Traffic and serious driving offences in NSW
Reckless, furious and dangerous driving in NSW
These charges run from a $1,100 fine in the Local Court to fourteen years in the District Court, and the difference often turns on facts that are genuinely arguable. Getting the charge right, and the sentence right, starts with the police brief.
Charged after a crash? Do not give a version until you have advice
What you say at the scene and in a police interview becomes the case against you, and in these matters the manner of driving is usually the only real issue. If your licence was suspended, an appeal must be filed in the Local Court within 28 days. Call us first, on 0407 171 626 or 0407 534 594.
Catron Simmons Lawyers are traffic lawyers acting for drivers charged with dangerous, reckless and furious driving in Local and District Courts across New South Wales, from Sydney and the Hills District to the regions.
The single most important thing to understand about this area is that the same driving can be charged three different ways, with wildly different consequences. Where nobody is hurt, it is a Local Court matter under the Road Transport Act 2013. Where someone suffers grievous bodily harm or dies, it becomes a strictly indictable offence under the Crimes Act 1900 and goes to the District Court. Which charge you face is not always fixed, and it is often the first thing worth arguing about.
Know your charge
Which offence you have actually been charged with
Check the court attendance notice for the section number. It tells you more about what you are facing than the words the police used at the scene.
Negligent driving
Driving that departs from the standard of care a reasonable driver would show. The lowest of these offences, usually dealt with by penalty notice or in the Local Court. More on negligent driving.
Furious, reckless or manner dangerous
Not three separate offences, but three alternative ways of committing one offence. Charged where the driving created a real danger to the public but nobody was killed or seriously injured.
Negligent driving causing death or GBH
Where negligent driving results in death or grievous bodily harm. Still a Local Court offence, but it carries an automatic three year disqualification and a real prospect of gaol.
Dangerous driving occasioning death or GBH
Strictly indictable and heard in the District Court. Requires an impact causing death or grievous bodily harm while driving under the influence, at a dangerous speed, or in a manner dangerous.
Failing to stop and assist
Where you knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that an impact caused death or grievous bodily harm and you did not stop and give assistance.
Predatory driving and police pursuit
Predatory driving involves menacing another vehicle intending to cause harm. Failing to stop for police and then driving dangerously is a separate offence. See police pursuits.
The elements
What the prosecution has to prove
The test is objective, not about what you intended
Driving in a manner dangerous means driving that, judged objectively, created a real danger to the public. It does not depend on whether you meant to drive badly, and it is a higher standard than negligence: McBride v The Queen (1966) 115 CLR 44. Recklessness sits between the two, involving a conscious disregard for the safety of others, and furious driving describes driving marked by extreme aggression.
The court must have regard to all the circumstances, including the nature, condition and use of the road, the amount of traffic actually on it or that could reasonably be expected, and any obstructions or hazards such as broken down vehicles, fallen loads or an accident scene.
What counts as driving
Driving includes being in control of the steering, movement or propulsion of a vehicle under section 4(1) of the Road Transport Act 2013. The courts have held that the ability to steer is not essential, and that control over propulsion alone can be enough: R v Affleck (1992) 65 A Crim R 96.
Falling asleep at the wheel
If a driver falls asleep, the driving that matters is the driving immediately before sleep took hold, because a sleeping driver cannot be said to be driving dangerously in any meaningful sense: Jiminez v The Queen (1992) 173 CLR 572. That distinction decides more of these cases than people expect, particularly on long trips and early morning drives.
What grievous bodily harm means
Grievous bodily harm is bodily injury of a really serious kind. It includes any permanent or serious disfigurement, broken bones, damage to internal organs and the destruction of a foetus. Whether an injury reaches that threshold is frequently arguable, and it is the difference between a Local Court matter and a District Court one.
What you are facing
Penalties
The range in one line
Same driving, three very different outcomes
Which Act you are charged under does more to determine your exposure than anything else in the case.
Negligent driving, no injury
Manner dangerous, Local Court
Aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death
Road Transport Act 2013 offences
A penalty unit in NSW is currently $110. A second or subsequent offence means a second major traffic offence within the last five years.
| Offence | Maximum fine | Maximum gaol | Automatic disqualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Negligent driving, no death or GBH | $1,100 | Not applicable | None, court discretion |
| Furious, reckless or manner dangerous | $2,200 | 9 months | 3 years, 12 month minimum |
| Negligent driving occasioning GBH | $2,200 | 9 months | 3 years, 12 month minimum |
| Negligent driving occasioning death | $3,300 | 18 months | 3 years, 12 month minimum |
| Offence | Maximum fine | Maximum gaol | Automatic disqualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Negligent driving, no death or GBH | $1,100 | Not applicable | None, court discretion |
| Furious, reckless or manner dangerous | $3,300 | 12 months | 5 years, 2 year minimum |
| Negligent driving occasioning GBH | $3,300 | 12 months | 5 years, 2 year minimum |
| Negligent driving occasioning death | $5,500 | 2 years | 5 years, 2 year minimum |
Crimes Act 1900 offences
These are strictly indictable and dealt with in the District Court. There is no fine as the primary penalty, and each carries an automatic three year disqualification, or five years where the offence is aggravated, with a twelve month minimum.
