Negligent Driving Charges

There are a number of negligent driving offences that the Police may charge you with. Penalties can range from fines, disqualification periods and imprisonment depending on what type negligent driving offence you have been charged with. Often, people will plead guilty to one of these charges without knowing that they could have possibly defended the matter or had the charge reduced to a lesser charge (which carries lesser penalties).

 

Our traffic lawyers are experienced in negligent driving cases. We carefully analyse your case and advise you not only what penalties to expect if pleading guilty, but also if you can defend your matter (and therefore be found ‘not guilty’) or have the charge reduced to a lesser offence.

 

If you have any questions or need legal representation for a negligent driving charge, feel free to contact our traffic lawyers on (02) 9521 2222. You can also send your enquiry online now and we will contact you shortly.

 

 

This is the least serious negligent driving offence. The Police will often charge a person with negligent driving if they were at fault in a collision. The maximum penalty for an offence of negligent driving is a $1,100 fine. Demerit points will also apply. You will usually be fined for this offence and if so, a Court appearance is not required.

 

As you incur demerit points for this offence, you may be facing a licence suspension. It is possible to defend a negligent driving charge, and thus be found not guilty of the offence (and thus no points are taken from your licence).

 

Just because you have been involved in a car accident, it does not necessarily follow that you were negligent and many people are charged with negligent driving even though they were not negligent. Many people will choose not to fight the charge as it is generally only a small fine. However if you are potentially facing a loss of licence due to the demerit points you may want to seriously consider fighting the charge. Contact us on (02) 9521 2222 if you have any question about a negligent driving matter.

 

 

If you are convicted negligent driving occasioning death, a Court will seriously consider imprisonment as a penalty. In recent times the Court has taken a tougher stance with people convicted of this offence and have been imposing imprisonment terms. The offence of negligent driving causing death is legislated in section 42 of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act (NSW).

 

If you have been charged with this offence, it is imperative that you seek legal representation. It may be possible to defend the charge (and thus be found not guilty). It may also be possible to negotiate with the Prosecutor to have them reduce the charge against you, and thus lesser penalties will be imposed. Feel free to contact one of our criminal and traffic lawyers on (02) 9521 2222. You can also send your enquiry online now and we will contact you shortly.

 

The penalties for negligent driving occasioning death are as follows:

PENALTIES	FIRST OFFENCE	SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT OFFENCE
Maximum court imposed fine	$3,300	$5,500
Maximum gaol term	18 months	2 years
Minimum disqualification	12 months	2 years
Maximum disqualification	Unlimited	Unlimited
Disqualification in the absence of a specific court order (automatic period)	3 years	5 years

 

 

This offence also carries severe penalties, including imprisonment terms. The offence of negligent driving causing grievous bodily harm is outlined in section 42 of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act (NSW). There are serious penalties if you are convicted of this offence. It is sometimes arguable whether grievous bodily harm has been inflicted and in some cases you could possibly have the charge reduced to a lesser penalty or dismissed completely.

 

The penalties for negligent driving causing grievous bodily harm are as follows:       

PENALTIES	FIRST OFFENCE	SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT OFFENCE
Maximum court imposed fine	$2,200	$3,300
Maximum gaol term	9 months	12 months
Minimum disqualification	12 months	2 years
Maximum disqualification	Unlimited	Unlimited
Disqualification in the absence of a specific court order (automatic period)	3 years	5 years

 

If you have been charged with a negligent driving charge, or have any questions on this area of law, please call us on (02) 9521 2222. You can also send your enquiry online now and a member of our criminal and traffic law team will contact you shortly.