Standard Of Driving

Question 1

If a vehicle fitted with an engine is broken. Is it still an MPV?

Answer 1

Yes

Question 2

What if the engine is completely removed, is it still an MPV

Answer 2

If it has temporarily been removed, the vehicle will remain an MPV if there is a possibility that the engine might be replaced int he future.

If it has been permanently removed and will not be replaced then it isn’t an MPV

Question 3

Definition of a motor vehicle?

Answer 3

An MPV intended or adapted for use on the road

Question 4

How do we determine whether something is a motor vehicle and therefore adapted or intended for use on the road?

Answer 4

An objective reasonable person - would a reasonable person say that a potential use of the MPV would be use on a road?

The owner’s subjective intended use for the vehicle is not relevant.

Question 5

Are segways motor vehicles?

Answer 5

Yes

Question 6

Is an off road scrambler bike a motor vehicle?

Answer 6

No because it is intended for use off road

Question 7

Is a drag racer a motor vehicle?

Answer 7

No

Question 8

Is a fork lift truck a motor vehicle?

Answer 8

No

Question 9

Are electronically assisted pedal cycles and invalid carriages motor vehicles or MPV’s?

Answer 9

They are neither

Question 10

Is the driveway leading up to the Oxfordshire golf club a highway?

Answer 10

No - only a section of the public have access (members or visitors)

Question 11

Are car parks roads?

Answer 11

No

Question 12

Jesus is driving a car using a steering wheel however Moses is using the gears. Which one is driving?

Answer 12

Both

Question 13

I have the drivers door open and am steering the steering wheel whilst pushing the car. Am i driving?

Answer 13

No it has been held that it is not

Question 14

Sitting astride a moped and pushing with feet. Driving?

Answer 14

Yes

Question 15

Am i attempting to drive if whilst drunk, i attempt to start the car with my front door keys?

Answer 15

Yes you can attempt the impossible

Question 16

For dangerous driving what must the danger relate to?

Answer 16

Injury (not serious) to any person

Serious damage to property

Question 17

Must the prosecution show that the defendant knew of the dangerous condition of the vehicle?

Answer 17

No not always.

Either show that the dangerous condition would be obvious to a competent and careful driver OR that the defendant knew of the dangerous condition.

Question 18

Frank is diabetic and drives his car. He knows that he is likely to suffer a hyperglycaemic attack. Is he committing dangerous driving?

Answer 18

Yes

Question 19

Gary causes the death of a foetus that is injured in the womb as a result of dangerous driving. Can he commit causing death by dangerous driving?

Answer 19

Only if it leads an independent existence prior to their death

Question 20

Tom is driving dangerously and crashes into Harry. Harry’s car spins and crashes into Margaret who is killed instantly. Tom never touched Margaret or her car. Can he still be convicted of dangerous driving?

Answer 20

Yes - it need only be a contributory cause of death which was more than a mere trifling cause of death

Question 21

Is it a defence to dangerous driving if someone says that they did not intend to?

Answer 21

No

Question 22

Can you drive dangerously in private or cause death by dangerous?

Answer 22

No it must be a road or public place.

Question 23

Causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs. What happens if they fail to provide?

Answer 23

If they are within 18 hours of the driving and they fail to provide a specimen without reasonable excuse, they are guilty.

Or if they fail to provide blood at ANY time.

Question 24

if a driver falls asleep at the wheel, what are they guilty of?

Answer 24

Careless driving.

If the evidence of them sleeping comes only from the driver then this will be inadequate to support a charge of careless driving

Question 25

What offence does crossing the white line constitute?

Answer 25

Careless without explanation

Question 26

What are the 4 defences to standards of driving offences?

Answer 26

Duress Self defence Automatism Mechanical defect

Question 27

David was told to drive dangerously by Henry or he would punch him. Does David have a defence to dangerous driving?

Answer 27

No - duress defence only applies when they do so to avoid either death or serious injury

Question 28

Can the defence of duress apply when there is a threat of serious injury or death to someone other than the driver?

Answer 28

Yes risk of death or serious injury to the driver or someone else whom they are responsible for

Question 29

What phrase is used to describe the extent of the loss of control for automatism?

Answer 29

The driver has suffered a total destruction of voluntary physical control of their body

Question 30

A driver hits a curb causing the tyre to cut without the driver’s knowledge. Half an hour later, the car flips and kills someone. Could the driver use the defence of mechanical defect which causes an accident?

Answer 30

No although: The driver did not know about the defect Could not have been reasonable expected to have foreseen that the defect would occur The driver is however responsible for defect and so cannot rely on the defence.

Question 31

Can a learner driver supervisor commit offences by not supervising them properly?

Answer 31

Yes -

Question 32

Can someone else in the car warning the driver about their speed be used as supporting evidence for dangerous driving?

Answer 32

Yes disregarding warning from passengers may support an allegation.

Question 33

If an officer drives dangerously, i know that the court cannot take into account their training or experience or the honest beliefs by the officer. However what about the circumstances of why he was driving dangerously?

Answer 33

It is not a defence but it may provide significant mitigation for their actions and where appropriate special reasons for not disqualifying them.

Question 34

Under section 168 RTA, do drivers have an obligation to exchange details if there has been careless driving but no accident?

Answer 34

Yes The driver of an MPV has committed an offence of dangerous/careless driving The rider of a cycle does similar They commit an offence if they refuse details having been reasonably required to give their name/address or gives a false name/address. No need for accident.

Question 35

Can someone be convicted of speeding offences solely on the witness testimony of one person?

Answer 35

No

Question 36

With regards to having the power to remove vehicles from a road, do we have to power to remove cars even if it isn’t actually causing an obstruction?

Answer 36

Actual or potential obstruction as long as it is expected at some time in the future. No need for officer to be in uniform

Question 37

Child in a front facing passenger seat. Do we need to deactivate the front and/or side air bags?

Answer 37

No Only rear facing child seats. Side air bag never needs to be deactivated.

Question 38

Someone sits astride a moped and peddles with his feet. Driving?

Answer 38

Yes

Question 39

For an offence of careless/inconsiderate driving, what is the evidential test?

Answer 39

The driving fell below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver and that his actions were voluntary.

Question 40

Do courts consider someone’s new driver status in the same way as an experienced driver?

Answer 40

There is one standard - learner or not.

Question 41

Does speeding require corroboration?

Answer 41

Only non-motorway speeding requires corroboration

Question 42

I know that cyclists who commit dangerous cycling must give their name and address who a person having reasonable grounds for so requiring. What about careless cycling?

Answer 42

Yes Dangerous and careless.

Question 43

Euan is driving along the road and I am passenger. We see Steve Why walking on the pavement. I grab the steering wheel and veer the car in his direction to frighten him. It accidentally hits him. Was i driving?

Answer 43

No it has been held i was not driving but interfering with the driver.

Question 44

For death by dangerous driving, do we have to show that the driving was the sole course of the death?

Answer 44

No just contributed in some way.

Question 45

When is a police officer entitled to give expert evidence on collisions at court?

Answer 45

In R v Oakley [1979] Crim LR 657, a police officer who had attended a course, passed an exam as a collision investigator, and attended more than 400 accidents was entitled to give expert evidence as to the cause of an accident.

Question 46

Must an expert police officer opinion on a collision be supported by factual evidence?

Answer 46

No they may give opinion