R. v DOBBY

摘要

The Sentencing Guidelines Council Causing Death by Driving: Definitive Guideline provides: "Level 1—The most serious offences encompassing driving that involved a deliberate decision to ignore (or a flagrant disregard for) the rules of the road and an apparent disregard for the great danger being caused to others." While on licence, the defendant stole a motor vehicle and drove off without paying after filling the car with petrol. He failed to stop when police tried to intercept him, and a high speed chase which followed involved the defendant, inter alia, driving dangerously at 80mph on a 40mph dual carriageway, driving on the wrong side of a dual carriageway and crossing a junction while on the wrong side of the road. Officers were forced to discontinue the pursuit due to the extremely high level of risk. A few days later, the defendant was caught on a speed camera driving the same vehicle. He failed to stop when officers signalled him to do so and drove at speeds of up to 60mph in a residential area with a 20mph speed limit, travelled on the wrong side of keep left bollards, went through a red traffic light at a busy crossroad, defied no entry signs and drove the wrong way down a one-way street. When, in a residential street, the defendant attempted to overtake a moped rider and the bus in front of him, he lost control of the car, which struck a bollard, launching the front of the car into the air. It landed on a family walking along the side of the road, killing a mother and her nephew, seriously injuring her niece and injuring her daughter. The defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of gross negligence manslaughter, to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and to offences of dangerous driving.