Dangerous Driving - Criminal Code of Canada 249




The Criminal Code offence of Dangerous Driving is made out when;

The accused drives a motor vehicle in a manner that is dangerous to the public,

Having regard to all the circumstances,

Including the nature, condition and,

Use of the place where the driving occurs and the amount of traffic there at the time or that might reasonably be expected.

A Dangerous Driving conviction results in a criminal record and an automatic one-year licence suspension. Dangerous driving offences resulting bodily harm can result in the accused being sent to jail, and imprisonment for up to ten (10) years. An accused convicted of Dangerous Driving cause death is liable for imprisonment of up to fourteen (14) years.

Drivers with previous convictions for Dangerous Driving or impaired driving offences may face increased licence suspensions, which up include up to a life time drivers licence suspension.

For driving to be considered dangerous the crown and the police must prove that the accused drove in a manner departed from the standard of care of a reasonable person, thereby committing the offence of Dangerous Driving. They must take into consideration, the intentions or acts of the accused, and the threat or possible threats to the public or community.

By contrast, careless driving under the Highway Traffic Act is made out where the defendant's driving departs sufficiently from the standard of a prudent and reasonable driver to make the driving deserving of punishment. e.g. an act of carelessness.

249. (1) Every one commits the offence of Dangerous Driving who operates;

     (a) a motor vehicle in a manner that is dangerous to the public, having regard to all the circumstances, including the nature, condition and use of the place at which the motor vehicle is being operated, and the amount of traffic that at the time is or might reasonably be expected to be at that place;

     (b) a vessel or any water skis, surf board, water sled or other towed object on or over any of the internal waters of Canada or the territorial sea of Canada, in a manner that is dangerous to the public, having regard to all the circumstances, including the nature and condition of those waters or sea and the use that at the time is or might reasonably be expected to be made of those waters or sea;

     (c) an aircraft in a manner that is dangerous to the public, having regard to all the circumstances, including the nature and condition of that aircraft or the place or air space in or through which the aircraft is operated; or

     (d) railway equipment in a manner that is dangerous to the public, having regard to all the circumstances, including the nature and condition of the equipment or the place in or through which the equipment is operated.


Dangerous Driving - Punishment

(2) Every one who commits an offence of dangerous driving under subsection;

(a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; or

(b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

Dangerous Driving causing Bodily Harm

(3) Every one who commits an offence of dangerous driving under subsection (1) and thereby causes bodily harm to any other person is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years.

Dangerous Driving causing Death

(4) Every one who commits an offence of dangerous driving under subsection (1) and thereby causes the death of any other person is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

Synopsis

Section 249 1,a makes it an offence to operate a motor vehicle in a manner that is dangerous to the public. To determine if the driving is dangerous, the section indicates that one must consider all of the circumstances such as the nature, condition and the use of the place as well as the amount of traffic that is, or might reasonably be expected to be present at the time.

In addition, it is essential that there be danger to the public who either were present, or who might have been expected to be present. A passenger in the car is part of the public in a Dangerous Driving case.

The mental element for the offence requires proof of an intention to operate the vehicle in a way which, objectively viewed, constitutes a departure from the standard of care expected of prudent driver in the circumstances.

In considering whether the manner of driving was dangerous and endangered the public, it was considered an error that the trial judge simply considered the absence of other traffic in the course of a high speed police chase. The passenger in the accused's car and the officer in the police cruiser were included in the public described in this section.

It is not necessary for the Crown to prove that the lives or safety of other were actually endangered.

The offence is proved where the Crown establishes that the dangerous driving was of a manner that was dangerous to the public, that is, either the public actually was present at the time of the dangerous driving or that the public might reasonable be expected to be in the area at the time of the offence, and that the dangerous driving displayed a "marked departure" from what a prudent driver would have done.