Pre-charge engagement prevents prosecution for dangerous driving

A company director who travelled extensively for work was reported following an incident on a dual carriageway. The driver relied upon their licence for business travel and had no previous convictions for motoring offences.

The allegation arose from a series of overtaking manoeuvres that another motorist considered aggressive and dangerous. Dashcam footage of the incident was provided to the police and the driver was subsequently invited to attend a voluntary interview under caution.

The dashcam footage clearly showed the driving in question, and there was little dispute about the manoeuvres themselves. The key issue was whether the driving genuinely met the legal threshold for dangerous driving, or whether it was more appropriately categorised as careless driving. Following a detailed review of the footage, road layout, traffic conditions and surrounding circumstances, representations were made to the investigating officer before any charging decision was taken.

Following pre-charge engagement, the police accepted that the evidential threshold for dangerous driving was unlikely to be met. The allegation was reduced to careless driving, and the driver was offered a National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS) course as an alternative to prosecution. The matter was resolved without court proceedings, disqualification or a criminal conviction.

If you or someone you represent is under investigation for a serious driving offence, contact LMP Legal - specialist road traffic lawyers with national expertise in defending fatal and serious collision cases.