This paper reports the results of a research project to evaluate the working of the 1991 UK Road Traffic Act. The research aimed to gain an understanding of the current situation relating to the prosecution of those charged with bad driving offences and to assess how current practice satisfies the intention behind changes in legislation. It proved difficult to gain a consensus on a definition of dangerous driving. Fatal accidents were examined, and some cases where a charge was brought were tracked and analysed. Major elements of bad driving were classified into four behaviour categories of lapses, violations, errors and aggressiveness. Motoring conviction data were analysed: those convicted were mainly young males; many had previous convictions and some offenders reoffended within a short time. For the covering abstract see ITRD E116025.
Abstract