| Offence | Section | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Dangerous driving occasioning death | s 52A(1) | 10 years’ imprisonment |
| Aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death | s 52A(2) | 14 years’ imprisonment |
| Dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm | s 52A(3) | 7 years’ imprisonment |
| Aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm | s 52A(4) | 11 years’ imprisonment |
| Failing to stop and assist, death | s 52AB(1) | 10 years’ imprisonment |
| Failing to stop and assist, grievous bodily harm | s 52AB(2) | 7 years’ imprisonment |
| Predatory driving | s 51A | 5 years’ imprisonment |
| Police pursuit, failing to stop and driving dangerously | s 51B | 3 years, or 5 years for a subsequent offence |
| Causing actual bodily harm by wanton or furious driving | s 53 | 2 years’ imprisonment |
A guideline judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeal applies to section 52A sentencing, R v Whyte [2002] NSWCCA 343. It holds that a custodial sentence will usually be appropriate unless the offender’s moral culpability is low, and identifies abandonment of responsibility for the vehicle as the marker of a more serious case. That is why preparation on a section 52A matter begins months before the sentence date, not weeks.
Section 52A(7)
Circumstances of aggravation
An aggravated charge lifts the maximum from 10 years to 14 for death, and from 7 years to 11 for grievous bodily harm. The circumstances are defined, not at large, and whether one is made out is often the most valuable thing to contest:
- a prescribed concentration of alcohol of 0.15 or more
- driving more than 45 km/h over the speed limit
- driving to escape police pursuit
- driving while very substantially impaired by alcohol, a drug, or a combination of them
Where the reading or the speed is close to the line, expert evidence on absorption or on the speed calculation can take the matter out of the aggravated category altogether. That is a four year difference in exposure on a death charge, before anything else in the case is argued.
Your options
Defences
These charges are more defensible than most people assume, because the prosecution has to prove a standard of driving, not just that a collision happened.
The driving was not dangerous
The most common answer. A collision does not prove dangerous driving, and momentary inattention is negligence at most. Where the manner of driving falls short of a real danger to the public, the charge fails or reduces to negligent driving.
Causation
Under section 52A the impact must occasion the death or injury. Where another driver, a road hazard or a pre-existing medical event caused the outcome, the link is broken. Section 52A(8) also provides that it is a defence if the death or harm was not in any way attributable to intoxication, speed or the manner of driving.
Mechanical defect
A sudden and unforeseeable failure of brakes, steering or a tyre is not driving. This needs an engineer’s report and the vehicle preserved, which is why early advice matters.
Automatism and medical events
A seizure, stroke, hypoglycaemic episode or other sudden loss of capacity means the driving was not voluntary. Medical evidence is essential, including whether the event was foreseeable.
Honest and reasonable mistake of fact
Available in limited circumstances where you held a genuine and reasonable belief in a state of facts which, if true, would make the driving lawful.
The injury is not grievous bodily harm
Where the injury does not reach really serious bodily harm, the section 52A charge cannot stand and the matter belongs in the Local Court. This is frequently negotiable on the medical material.
Even where the driving is admitted, there is usually room to negotiate the charge down or to have the police fact sheet amended. Facts you agree to are the facts the court sentences on, so they are worth fighting over before anything is tendered.
Sentencing
What a court can order at sentence
You should get advice before pleading guilty to any of these offences. A well prepared sentence is the difference between a bond and a gaol term, and the court offers a discount for a plea entered early.
- Section 10(1)(a) dismissal. Guilty, but the charge is dismissed. No conviction, no penalty, no disqualification.
- Conditional Release Order without conviction. A good behaviour bond of up to two years with no conviction recorded, supervised or unsupervised.
- Conviction with no other penalty. Under section 10A a conviction is recorded, and disqualification follows, but no further penalty.
- Fine. Can be combined with a bond. Usually payable within 28 days, with time to pay available on application. Unpaid fines lead to an enforcement order and licence suspension.
- Conditional Release Order with conviction. A bond following a conviction, with conditions such as abstinence, treatment or supervision.
- Community Correction Order. Up to three years, and may include community service, curfews or a supervision condition.
- Intensive Correction Order. A sentence of imprisonment served in the community under strict supervision, with conditions such as home detention or electronic monitoring. Supervised by Community Corrections, with breaches referred to the State Parole Authority rather than the court.
- Full time imprisonment. The starting point on a section 52A matter under the guideline judgment, and a real possibility on a serious Local Court charge.
The Traffic Offender Program
The Traffic Offender Intervention Program is a court recognised road safety course. Completing it before sentence demonstrates insight rather than asserting it, and on driving matters magistrates give it real weight. We refer clients to a provider near them as soon as we are engaged.
Your licence
Suspensions, appeals and disqualification
Police suspended my licence. Can I appeal?
Yes, to the Local Court, and the application must be filed within 28 days of the notice. The suspension stays in force while the appeal is pending, and the court can only lift or vary it if satisfied there are exceptional circumstances. Needing your licence for work, school or family is ordinary rather than exceptional, so these appeals turn on how the whole picture is assembled. See police suspension appeals and Transport for NSW licence appeals.
