s319 Dangerous Driving Causing Death or Serious Injury

s319 DANGEROUS DRIVING CAUSING DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY

The offence of “dangerous driving causing death or serious injury” was created as a middle ground between the very serious charge of culpable driving (causing death) and dangerous driving.

To successfully prosecute an offender for a breach of section 319 of the Crimes Act Dangerous Driving Causing Death or Serious Injury the prosecution must prove three elements, beyond a reasonable doubt, they are:

1. The accused was driving a motor vehicle;
2. The accused drove dangerously; an
3. The dangerous driving caused the death or serious injury of another person.

For the third of these elements it must be proven that:

• The dangerous driving must have caused the victim’s death or serious injury, it must have “contributed significantly” to the death or serious injury, or been a “substantial and operating cause” of it (Royall v R (1991); R v Rudebeck [1999]); and
• The victim must have been a “person”.

The differences between dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing serious injury, despite the obvious, is that the latter can be heard in the Magistrates Court. However, it will often be listed in the indictable stream (county court) because of the sentencing requirements and complexities.

s319(1A) Dangerous driving causing serious injury

Section 319(1A) of the Crimes Act states that a person who, by driving a motor vehicle at a speed or in a manner that is dangerous to the public having regard to all the circumstances (as discussed above), causes serious injury to another person. A guilty verdict deems the offender is liable to a maximum term of 5 years of imprisonment.

To understand what is meant by serious injury first the term injury must be defined, an injury can be physical or psychological. For the purposes of this legislation physical injury includes

• unconsciousness,
• disfigurement,
• substantial pain,
• infection with a disease and impairment of bodily function.
• Harm to mental health includes psychological harm but does not include emotional reactions, that are transient, such as distress, grief, fear or anger unless such emotions result in psychological harm (Crimes Act 1958 s15).

What constitutes a serious injury is defined in the definition section of the Crimes Act 1958. The Act stipulates that for an injury to be serious in nature it must be either:

(a)     an injury (including the cumulative effect of more than one injury) that

(i)     endangers life; or

(ii)     is substantial and protracted; or

(b)     the destruction, other than in the course of a medical procedure, of the foetus of a pregnant woman, whether or not the woman suffers any other harm.

s319(1) Dangerous driving causing death

This charge is much easier for the prosecution to prove than the more serious charge of culpable driving. A finding of guilt in relation to dangerous driving versus culpable driving causing death will lead to shaving years and years off your sentence. Section 319(1) of the Crimes Act states that a person who, by driving a motor vehicle at a speed or in a manner that is dangerous to the public having regard to all the circumstances (as discussed above), causes the death of another person has committed an offence. A guilty verdict deems the offender liable to a maximum term of 10 years of imprisonment.

The accused’s dangerous driving does not need to be the sole cause of the death. A person can be criminally responsible for a death that has various causes, even if s/he is not responsible for all of those causes (Royall v R (1991); R v Lee (2005)).

When there are other potential causes of the death that are inconsistent with the death having been caused by the accused’s dangerous driving, these must be eliminated beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution to show the clear link between the driving and the death (R v Rudebeck [1999]).

There are a number of ways to attack this charge. It is often the case that an accident reconstruction expert will be required. It is not unusual for the police to get it wrong.

The offence of “dangerous driving causing death or serious injury” was created as a middle ground between the very serious charge of culpable driving (causing death) and dangerous driving.

To successfully prosecute an offender for a breach of section 319 of the Crimes Act the prosecution must prove three elements, beyond reasonable doubt, they are:

1. The accused was driving a motor vehicle;
2. The accused drove dangerously; an
3. The dangerous driving caused the death or serious injury of another person.

For the third of these elements it must be proven that:

• The dangerous driving must have caused the victim’s death or serious injury, it must have “contributed significantly” to the death or serious injury, or been a “substantial and operating cause” of it (Royall v R (1991); R v Rudebeck [1999]); and
• The victim must have been a “person”.

The differences between dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing serious injury, despite the obvious, is that the latter can be heard in the Magistrates Court. However, it will often be listed in the indictable stream (county court) because of the sentencing requirements and complexities

What to do next?

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