Causing Serious Injury by Careless or Inconsiderate Driving (Section 2C Road Traffic Act 1988)

Causing Serious Injury by Careless or Inconsiderate Driving is an offence under s.2C Road Traffic Act 1988. A person commits the offence if he causes serious injury to another person by driving a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other public place without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or place (s.2C(1)). In England and Wales "serious injury" means physical harm which amounts to grievous bodily harm for the purposes of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (s.2C(2)(a)). A person drives without due care and attention if, and only if, the way he drives falls below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver, and without reasonable consideration for other persons only if those persons are inconvenienced by his driving (s.3ZA(2) and (4)). Maximum sentence: on summary conviction in England and Wales, imprisonment for the general limit in a magistrates' court (12 months for an offence triable either way, Sentencing Act 2020, s.224(1A)(b)), a fine or both; on conviction on indictment, imprisonment for 2 years, a fine or both; disqualification and endorsement are obligatory, with 3 to 11 penalty points (Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, Schedule 2).

In practice

This is an either-way offence: it may be tried at the magistrates' court or the Crown Court. Mode of trial depends on the seriousness and the defendant's election. The suspect must be cautioned in accordance with Code C PACE 1984 before any questions about the offence are put to them. Interviews must be audio-recorded (Code E) or, for indictable offences, may be visually recorded (Code F).