly defend motorists in every Court in Scotland. On any given month, our solicitors appear in courts across the country, including Aberdeen, Dumfries, Edinburgh and Paisley. Wherever your case is being heard, we have the experience and resources to represent you effectively.

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What is the legal test for careless driving?

The legal test in question is whether the driving falls below the standard of a careful and competent driver

What are some examples of careless driving?

Examples include driving too fast for the conditions, failing to give way at a junction, not obeying traffic signals and driving too close to the vehicle in front

Can I be offered a fixed penalty?

In minor cases, a fixed penalty of 3 points and a £100 fine may be offered. However this is only available to drivers with fewer than 9 points on their licence. A driver is under no obligation to pay a fixed penalty if they disagree with it but the matter may then progress to court.

Is a warning of intended prosecution required?

Yes, a driver must be warned – or charged – verbally at the time or be served with a written notice within 14 days with some exceptions.

Call: 0800 048 8696