There is no work licence in NSW
Despite what you may have been told, NSW has no work licence, restricted licence or hardship licence. If you are disqualified, you cannot drive at all, which is why the length of the disqualification is worth arguing about at sentence.
Removing a disqualification early
If you have served a long disqualification and stayed offence free for the required period, you may be able to apply to have the balance removed. See removing a licence disqualification.
Other consequences worth knowing
- A conviction sits on your criminal record and can affect employment, professional registration and travel, particularly to the United States.
- Where alcohol or drugs were involved, expect a companion charge. See drink driving and driving with an illicit substance.
- Driving while disqualified is a separate and serious offence. See licence offences.
- Insurers commonly decline cover where the driving was reckless or dangerous, which can leave you personally exposed to a civil claim.
Why Catron Simmons
Why drivers choose us
A prosecutor’s eye for the brief
With a background in prosecution, we read the brief the way the other side does. On driving matters that means the collision report, the scene measurements, the speed calculations and the medical evidence, which is where these cases are usually won.
Local Court and District Court
These charges move between jurisdictions depending on the injury. We run them in both, and we know when a section 52A charge should be resisted and when it should be negotiated down.
Charge negotiation, not just mitigation
Reducing dangerous driving to negligent driving, or removing a circumstance of aggravation, changes the outcome far more than a good plea in mitigation ever will. We look there first.
You deal with a principal
We are a boutique firm. You talk to the solicitor who will appear for you, not a call centre, and we are contactable outside business hours.
Common questions
Dangerous and reckless driving: your questions answered
What is the difference between negligent driving and dangerous driving?
Negligent driving is driving that falls below the standard of a reasonable driver, and momentary inattention can be enough. Dangerous driving is a considerably higher standard: the driving must have created a real danger to the public, judged objectively. The gap matters enormously, because negligent driving with no injury carries a maximum fine of $1,100 and no automatic disqualification, while manner dangerous carries nine months’ gaol and an automatic three year disqualification.
Are reckless, furious and dangerous driving three separate charges?
No. They are three alternative ways of committing the one offence under section 117(2) of the Road Transport Act 2013, and they carry identical penalties. Reckless driving involves conscious disregard for the safety of others, furious driving describes extreme aggression at the wheel, and manner dangerous is judged objectively against the risk created.
Will I go to gaol?
On a section 52A charge, the guideline judgment in R v Whyte says a custodial sentence will usually be appropriate unless moral culpability is low, so the honest answer is that it is a real risk. On a Local Court manner dangerous charge with no injury and a clean record, gaol is unlikely and the fight is over conviction and disqualification. Either way, the work is in reducing culpability with evidence rather than assertion.
Can a dangerous driving charge be reduced?
Often, yes. The realistic paths are arguing the driving was negligent rather than dangerous, disputing that the injury amounts to grievous bodily harm, breaking the causal link, or removing a circumstance of aggravation. Any one of those changes the maximum penalty dramatically, and all of them are better pursued before a plea is entered.
What counts as grievous bodily harm?
Really serious bodily injury. It includes permanent or serious disfigurement, broken bones, damage to internal organs and the destruction of a foetus. Whether a particular injury reaches that threshold is often genuinely arguable on the medical evidence, and it decides whether the matter stays in the Local Court or goes to the District Court.
I fell asleep at the wheel. Is that dangerous driving?
Not automatically. The High Court held in Jiminez v The Queen that a sleeping driver cannot be driving dangerously, so the relevant question is the driving immediately before sleep took hold, and whether you were aware you were becoming drowsy. That is a fact question turning on the trip, the hours and what you knew, and it is worth investigating properly.
What makes a charge aggravated?
Section 52A(7) sets out the circumstances: a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 or above, driving more than 45 km/h over the limit, driving to escape a police pursuit, or being very substantially impaired by alcohol or drugs. An aggravated charge lifts the maximum from 10 to 14 years for death, and from 7 to 11 years for grievous bodily harm.
Do I have to go to court?
Yes. You can send in a written notice of pleading, but on these charges it is a poor idea. The magistrate would have only the police fact sheet and your record, with nothing about you, your circumstances or your remorse, and the penalty is usually heavier as a result. If you cannot attend, we can appear for you.
How long will my matter take?
A Local Court plea is often finalised within a few months. A defended hearing usually takes six months or more once the brief is served. A section 52A matter in the District Court runs considerably longer, often more than a year, because of committal, expert evidence and listing times. Use that time rather than waiting it out.
Keep reading
Related traffic law pages
Police pursuit →
Drink driving and PCA charges →
Driving under the influence (DUI) →
Driving with an illicit substance →
Speeding and camera offences →
Appealing a police suspension →
Transport for NSW licence appeals →
Removing a disqualification →
Licence offences and driving while disqualified →
Criminal law and criminal records →
All traffic law services →
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Charged with dangerous or reckless driving? Let’s talk today.
Send us your court attendance notice and the police fact sheet. We will tell you what you are facing, whether the charge can be defended or reduced, and what your realistic options are.