Careless Driving or Driving without Due Care and Attention:

A conviction for a careless driving or driving without due care and attention offence can have serious consequences. The best-case scenario is that you’re offered a fixed penalty of 3 points and pay a £100 fine. The worst-case scenario is a potential disqualification from driving or 9 penalty points on your driving licence (which may lead you to “tot up”), along with an unlimited level of fine.

The good news is that if you are facing an allegation of careless driving then no matter whereabouts you are in the Country, our expert careless driving solicitors can help you.

The law:

The Prosecution must prove the following in order to convict you:

• Your driving fell below the standard expected of a competent driver

Or

• You did not show reasonable consideration for other pedestrians or vehicles on the road.

Unfortunately, the decision about your standard of driving or level of consideration is generally made by a police officer, whose opinion may be different to yours, ours, and indeed the opinion of the Court.

If the Prosecution evidence about your standard of driving or consideration for other road users is successfully challenged, then you will be found NOT GUILTY and will win your case. Challenging evidence in these cases tends to involve cross-examination of prosecution witnesses such as police officers and civilians, and it’s invaluable to have an expert motoring lawyer who is an expert in defending careless driving offences on hand to conduct this process. That’s where we can help.

How our specialist careless driving solicitors can help you

It may be that your standard of driving did not in fact fall below the standard expected of a reasonable driver. You may have showed sufficient consideration for other road users.  If so then it might be that you are being wrongly prosecuted. Whether it’s a case of mistaken identity, or your driving simply wasn’t careless it is likely that you should defend the allegation against you.

Knowing that you are innocent and proving it are sadly sometimes two very different things. We know how frustrating this can be. That’s why at Ashworth Motoring Law, our expert careless driving solicitors are on hand to investigate the details of the offence against you, find holes in the Prosecution’s evidence and build a strong case to prove your innocence. We’re passionate in our belief that no person should be convicted of an offence which they did not commit.

If you believe that you are being wrongly prosecuted for careless driving or driving without due care and attention and want to prove your innocence, contact one of our specialist solicitors on 0330 33 22 770 for some free initial legal advice. 

Pleading Guilty to an offence of careless driving or driving without due care and attention? Damage limitation

The threshold for what can be considered careless driving can sometimes appear surprisingly low.  For example, a minor scrape to another car in a car park or hogging the middle lane on the motorway could be deemed as careless driving.

If you accept that your driving fell below the standard expected of a competent driver, or that you did not give due consideration to other road users, then engaging an expert careless driving solicitor to present your case can have a huge impact on the overall result of your case. This is because the range of sentencing powers in careless driving cases available to the Magistrates is so wide.

Being represented by an expert who specialises in careless driving could mean the difference between walking out of Court with 3-4 points or 7-9 points or an instant ban. Worse still, the extra points could mean that you now tot up and face 6 months driving ban. Having a specialist on hand in Court fighting your corner means that the relevant legal application can be made there and then in Court on your behalf without any delay or the need for a further hearing.

Our expert motoring lawyers continue to secure truly phenomenal results in careless driving cases when putting forward guilty pleas and mitigation.

Click here to find out more about our Specialist Guilty Plea and Mitigation Service

If you’re considering pleading guilty to careless driving or driving without due care and attention and would like to know more about how our guilty plea and mitigation service could give you peace of mind along with a more favourable result at Court, then visit our dedicated guilty plea page or call one of our specialist careless driving solicitors on 0330 33 22 770. Lines are open round the clock, seven days a week, so get in touch whenever’s best for you.

Caution for new drivers!

If you are being prosecuted for careless driving and passed your driving test within the last 2 years then we strongly recommend that you review our dedicated section on new drivers or contact one of our specialist new driver solicitors on 0330 33 22 770 as soon as possible.  A conviction for careless driving could result in the revocation of your driving licence unless you take action today.

Magistrates’ Sentencing Guidelines – Careless Driving

The Sentencing Guidelines which the Courts use for Careless driving/ driving without due care and attention can be found here:

Magistrates’ Sentencing Guidelines for Careless Driving

Call our Motoring Law Advice Line for Free Legal Advice about your Careless Driving Offence from one of our Specialist Careless Driving Solicitors

We are always happy to talk through your options and provide expert advice and guidance which could keep you on the road.