Dangerous driving: substantive matters 52A Dangerous driving: substantive matters
(1) Dangerous driving occasioning death A
person is guilty of the offence of dangerous driving occasioning death if the
vehicle driven by the
person is involved in an impact occasioning the death of another
person and the driver was, at the time of the impact, driving the
vehicle:
(a) under the influence of intoxicating liquor or of a
drug, or
A
person convicted of an offence under this subsection is liable to imprisonment for 10 years.
(2) Aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death A
person is guilty of the offence of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death if the
person commits the offence of dangerous driving occasioning death in
circumstances of aggravation. A
person convicted of an offence under this subsection is liable to imprisonment for 14 years.
(5) When
vehicle is involved in impact-generally For the purposes of this section, the circumstances in which a
vehicle is involved in an impact occasioning the death of, or
grievous bodily harm to, a
person include if the death or harm is occasioned through any of the following:
(a) the
vehicle overturning or leaving a
road while the
person is being conveyed in or on that
vehicle (whether as a passenger or otherwise),
(b) an impact between any
object and the
vehicle while the
person is being conveyed in or on that
vehicle (whether as a passenger or otherwise),
(e) an impact with anything on, or attached to, the
vehicle,
(f) an impact with anything that is in motion through falling from the
vehicle,
(g) the
person falling from the
vehicle, or being thrown or ejected from the
vehicle, while being conveyed in or on the
vehicle (whether as a passenger or otherwise),
(h) an impact between any
object (including the ground) and the
person, as a consequence of the
person (or any part of the
person) being or protruding outside the
vehicle, while the
person is being conveyed in or on the
vehicle (whether as a passenger or otherwise).
(6) When
vehicle is involved in causing other impacts For the purposes of this section, a
vehicle is also involved in an impact occasioning the death of, or
grievous bodily harm to, a
person if:
(b) the prosecution proves that the
vehicle caused the impact.
(7)
Circumstances of aggravation In this section, "circumstances of aggravation" means any circumstances at the time of the impact occasioning death or
grievous bodily harm in which:
(b) the accused was driving the
vehicle concerned on a
road at a speed that exceeded, by more than 45 kilometres per hour, the speed limit (if any) applicable to that length of
road, or
(c) the accused was driving the
vehicle to escape pursuit by a police
officer, or
(d) the accused’s ability to drive was very substantially impaired by the fact that the accused was under the influence of a
drug (other than intoxicating liquor) or a combination of
drugs (whether or not intoxicating liquor was part of that combination).
(8) Defences It is a defence to any charge under this section if the death or
grievous bodily harm occasioned by the impact was not in any way attributable (as relevant):
(a) to the fact that the
person charged was under the influence of intoxicating liquor or of a
drug or a combination of
drugs, or
(b) to the speed at which the
vehicle was driven, or
(c) to the manner in which the
vehicle was driven.
