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Dangerous Driving

Driving causing bodily harm or death

The Charge

Section 249 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to operate vehicles in a manner that is dangerous.  To determine if the driving is dangerous, courts will consider all of the circumstances, such as the nature, conditions and use of the roadway being driven on. The Crown must prove that there is a danger to the public, including a potential danger. A passenger in a car is a member of the public. For a dangerous driving conviction, the Crown must prove that the driver intended to drive the vehicle in a manner, when viewed objectively, that amounts to a departure from the standard of care expected from a prudent driver. Courts have held that for dangerous driving, there must be a “marked departure” from normal driving.

Drivers may be charged with dangerous driving in many circumstances which include: excessive speeding; improperly overtaking a vehicle; falling asleep at the wheel; improper lane changes; disobeying traffic signs; failing to properly control the vehicle; street racing; and consuming drugs or alcohol.

Penalties

In addition to any sentence imposed by the court, a criminal conviction for Dangerous Driving will cause the driver to have their insurance policy “breached” by ICBC. This is because an essential condition of an ICBC insurance policy is that coverage is voided if the driver is convicted of a criminal offence while driving. Needless to say, a convicted driver could be liable to ICBC for thousands, or even millions of dollars to repay the insurer for claims caused as a result of dangerous driving.

The punishment for dangerous driving is significant. Where there are no injuries or deaths, courts can sentence a dangerous driver for up to 5 years in jail. For dangerous driving causing bodily harm or death, drivers face imprisonment for up to 14 years. Upon conviction, the Crown will always seek a driving prohibition, often for many years in serious cases.

The Investigation

Dangerous driving cases, especially those involving bodily harm or death, are matters that will involve thorough police investigations. When traffic accidents result in injuries or death, police accident reconstruction experts will attend the scene to record and measure the aftermath of the crash. Police experts will carefully photograph the scene and take statements from people who may have witnessed the accident. Police experts will analyze items such as tire skid marks and vehicle mechanical conditions and forward reports to Crown counsel.

ICBC

Another aspect of the aftermath of any dangerous driving charge that results in an accident is that ICBC obliges all drivers to report any accident that they are involved in and to provide a statement to ICBC so that they can determine liability. There is certainly tension in such a situation – the driver has the right to remain silent under the Criminal Code and the Charter, but at the same time, has a duty to make a statement to ICBC under Provincial laws. We have the expertise and skills to assist our clients through the civil ICBC investigation of the accident without compromising their criminal law rights.

Recent Successes

R. v. A.M. – Possession of Stolen Property Investigation – Squamish RCMP

Charge: Possession of Stolen Property (motor vehicles).
Issue: Whether there was sufficient evidence that our client was aware that the vehicles that he possessed had been obtained by the commission of crimes.
Result: Mr. Gauthier was able to steer our client through the police investigation. Ultimately, based on insufficient evidence, police declined to forward charges against our client. No prosecution. No criminal record.

R. v. S.R. – Insurance Fraud Investigation

Charge: Insurance fraud over $5000 investigation.
Issue: Given our client’s rehabilitation and repayment of disputed funds, whether it was in the public interest to proceed with a criminal prosecution.
Result: Mr. Gauthier was able to persuade the Insurance company to settle the matter on a civil basis. No criminal charges were forwarded. No criminal record.

R. v. A.B. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charge: Break and Enter.
Issue: Given our client's mental health issues, whether a conditional discharge was an appropriate sentence for this drug store break in.
Result: Mr. Gauthier  provided Crown counsel with information about our client which persuaded Crown to make a joint submission for a conditional discharge. No jail. No criminal conviction.

R. v. M.G. – Nanaimo Provincial Court

Charges: Sexual Assault; Theft of Motor Vehicle x2; Break & Enter.
Issue: Whether or not it was in the public interest to proceed with the trial considering the reluctance oft the Crown's central witness and rehabilitative steps we were able to guide our client through.
Result: Mr. Gauthier was able to provide information to Crown counsel that ultimately led to a stay of proceedings on all counts. No criminal record.

