Driving offences
Section 29: Offences committed by disqualified drivers
277.Section 29 makes the offence of causing death by driving while disqualified an indictable only offence and increases the maximum penalty for such conduct to 10 years’ imprisonment. It also creates an offence of causing serious injury by driving while disqualified - an either way offence with a maximum penalty of 4 years’ imprisonment.
278.Subsection (1) adds new sections 3ZC and 3ZD to the Road Traffic Act 1988. Section 3ZC creates a separate offence of causing death by driving while disqualified (previously an offence under section 3ZB). Section 3ZD creates a new offence of causing serious injury by driving while disqualified.
279.In both new sections, the requirement that death or serious injury must be caused by driving means that for a person to be convicted of these offences there must be something open to proper criticism in the way in which he or she was driving which contributed more than minimally to the death or serious injury (as per R v Hughes [2013] UKSC 5).
280.Subsection (2) amends Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 which specifies how offences in the Road Traffic Act 1988 will be tried, what the maximum penalties will be upon conviction and whether the offence requires disqualification and endorsements on the licence.
281.A person charged with an offence under section 3ZC will be tried on indictment in the Crown Court and, if convicted, will be liable to a maximum custodial sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment or an unlimited fine or both.
282.A person charged with an offence under section 3ZD may either be tried summarily in the magistrates’ court or on indictment in the Crown Court.
283.If tried summarily in England and Wales, the maximum penalty on conviction is 6 months’ imprisonment or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both (see subsection (3)). But the maximum custodial sentence will rise to 12 months when section 154(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 is commenced and the maximum fine that may be imposed will become unlimited when section 85 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Offenders Act 2012 is commenced.
284.If tried summarily in Scotland, the maximum penalty is 12 months or the statutory maximum or both.
285.If tried on indictment, the maximum penalty is 4 years’ imprisonment or an unlimited fine or both.
286.A conviction for an offence under section 3ZC or 3ZD will also lead to a mandatory period of disqualification and an obligatory endorsement of between 3 and 11 points on the licence.
287.Subsection (4) introduces Schedule 6 which contains further amendments relating to the offences under section 3ZC and 3ZD.
288.Subsection (5) provides that the new provisions in section 3ZC and 3ZD will only apply to offences which are committed on or after the date of commencement.
Schedule 6: Offences committed by disqualified drivers: further amendments
289.Schedule 6 contains amendments relating to the offences of causing death or serious injury by disqualified driving under sections 3ZC and 3ZD of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (RTA 1988) respectively.
290.Paragraph 1 alters the current offence of causing death by driving when unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured under section 3ZB of the RTA 1988 by omitting references to disqualified drivers. Disqualified drivers who cause death or serious injury will now commit the new offences in sections 3ZC and 3ZD of the RTA 1988.
291.Paragraph 2 introduces amendments to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (RTOA 1988), which are explained in more detail below.
292.Paragraph 3(1) introduces amendments to section 24 of the RTOA 1988 which deals with alternative verdicts.
293.Paragraph 3(2) amends section 24(A2) to provide that where a person is found not guilty of a manslaughter charge in connection with driving and the allegations amount to or include an allegation of either of the offences under section 3ZC or 3ZD of the RTA 1988 then the defendant may be convicted of either of those offences as an alternative to manslaughter.
294.Paragraph 3(3) provides that where defendants are prosecuted for offences under sections 3ZC or 3ZD of the RTA 1988 and the charges against them cannot be proved, they will still be liable to conviction for the offence of driving while disqualified under section 103(1)(b) of the RTA 1988.
295.Paragraphs 4 and 5 ensure that the disqualification and retest provisions in sections 34 and 36 of the RTOA 1988 will apply to offenders convicted of offences under sections 3ZC and 3ZD of the RTA 1988. This means that offenders convicted of causing death or serious injury by disqualified driving will be banned from driving for at least two years and required to pass an appropriate driving test before their qualifications can be reinstated.
296.Paragraphs 6 and 7 add sections 3ZC and 3ZD of the RTA 1988 to the list of offences in section 45 and 45A of the RTOA 1988 to which a four-year endorsement period applies.
297.Paragraph 8 adds sections 3ZC and 3ZD of the RTA 1988 to the list of offences in Schedule 1 of the RTOA 1988 . That Schedule is concerned with procedural points linked to the prosecution of offenders, including the need for the prosecution to provide evidence as to who was driving the vehicle at the time the offence was committed. Paragraph 9 makes consequential amendments which are necessary in the light of the amendment to the offence in section 3ZB of the RTA 1988.
298.Paragraph 10 adds the offences in sections 3ZC and 3ZD of the RTA 1988 to paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 to the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003. Where a non-UK national is convicted of one of the offences in this Schedule, the UK must inform the authorities in the state in which the offender is normally resident.
