New offences of aggravated vehicle taking
Article 5 creates two new offences of aggravated vehicle taking and aggravated vehicle-taking causing death or grievous bodily injury.
Article 5(1) inserts a new provision (Article 172A) into the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 to create a new offence of aggravated vehicle-taking. This offence will apply when a person takes a motor vehicle without an owner’s consent or other authority.
Article 172A(1)(b) provides that, if it is proved that at any time after the vehicle was taken and before it was recovered – recovered being when it is restored to its owner or to other lawful possession or custody (Article 172A(6)) - the vehicle was driven, or injury or damage caused in specified circumstances, then an offence of aggravated vehicle taking will have been committed.
The specified circumstances are provided in Article 172A(2)(a)-(d). They are that the vehicle was driven dangerously on a road or other public place; that, owing to the driving of the vehicle, an accident occurred by which injury was caused to any person; that damage was caused to any property or to the vehicle itself irrespective of whether the vehicle was taken by the accused person or by another person.
A vehicle is driven dangerously if it is driven in a way which falls far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver; and it would be obvious to such a driver that driving in such a way would be dangerous (Article 172A(5)).
A person will be not guilty of such an offence if he proves that the driving, accident or damage occurred before the vehicle was taken without consent or authority; or if he proves that he was neither in nor on nor in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle when the driving, damage or accident occurred (Article 172A(3)). The person can be convicted of the offence of taking without consent or authority even if not guilty of aggravated vehicle-taking.
Article 5(2) inserts a new provision Article 172B into the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 to create a new offence of aggravated vehicle-taking causing death or grievous bodily injury. A person is guilty of such an offence if he commits an offence of aggravated vehicle taking (being created under Article 172A) and it is proved that the accident caused the death of, or grievous bodily injury to, the person concerned (Article 172B(b)). The person can be convicted of the offence of taking without consent or authority even if not found guilty of aggravated vehicle-taking causing death or grievous bodily injury.
Article 5(3) creates new penalties for the offences of aggravated vehicle-taking and aggravated vehicle-taking causing death or grievous bodily injury.
The offence of aggravated vehicle-taking can attract a maximum penalty on indictment of 5 years imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both. When convicted summarily, the penalties are a maximum of six months imprisonment, a statutory maximum fine, or both. Unless there are special circumstances, the offence will attract an obligatory period of disqualification and an obligatory endorsement on the offender’s driving licence.
The offence of aggravated vehicle-taking causing death or grievous bodily injury can attract a maximum penalty on indictment of 14 years imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both. The offence can also attract an obligatory period of disqualification and an obligatory endorsement on the offender’s driving licence. The offence is triable only on indictment – it cannot be prosecuted summarily.
Article 5(4) provides that, even if the person convicted of aggravated vehicle taking or aggravated vehicle-taking causing death or grievous bodily injury did not drive the vehicle in question, that will not be regarded as a special reason under Article 35 of the Road Traffic (Offenders) (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 to avoid disqualification.
Article 5(5) provides that the aggravated vehicle-taking causing death or grievous bodily injury will be a serious arrestable offence under Part II of Schedule 5 to the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (NI 12).
Article 5(6) provides that a compensation order can be made against the convicted person in respect of damage or injury caused by the new offences.
Article 5(7) provides that the creation of offences of aggravated vehicle-taking and aggravated vehicle-taking causing death or grievous bodily injury and related penalties will not apply to offences committed before the Article 5 comes into operation; nor to any driving, injury, death or damage which occurred before Article 5 comes into operation.
