Causing serious injury by dangerous driving

s.1ARoad Traffic Act 1988

Causing serious injury to another person by driving a mechanically propelled vehicle dangerously on a road or other public place.

Causing serious injury by dangerous driving · Road Traffic Act 1988, s.1ACard 102 / 195

Points to prove

Serious injury – s.1A(2)(a): in England and Wales, physical harm that amounts to grievous bodily harm for the purposes of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, meaning really serious physical harm.
Causes – the dangerous driving must be a cause of the injury. It need not be the only cause, but it must be more than a minimal one.
Dangerously – s.2A: the driving falls far below the standard of a competent and careful driver, and it would be obvious to such a driver that driving in that way, or driving the vehicle in its current state, would be dangerous.
Dangerous – s.2A(3): danger of injury to any person or of serious damage to property.
Road – s.192(1): any highway and any other road to which the public has access. A public place is a place the public actually uses, not just a special class of people.

Inserted by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and in force from 3 December 2012.
Obligatory disqualification for at least 2 years (RTOA 1988, s.34(4)) and until an extended driving test is passed (s.36). If special reasons mean no disqualification, 3 to 11 penalty points are endorsed.
If acquitted, the defendant may be convicted of dangerous driving (s.2), causing serious injury by careless driving (s.2C) or careless driving (s.3) instead (RTOA 1988, s.24).
Where a disqualified driver causes serious injury, consider s.3ZD (causing serious injury by driving: disqualified drivers, 4 years), which does not require dangerous driving to be proved.

Legislation: Road Traffic Act 1988, s.1A (opens legislation.gov.uk in a new tab)
Mode of trial: Either way
Maximum penalty: 5 years' imprisonment and/or a fine (on indictment); 12 months' imprisonment and/or a fine (summarily)
Last checked: 2 November 2026, against the current law on legislation.gov.uk

What are the points to prove for causing serious injury by dangerous driving?

1. Caused serious injury to another person 2. By driving a mechanically propelled vehicle 3. Dangerously 4. On a road or other public place

What is the maximum sentence for causing serious injury by dangerous driving?

5 years' imprisonment and/or a fine (on indictment); 12 months' imprisonment and/or a fine (summarily)

Is causing serious injury by dangerous driving a summary, either-way or indictable offence?

Causing serious injury by dangerous driving is an either-way offence: it can be tried in the magistrates’ court or the Crown Court.

What Act and section is causing serious injury by dangerous driving?

Causing serious injury by dangerous driving is an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988, s.1A.