Dangerous Driver Avoids Immediate Custody by Early Guilty Plea

The driver in this matter, represented at the Magistrates’ Court by barrister Harry Bowyer, had driven off a main road on to a minor road. He recognised the car of someone with whom he needed to speak and reversed back at speed on the wrong side of the road crashing into that car at such a speed that he wrote it off and caused injuries (not serious enough for the aggravated offence). The whole incident was caught on dashcam. He entered a plea at the earliest opportunity on the basis that the impact was not deliberate. The prosecution represented that this driving fell into the top category for dangerous driving. The defence argued and the Magistrates agreed that it fell into the middle category. They removed one third from the starting point in the guidelines for the defendant’s guilty plea and suspended the sentence owing to his positive good character, clean licence and subsequent exemplary behaviour since the crash.