Driving Offence Solicitors
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CARELESS DRIVING / DRIVING WITHOUT DUE CARE AND ATTENTION

Geoffrey Miller Solicitors are specialist Careless Driving and Driving Without Due Care And Attention Solicitors. Call our team of expert motoring solicitors for free initial advice.

careless driving solicitors
view the sentencing council guidelines

View Sentencing Council Guidelines Careless driving drive without due care and attention penalty

An allegation of careless driving, also known as inconsiderate driving or driving without due care and attention, can only succeed if the prosecution prove that:

  • Your driving fell below the standard expected of a competent driver; or
  • That you did not show reasonable consideration for other pedestrians and vehicles on the road.

The definitions above are open to interpretation. As explained by Jeanette Miller in this BBC Breakfast interview from June 2012, under present law, a minor breach of the Highway Code could be perceived by a court to amount to the offence of careless driving or driving without due care. There is no set list of what driving errors or manoeuvres would land you in the dock with a prosecution for a driving without due care offence.

Dangerous Driving Solicitors - BBC Breakfast News 16 June 2012
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The Law Behind Careless Driving

Examples of driving that could be classed as careless that you may find surprising are:

  • Coming out of a side junction into the path of another vehicle;
  • Scraping another car in a car park;
  • A minor bump or shunt with another vehicle;
  • Using a satellite navigation system or map whilst driving;
  • Lighting a cigarette;
  • Middle lane hogging;
  • Failing to wear sunglasses in sunny weather; or
  • Eating or drinking whilst driving.

On 16 August 2013 the police were granted extended powers to issue fixed penalty offers for the offence of careless driving. This caused a bit of a stir at the time but in June 2015 the press were all over a case claimed to have been the first conviction for “middle lane hogging” since the new police powers in relation to Careless driving fixed penalties were introduced.

Having specialised in the field of motoring law since 2000 we can assure you that “middle lane hogging” has featured as an allegation in a number of careless driving prosecutions we have seen over this period.

You do not have to accept an offer of a fixed penalty and if you disagree with the driving without due care allegation, you are free to challenge the matter through the courts.

Most careless driving cases that we defend will involve our meticulous case preparation. The Magistrates who hear your case will look at all the facts in the case to determine whether or not your driving falls in the two categories above.

Whilst most motoring offences involve numerous technical issues, the strategy involved in defending a careless driving prosecution will most likely involve gathering witness evidence and possibly having an accident reconstruction report prepared to assist in disputing allegations made by the police or witnesses.

Fighting the Careless Driving Allegation

Our specialist team of lawyers will review the strength of the prosecution’s case against you before advising you of the merits of your case. We find that whilst the police may have gathered numerous witness statements to support the allegation against you, when scrutinised, the evidence may well contain inconsistencies and leave the Crown’s case wide open to attack.

For example, we were involved in successfully defending a driver who was accused of careless driving after being involved in a serious motorway pile up. There were 6 witness statements relied upon by the Crown but when we examined them closely, we were able to establish that not one of the witnesses had actually seen the collision but they all made claims of hearing the collision. The prosecution evidence was made up of assumptions and inadmissible hearsay evidence. When we pointed this out to the Crown Prosecution Service, the case was dropped before it even got underway at trial.

Pleading Guilty To Careless Driving

The penalties for careless driving range from a relatively minor 3 penalty points but can be as much as 9 points or even a disqualification so if you are contemplating pleading guilty to the offence of careless driving it is important to have a specialist representative to ensure that the Court imposes the lowest penalty possible especially if you are at risk of disqualification. Take a look at the Penalty PDF for more detailed information about the level of penalty you may face.

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Please note we only deal with motoring cases in England and Wales and are unable to assist with cases in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

OUR LATEST CARELESS DRIVING TESTIMONIALS

Had an allegation made against me by another driver, which he took to the Police and I was issued a Notice of Intended Prosecution. Terrifying as I was accused of failing to stop after a RTA (of which I had no knowledge). I approached Geoffrey Miller Solicitors in view of the potential seriousness of the allegations. It was not cheap, but the service was inclusive and managed in a timely manner. My Solicitor was easy to contact and kept me informed the whole time. The result was no further action, but I am really pleased I took professional advice and was able to make a robust defence, thanks to Jack (my Solicitor).

Anonymous 80
Careless Driving
No Further Action
Bristol

Not Guilty to drink driving case. Planned for the worst but GM attained the very best outcome. Very in depth from start to finish. Cannot thank enough.

Anonymous 48
Drink Driving, Careless Driving
Acquitted Drink Driving
Manchester

When I was arrested and charged I thought I had no chance. Tried another solicitors first and felt so down. Geoffrey Miller were brilliant from the start and got a brilliant result. Excellent from start to finish. Gave me confidence and kept me up to date right up until the end of my trial where I was found not guilty. Very very happy and can’t recommend highly enough. Thank you!

