Causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving is a statutory offence in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. It has been abolished in the Republic of Ireland.

Statute

This offence is created b
section 35
of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (drivers of carriages injuring persons by furious driving): This section is printed as amended by section 1(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 1948 and of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1953. This section was repealed for the Republic of Ireland b
section 70(a)
of the Road Traffic Act 2010. In the Republic of Ireland, a person liable to be charged an offence under section 53 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 was not liable, by reference to the same occurrence, to be charged with an offence under this section. "Misdemeanour" The reference to a

misdemeanour A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

must now be construed as a reference to an offence. "Bodily harm" See

bodily harm Bodily harm is a legal term of art used in the definition of both statutory and common law offences in Australia, Canada, England and Wales and other common law jurisdictions. It is a synonym for injury or bodily injury and similar expressions, t ...

In England and Wales, this offence is now used to prosecute: *drivers of horse-drawn carriages and vehicles *motorists who cannot be prosecuted for dangerous driving because they were driving elsewhere than on a road or public place, or because they were not warned that prosecution was intended pursuant to section 1 of the

Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

*cyclists who cannot be prosecuted for

dangerous cycling Dangerous may refer to: Film and television * ''Dangerous'' (1935 film), an American film starring Bette Davis * '' Dangerous: The Short Films'', a 1993 collection of music videos by Michael Jackson * ''Dangerous'' (2021 film), a Canadian-Ameri ...

because they were cycling elsewhere than on a road, or because they were not warned that prosecution was intended pursuant to section 1 of the

It was used in 2009 to prosecute a death caused by a cyclist collision, which would have fallen outside other laws as it is the closest equivalent to dangerous driving for cyclists. It was used again in 2017 for similar reasons.

Mode of trial

In England and Wales, this is an indictable-only offence.

Sentence

In England and Wales, this offence is punishable with imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years, as it is in Northern Ireland.

Attempt

The offence of

attempt An attempt to commit a crime occurs if a criminal has an intent to commit a crime and takes a substantial step toward completing the crime, but for reasons not intended by the criminal, the final resulting crime does not occur.''Criminal Law - ...

ing to cause bodily harm by wanton driving requires an intent to cause bodily harm.R v Mohan 976QB 1, 9752 WLR 859, 9752 All ER 193, 60 Cr App R 272, 975RTR 337, 975Crim LR 283, CA

References

{{Driving in the United Kingdom English criminal law 1861 in law Offences against the person Driving in the United Kingdom 1861 in British law

Statute

Mode of trial

Sentence

Attempt

See also

References