Dangerous driving

jules5417

Hi

My son who was 21 at the time stopped at a red light and then bent down to get simething of the floor saw what he thought was a green light and went through. Unfortunately car coming the other way,all passengers slightly injured. He remained at scene no drink or drugs found in his system. Car taxed and insured novice driver with N on car. He has now had a summons to district court. He accepts he made a stupid mistake and he behaved in a reckless manner. He has a job,a degree and no previous convictions. He is terrified he could go to prison. He knows he should get punished and he hopes he gets a ban and fine. I worried about his mental health because he suffers from anxiety and is now on anti depressents since accident. I know nobody has a definite answer but just wondering what are the chances of him getting a jail sentence. Thank you

nuac

Mod
Sorry cannot give legal advice here
Suggest your son consult a solicitor practising in that court area
Leaving open for general discussion subject to forum rules

Lenar3556

On the basis of the information provided;

Most unlikely to receive a custodial sentence.

Given that it appears to be a momentary lapse and singular action rather than a sustained driving behaviour, and having regard to the fact that this is a first offence, it may well be possible to have this reduced to a careless driving charge.
A period of disqualification is a possibility.

As already suggested, advice would be to engage the services of a solicitor practising in the court district involved who will be able to best advise.

splinter65

jules5417 wrote: »

Hi

My son who was 21 at the time stopped at a red light and then bent down to get simething of the floor saw what he thought was a green light and went through. Unfortunately car coming the other way,all passengers slightly injured. He remained at scene no drink or drugs found in his system. Car taxed and insured novice driver with N on car. He has now had a summons to district court. He accepts he made a stupid mistake and he behaved in a reckless manner. He has a job,a degree and no previous convictions. He is terrified he could go to prison. He knows he should get punished and he hopes he gets a ban and fine. I worried about his mental health because he suffers from anxiety and is now on anti depressents since accident. I know nobody has a definite answer but just wondering what are the chances of him getting a jail sentence. Thank you

Everyone makes mistakes. He’ll get a fine and possibly a ban and maybe a bollocking in court but he definitely won’t be sent to prison. Look after him and tell him from me if it’s the worst thing that ever happens him he’ll not be too bad.

Iodine1

No risk of a prison sentence. It was not intentional, it was careless driving, dangerous even, but a fine is the penalty, I doubt he'll get a ban for 1st offence. Judges are not given to destroying people lives or careers.

jules5417

Lenar3556 wrote: »

On the basis of the information provided;

Most unlikely to receive a custodial sentence.

Given that it appears to be a momentary lapse and singular action rather than a sustained driving behaviour, and having regard to the fact that this is a first offence, it may well be possible to have this reduced to a careless driving charge.
A period of disqualification is a possibility.

As already suggested, advice would be to engage the services of a solicitor practising in the court district involved who will be able to best advise.

Thank you for responding

jules5417

splinter65 wrote: »

Everyone makes mistakes. He’ll get a fine and possibly a ban and maybe a bollocking in court but he definitely won’t be sent to prison. Look after him and tell him from me if it’s the worst thing that ever happens him he’ll not be too bad.

Thank you for your kind words

jules5417

Iodine1 wrote: »

No risk of a prison sentence. It was not intentional, it was careless driving, dangerous even, but a fine is the penalty, I doubt he'll get a ban for 1st offence. Judges are not given to destroying people lives or careers.

Thank you for taking the time to respond

coylemj

OP, the first thing you need to do to set his mind at rest is to get him in front of have a phone call with a local solicitor who appears regularly in that District Court. He or she will tell him what to expect and as others have said, the possibility of a jail sentence is very remote, probably non-existent.

There is nobody to give evidence that he was driving recklessly in the lead up to the accident, there was no death or major injuries, he was fully licensed and insured and he remained at the scene. My guess is that the solicitor will advise him to plead guilty to careless driving and the Gardai will accept that. He can expect a fine and points, nothing more.

RandomViewer

Cant see him getting insured for a long time ieven if not ba nned for 3 yearsif the other car are claiming,

Iodine1

There is nobody to give evidence that he was driving recklessly in the lead up to the accident, there was no death or major injuries, he was fully licensed and insured and he remained at the scene. My guess is that the solicitor will advise him to plead guilty to careless driving and the Gardai will accept that. He can expect a fine and points, nothing more.[/QUOTE]

Agree fully.

coylemj

RandomViewer wrote: »

Cant see him getting insured for a long time ieven if not ba nned for 3 yearsif the other car are claiming,

He's 21 with a full licence, how would the insurance company refuse to cover him next year? He will lose his no-claims discount if he has one but they won't refuse to cover him.

jules5417

RandomViewer wrote: »

Cant see him getting insured for a long time ieven if not ba nned for 3 yearsif the other car are claiming,

Thank you his not bothered about that,just so glad nobody got seriously injured or died.

jules5417

coylemj wrote: »

He's 21 with a full licence, how would the insurance company refuse to cover him next year? He will lose his no-claims discount if he has one but they won't refuse to cover him.

Thank you. He is hoping in a few years he will be able to get it

jules5417

coylemj wrote: »

OP, the first thing you need to do to set his mind at rest is to get him in front of have a phone call with a local solicitor who appears regularly in that District Court. He or she will tell him what to expect and as others have said, the possibility of a jail sentence is very remote, probably non-existent.

There is nobody to give evidence that he was driving recklessly in the lead up to the accident, there was no death or major injuries, he was fully licensed and insured and he remained at the scene. My guess is that the solicitor will advise him to plead guilty to careless driving and the Gardai will accept that. He can expect a fine and points, nothing more.