299.Paragraph 11 adds section 3ZC of the RTA 1988 to Part 1 of Schedule 15 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003, thereby making it a specified violent offence for the purposes of Chapter 5 of Part 12 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Schedule 15 is a list of specified violent and sexual offences which are subject to the dangerous offenders sentencing scheme. Schedule 15 is relevant for the purposes of: eligibility for an extended determinate sentence (imposed under section 226A or 226B of the Criminal Justice Act 2003); and the duty to impose a life sentence (imposed under section 225 or 226 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and corresponding provision in the Armed Forces Act 2006) where the offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and the court considers that there is a significant risk to the public of serious harm from further such offences.
300.Paragraph 12 adds section 3ZC of the RTA 1988 to the list of offences in Schedule 1 to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. That Schedule lists offences classed as ‘homicide offences’ for the purposes of the Act. A coroner must suspend an investigation when a prosecuting authority requests them to do so on the ground that a person may be charged with a ‘homicide offence’ involving the death of the deceased.
Section 30: Extension of disqualification from driving where custodial sentence also imposed
301.Section 30 amends section 35A of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 and section 147A of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 which require a court, when sentencing an offender to immediate custody and imposing a driving ban, to extend the driving ban to take account of the period the offender will spend in custody. The provisions about that extension of the driving ban were inserted by Schedule 16 to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and were designed to avoid a driving ban expiring, or being significantly diminished, during the period in which the offender is in custody.
302.Section 30 omits the requirement for the court, when setting the extension period to be added onto a driving ban, to take account of the sentence imposed by the court reduced by deducted time spent on remand. For the purpose of setting the length of the extension period and therefore the length of the driving ban as a whole, the court only has to have regard to the type and length of sentence it has imposed and not the sentence as adjusted once time spent on remand is deducted.
Section 31: Mutual recognition of driving disqualification in UK and Republic of Ireland
303.Section 31 gives effect to a proposed new bilateral agreement between the UK and the Republic of Ireland (“RoI”) which will permit mutual recognition of driving disqualifications between the two states. Section 31 amends Chapter 1 of Part 3 of the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 (“CICA 2003”). That Chapter was enacted to implement the European Convention on Driving Disqualifications 1998 (“the Convention”). The RoI and the UK are the only signatories to the Convention and so it has been commenced only in relation to mutual recognition of driving disqualifications between the UK and the RoI.
304.Subsection (2) of this section amends the heading of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of the CICA 2003 to read “Mutual recognition of driving disqualification in the UK and Republic of Ireland”.
305.Subsection (3) amends the duty on the UK in section 54 of the CICA 2003 to give notice of a driving disqualification to the authorities in the RoI where a disqualification has been imposed on an offender in the UK. New section 54(1)(aa) of that Act provides that the obligation arises only if the offender is resident in the RoI, or if the offender is not normally resident in the RoI but holds an RoI driving licence. The disqualification would only be notified to the RoI where it related to a qualifying UK road traffic offence as set out in Schedule 3 to the CICA 2003 (Great Britain offences) or in new Schedule 3A to that Act (Northern Ireland offences) (inserted by Schedule 7).
306.Subsection (4) amends section 56(1) of the CICA 2003 to require the UK to recognise a driving disqualification if an offender is disqualified in the RoI following conviction for a qualifying road traffic offence as set out in the new Schedule 3B to that Act (inserted by Schedule 7). The obligation to recognise the disqualification would only arise where the offender is normally resident in the UK, or is not normally resident in the UK but holds a Great Britain or Northern Ireland licence.
307.Subsection (5) inserts a new section after section 71 of the CICA 2003 to define the term “the specified agreement on driving disqualifications”. This agreement can only be an agreement between the UK and the RoI to mutually recognise driving disqualifications imposed in either state.
Schedule 7: Mutual recognition of driving disqualification in UK and Republic of Ireland
308.Schedule 7 makes a number of changes to the terminology used in the CICA 2003 to reflect the move from the Convention to the proposed bilateral agreement between the UK and the RoI.
309.Paragraph 2 of this Schedule amends the provisions in section 54 of the CICA 2003 relating to the minimum period a disqualification must be imposed for in relation to an offence in Part 2 of Schedules 3 and new Schedule 3A to that Act before the UK is required to notify the RoI. The minimum period is generally 6 months, unless a period of less than 6 months where this has been set out in regulations by the Secretary of State or the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland (“the Department”).
310.Sub-paragraph (4) provides that where an extension period is imposed under any of the legislative provisions listed, this will not be counted when calculating whether the period of disqualification is less than the minimum period.
311.Sub-paragraph (5) gives the Secretary of State and the Department the power to amend the list of offences set out in Schedule 3 and the new Schedule 3A of the CICA 2003 respectively by regulations (subject to the affirmative procedure – see paragraph 14).
