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Dangerous Driving: Not to be confused with careless driving, which is regulated by each province or territory, dangerous driving and dangerous driving causing bodily harm or death is a much more serious offence covered under s.320.13 of the Criminal Code of Canada. Unlike careless driving which involves being ticketed by police, dangerous driving is a criminal charge so your photograph and fingerprints will be taken during your arrest and you will have a police file. The Code states that if you drive any vehicle including an automobile, boat, aircraft or railway equipment in a manner that endangers the public you could face up to five years in prison. If your driving causes bodily harm, you could be imprisoned for up to 14 years. Dangerous driving causing death could land you in prison for life. Your licence will be suspended for up to five years upon conviction and you will face insurance premium increases. You will also have a criminal record.
Table of Contents:
What is Dangerous Driving?
According to the Criminal Code, dangerous driving, or dangerous operation of a conveyance essentially means you were operating a motor vehicle "in a manner that is dangerous to the public." A conveyance can be an automobile, boat, an aircraft or railway equipment. There are three charges in the Code, which is covered in Part VIII of Offences Against the Person and Reputation; dangerous driving, dangerous driving causing bodily harm and dangerous driving causing death. The way you were driving at the time you were charged is the most important consideration. If you failed to exercise reasonable care while operating a motor vehicle, you could face charges.
What is Needed to Convict
To win a conviction, the Crown must prove you were driving in a public place and your actions were a marked departure from the standard of care expected from a reasonable person in the same circumstances. In other words, your driving fell below the level of a careful and competent driver. Lack of care in the way you drove to the point that you were reckless or unsafe must be established. Your behaviour does not have to actually endanger the public for a conviction to be registered.
Witnesses may play a part in the prosecution so you may be able to argue that your version of the events was more accurate. Your lawyer may be able to prove that your actions were careless as opposed to dangerous or that your rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms were breached during a police investigation.
Treated as a Summary Conviction or Indictable Offence
Dangerous driving and dangerous driving causing bodily harm are considered a hybrid offenceAn offence prosecuted either as a summary conviction or as an indictable offence, which allows the Crown prosecutorLawyers who prosecutes charges on behalf of the Crown to proceed with the charge as a summary offence or by summary convictionUsed for lesser offences. You will face harsher penalties if the Crown prosecutes the charge as an indictable offence.It is important to note that while dangerous driving can be treated as a hybrid offence, dangerous driving causing death is an indictable offence only under the Code and carries severe penalties.
Penalties for Dangerous Driving
The punishment you face upon conviction will, of course, depend on the charge but there are some common penalties. You will have a criminal record, there are fines and jail terms, probation and increased insurance premiums.
According to sentencing guidelines in the Code, if you have been found guilty of dangerous driving by summary conviction you face a maximum jail term of two years less a day. If you have been convicted of an indictable offence you face a maximum prison term of 10 years.
In the case of dangerous driving causing bodily harm, if you are convicted of a summary offence you face the following punishment:
- for a first offence, a fine of $1,000;
- for a second offence, imprisonment for a term of 30 days; and
- for each subsequent offence, imprisonment for a term of 120 days;
- imprisonment for a term of not more than two years less a day.
If the Crown proceeds by indictment, you face imprisonment for a term of not more than 14 years or a maximum of two year less a day for a summary offence. The minimum punishment includes:
- a fine of $1,000 for a first offence;
- imprisonment for a term of 30 days for a second offence; and
- imprisonment for a term of 120 days for each subsequent offence.or each subsequent offence, imprisonment for a term of 120 days;
If you are convicted of dangerous driving causing death, you could be sent to prison for life. Minimum sentences include:
- a fine of $1,000 for a first offence;
- imprisonment for a term of 30 days for a second offence; and
- imprisonment for a term of 120 days for each subsequent offence.
Court will also take the following aggravating circumstances in sentencing:
- whether the commission of the offence resulted in bodily harm to, or the death of, more than one person;
- the offender was operating a motor vehicle in a race with at least one other motor vehicle or in a contest of speed, on a street, road or highway or in another public place;
- whether a person under the age of 16 years was a passenger in the conveyance operated by the offender;
- whether the offender was being remunerated for operating the conveyance;
- whether the offender’s blood alcohol concentration at the time of committing the offence was equal to or exceeded 120 mg of alcohol in 100 mL of blood;
- whether the offender was operating a large motor vehicle; and whether the offender was not permitted, under a federal or provincial Act, to operate the conveyance.
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Glossary of Legal Terms
Crown prosecutor
Lawyers who act for the federal, provincial and territorial governments and prosecute people accused of crimes on behalf of the Crown.
Hybrid offence
Hybrid offences fall between a summary and an indictable offence. The Crown prosecutor chooses whether to treat the offence as a summary or indictable offence.
Summary conviction
Summary convictions are used for lesser offences with penalties, fines and short jail time. They reflect the majority of offences as defined in the Code.
