Caught Driving a Vehicle in a Dangerous Condition?

Driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition on a road or in any public place dangerously or in a dangerous condition.

For driving dangerously the Court would consider whether the standard of driving fell far below that of a competent and careful driver and whether it would be obvious to such a driver that driving in that manner would be dangerous.

If the allegation relates to the vehicle and it is in a dangerous condition the Court would pay attention to anything that is attached or carried on or in the vehicle and the manner in which it is attached or carried. The Court would always consider what the driver knew at the time the alleged offence occurred.

After the case of it is now possible that the Court can take into account advanced driving skills when deciding whether or not your driving was dangerous.

However, if a defect is more serious a driver may face a charge of using a vehicle in a dangerous condition which poses a danger of injury to other road users under section 40A of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Such charges carry with them fines of up to £2500 for holders of ordinary licenses and even higher potential financial penalties for drivers of large goods vehicles or passenger carrying vehicles.

Three penalty points will also be imposed and the court has the power, on a discretionary basis, to disqualify.

Indeed, if a driver has been convicted of a similar offence in the three years prior to the commission of the offence they have been prosecuted for then the court is obliged to disqualify for a period of at least six months.

Driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition

These offences are unusual and rare, but they carry 3 points and therefore you need to take them seriously.

They normally arise from incidents such as overloading a vehicle with too many passengers or too much weight.

It can also relate to things such as tampering with the structure of the vehicle as to make it dangerous and interfere with the structural integrity of the car.