Anonymous 45
Drink Driving, Careless Driving
Not Guilty
Southampton

For me my main objective was keeping my driving licence not to be banned, which has been achieved.

Thanks to the Barrister appointed by Geoffrey Miller. They kept me calm and well informed thoughout.

Thank you!

Mr Wong
Drink Driving, Careless Driving
Ban Avoided
Manchester

The charges I faced were serious, for an offence which could arguably have been considered not in the public interest to pursue, especially when we saw the evidence produced on the day of trial by the prosecution, but nonetheless the crown decided it wanted to proceed.

Geoffrey Miller in the form of a paralegal Austin, supervised by Tara Boyle, left no stone unturned, their work was thorough, delivered in a timely manner, Austin was available all hours of day and night going well beyond the call of duty, and he kept me in the loop every step of the way, so his communication was simply beyond reproach.

I was very nervous about going to trial having never been in a dock before in my life, the thoroughness and attention to detail with multiple layers of defence helped me manage my anxiety enormously, and in spite off huge amounts of work being undertaken which was actually not used or needed on the day of trial because of the way things panned out, it gave me comfort to know everything that could be done had been done.

Geoffrey Miller are definitely not cheap, but if ever there was a case of you get what you pay for this firm in my view are the living example of that cliche, the service and the defence was first class.

What could easily have been an extensive ban (which would have been a miscarriage of justice) turned into 3 points and the minimum fine possible under the law. Thank you Austin, Tara and  my barrister.

Mark
Failing to Stop, Failure to Report RTA
Crown withdrew failure to stop, failure to report, I pleaded guilty to careless 3 points, £165 fine
Berkshire

I had a car accident and was really worried as the witnesses had made some unbelievable assumptions and I was charged for those offences. I lost my car and it looked like I was going to lose my driving licence too. I found Geoffrey Miller Solicitors online, I spoke to Miss Justice and she was very reassuring, after a meeting with her I decided to instruct this firm to represent my case, she was my only hope at the time. From the very start to the end they were positive, professional and thorough. The caseworkers knew the full details of my case and it never felt that I was on my own, I knew that I had a very competent legal team behind me. The case a took bit longer than expected which made me anxious but the outcome was the best outcome possible. The barrister that represented me on the day of trial was the best anyone can get, he is simply the best in the country. Thank you to Team at Geoffrey Miller Solicitors, I have still got my drivers licence which means I can carry on with my job and support my family. Money well spent!

Mr K K
Careless Driving, Failing to Provide a Specimen
Acquitted
North West
VIEW ALL OUR CARELESS DRIVING TESTIMONIALS
Not Sure What to Do About Your Careless Driving Offence?

Most people who get in touch with our team of motor offence expert solicitors are uncertain of their options. They are unaware of any legal defences that may be available and find it difficult to believe that it might be possible to defend the drink driving offence charge they face by using loopholes that apply to the rich and famous! We do represent celebrities but we also represent many hardworking motorists like Brian and we want to help you make the right choice about what you do next.

We are always more than happy to chat things through with potential clients Free of Charge. Call us now on Freephone 0800 1389 123 to speak to one of our specialist motoring offence solicitors. It is only once you decide to instruct us that payment will become necessary and we can often arrange installment plans to assist you. Many satisfied clients have thanked us for offering this free consultation service as it has prevented them from following inaccurate non-expert advice which could have led to them accepting a driving ban unnecessarily.

If you would like to spend more time browsing on the site before you get in touch, make sure you have a look at our specialist motor offence guidance features such as our drink driving penalty calculator which will help you to determine the penalty you may face if convicted and our money saving calculator which helps to outline some of the hidden costs of accepting a conviction.

We think we are simply the best in the business but if you are not satisfied in taking our word for it, our unique “ask our clients” testimonials scheme allows you to contact previous clients of the firm to seek a completely independent reference about us and what we might be able to do for you.

Also, please visit our sister site JS Miller Solicitors for more serious motoring prosecutions and litigation cases.

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Geoffrey Miller Solicitors are specialists defending drivers nationwide for all types of driving offences. Call our team of expert driving offence solicitors for some free initial advice.

You can also book an appointment with Jeanette Miller a.k.a. Miss Justice using our online booking system. If Jeanette is unavailable for your preferred date and time you can book an appointment with a member of our legal team. Please have as much information about your enquiry before the call e.g. Date of Hearing, Paperwork etc.

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Speeding Solicitors

Take a look at this live footage taken from ITV’s documentary "Driving Me Crazy" showing our client, Brian Wiltshire walking out of Preston Crown Court after securing a victory in appeal against a speeding conviction. This could be you…

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