Thank you for your advice and responding

baldshin

What is the summons actually for, dangerous driving? Dangerous driving charges can be downgraded in court, this is likely what will happen here. Normally the state tends to go with dangerous driving and accepts lower charges such as careless driving, but they can't upgrade careless to dangerous which is why they went with dangerous. Talk to a solicitor, have your son show up presentable and respectful to the court, it's very likely that he will only receive a fine for this, a simple mistake with no life altering injuries.

jules5417

baldshin wrote: »

What is the summons actually for, dangerous driving? Dangerous driving charges can be downgraded in court, this is likely what will happen here. Normally the state tends to go with dangerous driving and accepts lower charges such as careless driving, but they can't upgrade careless to dangerous which is why they went with dangerous. Talk to a solicitor, have your son show up presentable and respectful to the court, it's very likely that he will only receive a fine for this, a simple mistake with no life altering injuries.

Thank you for taking the time to respond

coylemj

OP, I suggest you draw your son's attention to the outcome of this case today in Ennis Circuit Court. A truck driver pulled out to pass a bus which caused an accident which resulted in the death of a three year old child and serious bodily harm to the child's father who was driving an oncoming car which swerved to avoid the truck and ended up in a ditch.

Result? A €1,500 fine and four years disqualification. You said in your first post that your son was terrified that he would go to jail. Not a chance. The driver in this case wan't even convicted of dangerous driving, looks like it was downgraded to careless driving in return for a guilty plea.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/circuit-court/truck-driver-fined-1-500-for-collision-that-killed-estlin-wall-3-1.4233297

sondagefaux

jules5417 wrote: »

Hi

My son who was 21 at the time stopped at a red light and then bent down to get simething of the floor saw what he thought was a green light and went through. Unfortunately car coming the other way,all passengers slightly injured. He remained at scene no drink or drugs found in his system. Car taxed and insured novice driver with N on car. He has now had a summons to district court. He accepts he made a stupid mistake and he behaved in a reckless manner. He has a job,a degree and no previous convictions. He is terrified he could go to prison. He knows he should get punished and he hopes he gets a ban and fine. I worried about his mental health because he suffers from anxiety and is now on anti depressents since accident. I know nobody has a definite answer but just wondering what are the chances of him getting a jail sentence. Thank you

This asshole killed a three year-old little girl and didn't get a custodial sentence.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/circuit-court/truck-driver-fined-1-500-for-collision-that-killed-estlin-wall-3-1.4233297

I'd say your son is safe.

PS: my partner recently lost our baby after five months of pregnancy because some careless idiot ran a red light and crashed into the campervan she was a passenger in. Tell your son he's bloody lucky he didn't do that.

jules5417

coylemj wrote: »

OP, I suggest you draw your son's attention to the outcome of this case today in Ennis Circuit Court. A truck driver pulled out to pass a bus which caused an accident which resulted in the death of a three year old child and serious bodily harm to the child's father who was driving an oncoming car which swerved to avoid the truck and ended up in a ditch.

Result? A €1,500 fine and four years disqualification. You said in your first post that your son was terrified that he would go to jail. Not a chance. The driver in this case wan't even convicted of dangerous driving, looks like it was downgraded to careless driving in return for a guilty plea.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/circuit-court/truck-driver-fined-1-500-for-collision-that-killed-estlin-wall-3-1.4233297

Thank you for sending this to me. Such a tragic outcome to this accident. Thats why I think he does feel lucky that nobody was killed.

RandomViewer

coylemj wrote: »

OP, I suggest you draw your son's attention to the outcome of this case today in Ennis Circuit Court. A truck driver pulled out to pass a bus which caused an accident which resulted in the death of a three year old child and serious bodily harm to the child's father who was driving an oncoming car which swerved to avoid the truck and ended up in a ditch.

Result? A €1,500 fine and four years disqualification. You said in your first post that your son was terrified that he would go to jail. Not a chance. The driver in this case wan't even convicted of dangerous driving, looks like it was downgraded to careless driving in return for a guilty plea.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/circuit-court/truck-driver-fined-1-500-for-collision-that-killed-estlin-wall-3-1.4233297

Saw that earlier, seems way to lenient. 1500 Euro? 2 weeks wages !

kirving

sondagefaux wrote: »

This asshole killed a three year-old little girl and didn't get a custodial sentence.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/circuit-court/truck-driver-fined-1-500-for-collision-that-killed-estlin-wall-3-1.4233297

I'd say your son is safe.

PS: my partner recently lost our baby after five months of pregnancy because some careless idiot ran a red light and crashed into the campervan she was a passenger in. Tell your son he's bloody lucky he didn't do that.

Sorry for your loss, it's very sad to read.

I was curious about the seemingly low sentence versus the headline.

On reading a few more articles, it's seems as though the truck never made contact with the victims car, and the judge specifically said that the truck driver had "low culpability" in the outcome.

It reads as though the truck driver moved out to look for a clear space to overtake, moved back in, the car reacted and mounted the grass verge. The car returning to the road when it lost control.

The judge would have assessed the forensic collision report before considering the sentence.

As for the OP, there is absolutely zero chance of jail time. Likely a fine, and perhaps a short disqualification depending on circumstances.

Rodin

A scandalous decision.

Mod
The usual Judge there is a highly qualified lawyer. He had anxtensive DC practise before his appointment.
Were you in Court and if so did you hear all the evidence?