In United Kingdom law,dangerous driving is astatutory offence related toaggressive driving. It is also a term of art used in the definition of the offence ofcausing death by dangerous driving. It replaces the former offence of reckless driving. Canada'sCriminal Code has equivalent provisions covering dangerous driving (see "Canada" section below).

This offence is created by section 2 of theRoad Traffic Act 1988 (as substituted by section 1 of theRoad Traffic Act 1991^[1]):

A person who drives a mechanically propelled vehicle dangerously on a road or other public place is guilty of an offence.

A person is to be regarded as driving dangerously for the purposes of sections 1 and 2 of theRoad Traffic Act 1988 if

• the way he/she drives falls far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver, and it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in that way would be dangerous;^[2] and
• if it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving the vehicle in its current state (for the purpose of the determination of which regard may be had to anything attached to or carried on or in it, and to the manner in which it is attached or carried) would be dangerous.^[3]

In this context, "dangerous" refers to danger either of injury to any person or of serious damage to property; and in determining what would be expected of, or obvious to, a competent and careful driver in a particular case, regard shall be had not only to the circumstances of which he could be expected to be aware but also to any circumstances shown to have been within the knowledge of the accused.^[4]

InAttorney General's Reference (No 4 of 2000) (2001) 2 Cr. App. R. 417 Woolf CJ said at p 422:

The essential limbs, as is common ground, do not require any specific intent to drive dangerously. Section 2A sets out a wholly objective test. The concept of what is obvious to a careful driver places the question of what constitutes dangerous driving within the province of the jury.

Thus, whereas the underlying test of dangerousness is objective, a test based on the concept of "obviousness" considers the extent of knowledge as tocausation. This test is hybrid, drawing both on the actual subjective knowledge that the accused had in his or her mind at the time theactus reus of driving occurred, and on the knowledge that would have been in the mind of areasonable person (seemens rea andcriminal negligence for discussion on the nature of these tests and the scope of the reasonable person).

TheCourt of Appeal held in the case of R v Banister^[5] that police drivers get no special treatment. "The special skill (or indeed lack of skill) of a driver is an irrelevant circumstance when considering whether the driving is dangerous".

In England and Wales and Scotland, a person guilty of dangerous driving is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years, or to a fine, or to both, or on summary conviction, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both.^[6]

Any conviction for dangerous driving (orcausing death by dangerous driving) for a driver holding a licence issued by theDriver and Vehicle Agency (Northern Ireland) orDriver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (for licences issued inEngland,Wales orScotland) will result in a mandatory disqualification if the offence took place in theUnited Kingdom proper,Isle of Man orRepublic of Ireland (see alsoTraffic violations reciprocity). The driver must return to being a learner driver, even if the offence did not result in death or grievous bodily harm, and anextended practical driving test, about 70 minutes long and about 30 minutes longer than the regular driving test, must be taken by the driver to regain his or herfull driving licence.^{[citation needed]}

The offence of causing death by reckless driving was created by section 1 of theRoad Traffic Act 1972 and then by section 1 of theRoad Traffic Act 1988. It was abolished, and replaced with the offence ofcausing death by dangerous driving by section 1 of theRoad Traffic Act 1991.

After it was substituted by section 50(1) of theCriminal Law Act 1977, section 1 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 read as follows:

A person who causes the death of another person by driving a motor vehicle on a road recklessly shall be guilty of an offence.

A person guilty of this offence was liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years. Guidance as to sentencing was given inR v Boswell 79 Cr App R 277, [1984] 1 WLR 1047, [1984] 3 All ER 353, 6Cr App R (S) 257, [1984] RTR 315, [1984] Crim LR 502,CA.

The offence of dangerous driving was created by section 2 of theRoad Traffic Act 1972. It was abolished by section 50 of theCriminal Law Act 1977.

The expression "motor vehicle" was defined by section 190(1), and the expressions "drive" and "road" were defined by section 196(1).

Themens rea of this offence was considered inR v Lawrence [1982] AC 510, [1981] 2WLR 524, 73Cr App R 1, [1981] 1All ER 974, [1981] RTR 217, [1981]Crim LR 409,HL, reversing 71 Cr App R 291.

This offence is created byarticle 10 of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995/2994 (N.I.)).

A person guilty of dangerous driving is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding five years, or to a fine, or to both.^[7]

This offence is created byarticle 9 of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995/2994 (N.I.)).

It carries a mandatory disqualification of at least 24 months.^[7]

Research now shows ways to reduce the intentions of people to binge drink or engage in dangerous driving. A key article by Martin, Lee, Weeks and Kaya (2013) suggests that understanding consumer personality and how people view others is important. People were shown ads talking of the harmful effects of binge drinking. People who valued close friends as a sense of who they are, were less likely to want to binge drink after seeing an ad featuring them and a close friend. People who were loners or who did not see close friends important to their sense of who they were reacted better to ads featuring an individual. A similar pattern was shown for ads showing a person driving at dangerous speeds. This suggests ads showing potential harm to citizens from binge drinking or dangerous driving are less effective than ads highlighting a person's close friends.^[8][9]

The offence of "dangerous operation of a conveyance" is created by section 320.13(1) of theCriminal Code.^[10] A "conveyance" is defined as "a motor vehicle, a vessel, an aircraft or railway equipment".^[11] Theactus reus of the offence is "driving in a manner dangerous to the public, having regard to all the circumstances".^[12] Themens rea of the offence is "that the degree of care exercised by the accused was a marked departure from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the accused’s circumstances".^[12]

The equivalent, under the country'sCriminal Code, to "dangerous driving", isDangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle. The offence can betried summarily or on indictment. The maximum prison sentences that can be imposed are:

• if tried summarily, 2 years minus one day.^[13]
• if tried by indictment, 10 years.^[14]

Alicence suspension is mandatory, and will be for a minimum of 12 months if the person has no prior Criminal Code driving convictions on his or her record. Anyone with a prior conviction, for a Criminal Code driving offence, will receive a longer licence suspension, but will also receive a prison sentence. Some provinces count equivalents, to Criminal Code driving convictions, if such convictions occur in certain American states. TheOntarioArchived 28 October 2014 at theWayback MachineMinistry of Transportation counts equivalents, to Criminal Code driving convictions, if they occur in New York or Michigan. Those equivalent to dangerous driving are included.

Dangerous operation causing bodily harm is a hybrid offence and may be tried summarily or by indictment.^[15] Dangerous operation causing death may only be tried by indictment.^[16] Custodial sentences will almost always be given as a result of a conviction for either type of dangerous driving charge.^{[citation needed]}

Anyone convicted of dangerous operation causing bodily harm is subject to a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.^[15] The Criminal Code definesbodily harm as "any hurt or injury to a person that interferes with the health or comfort of the person and that is more than merely transient or trifling in nature".^[17]

Anyone convicted of dangerous operation causing death is subject to a maximum sentence oflife imprisonment.^[18]

Although the minimum driving prohibition of 12 months (or more, if the conviction or guilty plea is to a 2nd or subsequent Criminal Code offence) applies to any conviction of causing death or grievous bodily harm by dangerous driving, driving prohibitions, in these cases, areoften longer than 12 months.

Some provinces, such asOntario^{[permanent dead link‍]},Alberta andNova Scotia, require the resitting of all theory and practical driving tests if the licence suspension is longer than a prescribed time period.

• Driving without due care and attention
• United Kingdom traffic laws