In the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division: 16th October 2019
On appeal by way of case stated, the High Court were asked whether the offence of careless driving can be established based solely upon the physical condition of a person when driving.
AJ had appealed to the Crown Court against his conviction in 2017 for dangerous driving, which was overturned and he was convicted instead of careless driving. The basis for this was that it was accepted that he had been assaulted just before driving and at the point of driving had blood pouring down his face. Although the Crown Court had not been sure the accident was caused solely as a result of the manner of driving, they held that because of AJ’s physical condition at the time of driving, he was driving carelessly.
The High Court held that it is not sufficient to rely on the condition of the driver in order to prove the offence of careless driving. Although relevant and admissible, it does not determine whether the way in which the defendant drove was careless.
As a result of this ruling, AJ’s conviction for careless driving was quashed meaning that he is no longer subject to a suspended sentence order and is no longer disqualified from driving.
AJ was represented by senior solicitor Paul Mathew and trainee solicitor Jessica Gosling.
Counsel instructed was Pamela Rose of 1MCB Chambers.
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