312.Paragraph 5(2) amends section 56(2) of the CICA 2003 to set out when the driving disqualification condition is met. The condition is met either when the offender is disqualified for an offence set out in Part 1 of the new Schedule 3B to the CICA 2003 or when the offender is disqualified from driving for an offence described in Part 2 of that Schedule for not less than the minimum period.
313.Paragraph 5(4) provides that the “minimum period” is the period of less than 6 months specified by the Secretary of State in regulations or where no such period has been specified, 6 months.
314.Paragraph 5(6) amends section 56(6) of the CICA 2003, which provides that section 57 does not apply if the relevant proceedings were brought later than the time at which summary proceedings could have been brought for any corresponding offence under the law of the part of the UK in which the offender is normally resident. It replaces the reference to the part of the UK in which the offender is normally resident with a reference to “the relevant part of the UK”. Paragraph 5(7) inserts a new subsection (6A) in section 56 which defines the relevant part of the UK in relation to both offenders who were normally resident in the UK when convicted and offenders who were not, but who hold a Great Britain or Northern Ireland licence.
315.Paragraph 5(9) amends the power in section 56(8) of the CICA 2003 allowing the Secretary of State or the Department to make regulations about when offences under the law of a part of the UK correspond to an offence under the law in RoI for the purposes of section 56(6).
316.Paragraph 5(10) confers power on the Secretary of State to amend the list of offences set out in the new Schedule 3B to the CICA 2003 by regulations (subject to the affirmative procedure – see paragraph 14).
317.Paragraphs 11 and 12 amend sections 68 and 69 respectively to reflect the extension of section 57 to those who hold a licence in Great Britain or Northern Ireland but are not normally resident there.
318.Paragraph 14 provides for the affirmative procedure to apply when the Secretary of State makes regulations to amend the offences listed in Schedule 3 or new Schedule 3B to CICA or to specify an agreement under section 71A of the CICA 2003.
319.Paragraph 15 provides that regulations made by the Department to amend the offences listed in new Schedule 3A to the CICA 2003 are subject to the approval of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
320.Paragraph 18 sets out the definition of “normally resident” by reference to article 12 of Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20th December 2006 on driving licences.
321.Paragraphs 19 and 20 amend Schedule 3 and insert new Schedule 3A to the CICA 2003 to set out the offences for which driving disqualifications are recognised for the purposes of section 54. Schedule 3 contains offences under the law of England and Wales and Scotland and new Schedule 3A contains offences under the law of Northern Ireland. New Schedule 3A lists two offences that do not currently appear in Schedule 3: causing death or grievous bodily injury by careless or inconsiderate driving (Article 11A of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995) and causing death or grievous bodily injury by driving: unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers (Article 12B of that Order).
322.Paragraph 21 inserts a new Schedule 3B to the CICA 2003 which sets out the offences under the law of the RoI for which driving disqualifications are recognised for the purposes of section 56.
323.Paragraph 22 removes an amendment which was made in paragraph 93 of Schedule 21 to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which is superseded by the amendment made by paragraph 2(4) of the new Schedule.
324.Paragraph 23 defines a transitional period which runs from 1 December 2014 until the date when the amendments made in this Act are in force and the new bilateral agreement enters into force.
325.Paragraph 24 prevents the Secretary of State and the Department from having to comply with sections 55, 57 and 70(3) of the CICA 2003 during the transitional period, i.e. when there is no international agreement on mutual recognition of driving disqualifications between the UK and the ROI.
326.Paragraph 25 of this Schedule provides that paragraphs 23 and 24 are to be treated as having come into force on 1 December 2014, i.e. at the beginning of the transitional period.
327.Paragraph 26 states that once the transitional period ends, the Secretary of State and the Department would only be required to comply with sections 55, 57 and 70(3) in relation to offences committed after the end of the transitional period.
328.Paragraph 27 states that none of the amendments to the CICA 2003 in this Act would affect the application of that Act to a case where a notice has already been given to an offender under section 57 of that Act before 1 December 2014.
Section 32: Sending letters etc with intent to cause distress or anxiety
329.This section amends section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 (“the 1988 Act”) which makes it an offence to send certain articles with intent to cause distress or anxiety. Subsection (1) substitutes new subsection (4) of the 1988 Act which will allow prosecutions for this offence to be dealt with either in the magistrates’ court, or in the Crown Court.
330.New subsection (4)(a) provides that the new maximum penalty for the offence when tried on indictment is two years’ imprisonment, or a fine, or both. New subsection (4)(b) provides that the penalty on summary conviction is a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or a fine or both. However new subsections (5) and (6) (also inserted by subsection (1)) contain transitional provisions which provide, respectively for that reference to 12 months to be read as a reference to 6 months until section 154(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 comes into force and for the reference to a fine to be read as a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum until section 85 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 comes into force.
331.Subsection (2) makes it clear that the changes to section 1 of the 1988 Act only apply to offences committed on or after the day on which section 32 comes into force
