Closed petition Introduce a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving

Closed on 21 July 2021

There is a major gap in the law regarding causing serious injury by careless driving - the charge does not exist and so offenders can only be convicted of a careless driving offence. The Department of Justice acknowledged this gap four years ago, however the government has still taken no action.

There are too many examples of victims suffering life-changing injuries (such as paralysis and permanent brain damage) yet the offender only receiving a few penalty points and a fine of several hundred pounds - a slap on the wrist in comparison. There is an offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving (five years imprisonment with a mandatory minimum period of disqualification of twelve months), so there should also be an offence of causing serious injury by careless driving.