R. v. S.G. – Port Coquitlam Provincial Court

Charges: Obstruct peace officer.
Issue: Whether it was in the public interest to continue with a criminal prosecution.
Result: Given our client's remorse and rehabilitation, Mr. Gauthier was able to persuade Crown counsel to divert our client into the Alternative Measures Program and to withdraw the charge. No criminal record.  

R. vs. A.B. – Insurance Fraud Investigation

Charge:  Fraud Under $5000.
Issue: Given our client's rehabilitation and repayment of the disputed funds, whether it was in the public interest to proceed with a criminal prosecution.
Result: Mr. Gauthier was able to persuade the insurance company to settle the matter on a civil basis. No criminal charges were forwarded. No criminal record.

R. v. S.M. – Surrey Provincial Court

Charges: Uttering Threats (domestic).
Issue: Given the circumstances of the incident and our client's background, whether it was in the public interest to proceed with the charge.
Result: Considering our client's unblemished history awaiting trial,  Mr. Gauthier was able to persuade Crown counsel to withdraw the charge. No criminal record.

R. v. M.L. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charges: Sexual Assault; Breach of undertaking.
Issue: Whether the complaint met the Crown's charge approval standard. Whether it was in the public interest to proceed with the breach charge.
Result: Mr. Gauthier was able to provide information to Crown on our client's behalf which, ultimately, resulted in Crown not approving any charge on the sexual assault complaint and agreeing to a 12 month peace bond on the breach charge. No jail. No criminal record.

R. v. A.L. – Creston Provincial Court

Charge: Possession of a prohibited weapon for a dangerous purpose.
Issue: Given our client's background and the context of the offence, whether it was in the public interest to proceed with a criminal prosecution.
Result: Mr. Mines was able to provide information to Crown counsel that culminated in Crown's agreement to refer our client into the Alternative Measures Program. No criminal record.

R. v. S.S.M. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charge: Assault (domestic).
Issue: Given the rehabilitative steps we were able to guide our client through, whether it was in the public interest to proceed with a criminal prosecution.
Result: Mr. Gauthier was able to provide relevant information to Crown on our client's behalf which resulted in Crown entering a stay of proceedings. No criminal record.

M.S. – UBC Academic Misconduct Investigation

Charge: Our client was investigated for theft of pharmaceuticals while on a job placement assignment.
Issue: Whether there was sufficient evidence to warrant the university to expel our client from furthe studies at UBC.
Result: Mr. Gauthier was able to guide our client through the investigation process and was able to convince the faculty to allow our client to continue studying. Rather than proceeding to a discipline hearing, the matter was concluded.

R. v. V.M.C. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charges: Attempted Murder; Assault with a weapon; Assault causing bodily harm.
Issue: Whether our client had the requisite mental intent to be convicted of attempted murder.
Result: Mr. Gauthier was able to present Crown counsel with relevant medical and background information that ultimately persuaded Crown to resolve this matter on the less offence of assault causing bodily harm. After hearing Mr. Gauthier's submissions, the trail judge sentenced our client to 90 days jail and 3 years probation rather than the lengthy jail sentence Crown had originally sought.
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The Defence

As in all criminal prosecutions, in a dangerous driving case, the Crown has the burden of proving the offence beyond a reasonable doubt. In essence, this means the accused driver need not provide any explanation to police; rather, it is up to police to put together a body of evidence that proves that the driver drove in a fashion that, in all the circumstances, was a marked departure from the norm. thus, when we represent clients who are still being investigated for dangerous driving, a large focus of our job is to act as an intermediary – a buffer – between police and our client. As accident reconstruction cases can take months to investigate, we are also concerned with preventing any unnecessary arrest of our client in the event that police do recommend charges. Rather, when police do want to lay charges, our goal is to accompany our client to the police detachment or courthouse so that they can be “deemed” arrested without going into custody.

Start with a free consultation.

If you are being investigated by police or if you’ve been charged with a criminal or driving offence, don’t face the problem alone. Being accused of an offence is stressful. The prospects of a criminal record or jail sentence can be daunting. Even if you think there is no defence, we may be able to help. To schedule a free initial consultation with one of our Vancouver lawyers, contact us now.

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