In recent years it has in most counties become the norm for Police to charge high speed, typically twice the speed limit, as dangerous driving. 

A conviction for dangerous driving carries with it a minimum period of disqualification of 12 months plus a requirement to take an extended re-test before a full Licence is received and that relates to any class of vehicle one would wish to drive.

It is also a criminal offence for which one can expect to receive at least a Community Penalty if not a Custodial Sentence.

Speeding, on the other hand, is not going to result in one having a criminal record, and one cannot receive a Community Penalty or Custodial Sentence.

So at what point does speeding become dangerous driving?

In Scotland it now seems settled that speeding in excess of 100  mph in a 60 mph area or in excess of 110 mph in a 70 mph area is likely to result in a conviction for dangerous driving.

In England and Wales the position is somewhat different.

In a case from 2006, the Director of Public Prosecutions v Mark Scott Milton, Lady Justice Hallett said “it is not for this Court to attempt to lay down hard and fast rules that driving at X times any particular speed limit is so excessive as to amount to dangerous driving per se.  That would be an impossible and inappropriate task”.

As a result of that it is a question of the circumstances of each particular case as to whether driving at high speed is dangerous or not.  That can depend upon road conditions, traffic conditions, the preponderance or otherwise of junctions, schools, houses, factories etc, and many other factors.

In a recent case on the A11 in Suffolk a driver was banned for 56 days for speeding at 154 mph.  It is to be noted that that was a charge of speeding.

In many, indeed most, police areas such a speed would almost certainly be charged in the first instance as dangerous driving.  Then the question comes as to whether to plead guilty to dangerous driving or run a Trial in the hope that one can be acquitted altogether or receive a conviction for careless driving, which again carries with it a discretionary ban but no re-test and no Community Order or Custody.

It is still necessary, however, to weigh in the balance the question of a one third discount on sentence for an early guilty plea and the difference between prosecution costs in respect of a guilty plea compared to that of a not guilty plea (the latter being typically 6 times higher).

In a recent case a man was driving up to almost 120 mph in places on a 60  mph speed limit who was found not guilty of dangerous driving but guilty of careless driving, but one has to look at the overall circumstances.

The fact is that by driving significantly above the national speed limit and certainly approaching twice the national speed limit Court proceedings alleging dangerous driving will almost certainly follow in most areas and then it will be for the Court to decide whether the Prosecution have proved that the driving was dangerous, taking into account all the circumstances.

Finally, it may be worth pointing out the law which is :- “ A person is to be regarded as driving dangerously if (and subject to Sub-Section (2) below only if) –

• the way he drives falls far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver, and
• it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in that way would be dangerous

Sub-Section 2 refers to driving a vehicle in a dangerous state.

It has to be borne in mind that if one is taking the risk and driving at high speed, it will be a Police Officer who will be almost certainly giving evidence in Court and he is much more likely to be trained to a higher standard than you and certainly treated as being so by a bench of Magistrates.

For 24 hour assistance at the police station please call us on 07623 972487. For any other advice or assistance please contact our Criminal & Motoring Team on 01606 592159.