§ Mrs. BrintonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what has been the average penalty for(a) causing death by dangerous driving and (b) careless driving in each of the last 10 years; [53302]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of charges of causing death by dangerous driving that are reduced to careless driving during the course of trials. [53301]
§ Mr. MichaelInformation taken from the Home Office Court Proceedings database on average penalties is given in table A.
No estimate has been made of the number of charges of causing death by dangerous driving that are reduced to careless driving during the course of trials. Table B, which uses data from the same database, compares the number of persons committed for trial from the magistrates' courts to the Crown Court for these two offences with the number tried in the Crown Court.
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Table B: Number of defendants prosecuted, committed for trial and tried for offences1 of (a) causing death by dangerous driving and (b) careless driving, 1994–96 England and Wales Offence/court 1994 1995 1996 Causing death by dangerous driving Magistrates' courts Prosecutions 235 247 260 Committed for trial 229 229 244 The Crown Court Total tried2 231 240 241 Careless driving Magistrates' courts Prosecutions 56,657 54,939 50,291 Committed for trial 3 2 6 The Crown Court Total tried2 151 190 228 1 The data are based on instances where the offence is the principal offence
Prosecutions Percentage of all road deaths Convictions Percentage of all road deaths Manslaughter 4 0.1 1 0.1 Causing death by dangerous/careless driving1 333 9.3 245 6.8 Causing death by careless driving under the influence of drink and drugs 63 1.8 265 1.8 Causing death by aggravated taking 27 0.8 18 0.5 No prosecution 3,171 88.1 — — No conviction — — 3,269 90.7 1 Figures for causing death by dangerous and careless driving have been counted together since 1992 2 Includes 2 cases of manslaughter charges reduced at court
§ Mrs. BrintonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if juries are informed of the maximum penalties attached to the offences of(a) careless driving and (b) dangerous driving. [53303]
§ Mr. MichaelThe jury's role is solely to determine the facts of the case and to reach a verdict. Juries are not made aware of the consequences of conviction.