List of Driving Offences

Please find below a table of motoring offences, their definitions under the Road Traffic Act (RTA) 1988 and the penalties they carry.

Please note:
1. All of the below offences could carry a fine.
2. Where two imprisonment sentences are stated these are either-way offences and relate to the outcome of either indictment/summary trial e.g. Dangerous Driving carries maximum 2 years imprisonment on indictment but 6 months maximum if tried summarily.
3. The below table highlights the possible implications of the driving offences listed - each penalty is subject to variation dependent on the individual circumstances of each case - seek legal advice.

Any questions please post.
Coming soon.... Alcohol Related Offences.

Offence	Definition	Penalty
Dangerous Driving	s2 RTA- Drives a mechanically propelled vehicle dangerously on a road/public place	2 years/6 months imprisonment Obligatory disqualification exceeding 1 year 3-11 points
Causing Death by Dangerous Driving	s1 RTA- Drives a mechanically propelled vehicle dangerously on a road/public place - must be proven that caused the death of another person	Maximum 14 years imprisonment Obligatory disqualification exceeding 2 years 3-11 points
Careless Driving	s3 RTA- Driving a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road/public place without (a)due care and attention or (b)without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road/public place	3-9 points discretionary disqualification
Failure to Stop	s170 RTA - Driver of a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road/public place must stop and give details if they have had an accident	6 months imprisonment 5-10 points discretionary disqualification
Failure to Report an Accident	s170(4) - Driver of a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road/public place must if they have an accident report the matter to police as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event within 24 hours	6 months imprisonment 5-10 points discretionary disqualification
No Insurance	s142 RTA - Using (or causing/permitting to be used) a motor vehicle on a road/public place when there is no policy in force against Third Party risks	Fixed penalty fine 6-8 points discretionary disqualification
Driving While Disqualified	s103 RTA - Driving a vehicle on a road whilst disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence	6 months imprisonment 6 points fine discretionary disqualification

New Phone Penalties

Today new penalties came in for drivers who use hand-held mobile phones whilst driving. The question is however, will these actually deter people? I don't think they will. There was a ban on using phones whilst driving (December 2003), which hasn't prevented anyone from using them. I still see many motorists on their phones, particularly those within inches of my rear bumper. So the fine is £60 and possible points on your licence?! Will that really bother anyone? People still speed despite the similar consequences. Also the chances of being caught in the act are slim, it's easy - see a police car, put the phone down.

Although hand-held phones are banned, what about hands-free kits/bluetooth? Surely the point is that it is hard to concentrate on two things at once, isn't talking to someone the distraction not the fact that one of your hands is off the wheel? And what about those people who text whilst driving, they are unlikely to be noticed by the police, yet they still cause a nuisance to other drivers.

The point I am making is that banning the use of hand-held mobile phones whilst driving is not going to prevent it happening and causing collisions/near misses - the penalty is not enough to successfully deter the majority. Who will police it? - Look at the car seat fiasco, the law says that children under a certain height should be in child seats, I've seen many not even in seatbelts crawling around the car. How many people are actually stopped and the fined for this? Nobody has taken any notice of the law and nobody is policing it!
The same will happen with this ban, as this BBC article states, over 1 million people are ignoring the 2003 ban already - how will these new penalties change this?