Pleading guilty to dangerous driving will usually mean losing your driving licence for at least 12 months. You will also have to pass a compulsory extended driving test before you can drive independently again. This is a statutory minimum penalty for a conviction according to the Sentencing Council's sentencing guidelines, and usually cannot be reduced, although it may be waived if special reasons exist.

It is a common misconception that pleading guilty early can reduce the driving disqualification. In fact, credit for a guilty plea only reduces the punitive element of a sentence, i.e. any fine, community service, or term of imprisonment imposed.

A higher minimum disqualification period applies if you have previous convictions for dangerous or careless driving offences on your record, and there are additional penalties that are normally applied, as dangerous driving is a criminal offence. If you are found guilty in criminal proceedings, you may be handed a prison sentence, an unlimited fine and a criminal record. For the most serious offences - such as causing death by dangerous driving - the minimum penalties are significantly higher.

As such, if you are considering pleading guilty to dangerous driving, it is important to seek legal advice before entering your plea. JMW's motoring team can explain the sentencing guidelines, assess whether there is a viable defence, and present any relevant mitigating factors to the court to minimise your sentence.

Here, we explain the impact of a conviction on your driving licence and how our driving offence solicitors can help.

What counts as dangerous driving?

Dangerous driving is defined by the Road Traffic Act 1988, section 2. 

A person's driving is considered dangerous where it 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. 

“Dangerous” in this context means a danger of injury to a person or serious damage to property. No actual harm needs to occur for somebody to be convicted of the offence.

The word ‘far’ is significant, and the CPS charging decision can rise and fall on such wording. Lesser offences may be charged as careless or inconsiderate driving instead. To secure a dangerous driving conviction, the prosecution generally needs to show that the driving fell far below the standard expected of a competent and careful driver.

This is often a key argument in these cases, and there is scope to have charges reduced from dangerous driving to careless driving in some cases. These lesser charges can still result in a driving disqualification, but it is not mandatory. As such, by having the charges reduced, your solicitor can sometimes protect your licence from a 12-month ban.

Examples of behaviour that could amount to dangerous driving include excessive speed, aggressive driving, racing, overtaking dangerously, driving a vehicle with a known defect, or deliberately ignoring traffic signals. However, the potential consequences and charges will depend on the specific standard of driving and the risk it posed.

What happens to your driving licence after a guilty plea?

A dangerous driving conviction leads to a mandatory driving ban. For the ‘standard’ dangerous driving offence, the minimum disqualification period is 12 months, although it can be longer. Depending on whether the matter is heard in the Magistrates' Court or the Crown Court, different sentencing powers apply. The court will consider the seriousness of the dangerous driving, together with relevant aggravating factors and mitigating circumstances.

The minimum disqualification rises up to two years where the driver has been disqualified on at least two occasions for periods of 56 days or more during the three years before the new offence.

The court must also order the driver to remain disqualified until they have passed a compulsory extended driving test. As such, the driving disqualification can extend far beyond the initial minimum period if the driver is unable to pass the extended test.

The ban starts from the date of your conviction, not the date that you entered your guilty plea. If you were given a prison sentence (which is a possibility in some dangerous driving cases) the ban will be increased to reflect your time in custody, and will not expire or diminish significantly while you are in prison. If you have served an ‘interim ban’ whilst awaiting sentence, this time is deducted from the overall disqualification length.

Does pleading guilty reduce the driving ban?

A guilty plea can reduce the punitive part of a sentence, but it does not remove or reduce the mandatory consequences that apply to dangerous driving, which include the driving disqualification.

Under the Sentencing Council's guidelines, the maximum reduction for a guilty plea is one-third where the plea is indicated at the first stage of proceedings. After that point, the available reduction begins to reduce. This reduction only applies to any fine, custodial sentence, or community order that the court sees fit to impose, and cannot reduce the minimum period for a driving disqualification.

This is one reason to obtain legal advice at an early stage. A solicitor can advise you on whether you should plead guilty, the available credit for an early guilty plea and the mitigating circumstances that may be relevant at sentence. This can enable you to make informed decisions about how to proceed and the likely outcomes of a court hearing.

Can you avoid a disqualification for a dangerous driving offence?

Disqualification is obligatory following a dangerous driving conviction, but there are limited circumstances in which the court may avoid imposing a ban. If there are “special reasons” not to impose the usual disqualification, the court can use its judgment to reach an appropriate sentence without a disqualification.

A special reason must be connected to the circumstances in which the offence was committed, rather than the personal circumstances of the driver. For this reason, special reasons are legally complex and highly fact-specific, and you should work with an experienced road traffic lawyer to build a case if you believe that special reasons apply.

In some cases, there is scope to argue that driving did not meet the threshold for a dangerous driving charge and would in fact be better classified as careless driving. This can make a big difference, as cases of careless driving, speeding and other motoring offences can be dealt with by penalty points or a fixed penalty notice rather than requiring court proceedings and a mandatory driving ban.

Is there a maximum period for a dangerous driving ban?

Although 12 months is the statutory minimum for the standard offence, the court can impose a longer driving ban. The length will depend on the facts of the case and what the court deems suitable, and there is no legal maximum. That being said, if the disqualification length is ‘manifestly excessive’, a specialist motoring lawyer will advise you on your prospects of appeal.

Factors the sentencing court will consider when determining the appropriate penalties include:

• How far the driving fell below the standard of a competent and careful driver
• How long the dangerous driving continued
• Whether excessive speed was involved
• Whether the driver ignored traffic signals
• Whether there was racing, overtaking dangerously or other aggressive driving
• The number of road users put at risk, and whether vulnerable road users were affected
• Previous relevant driving offences
• Any injury or damage caused

The prosecution's case will highlight aggravating factors to seek a stricter sentence. Your solicitor should put forward any mitigating circumstances that apply and work to minimise your sentence.

While the case can be tried in either the Magistrates' Court or the Crown Court, the maximum custodial sentence for a standalone ‘dangerous driving’ offence whether in the Magistrates’ or Crown Court, is two years' imprisonment. Importantly, more serious charges have much higher maximum sentences. For example, the maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving is life imprisonment.

Do you have to retake your driving test after dangerous driving?

A driver convicted of dangerous driving must pass an extended driving test before their disqualification can end. This means that, unlike sentences imposed for other offences, reaching the end of a driving ban for dangerous driving does not mean you can automatically return to driving.

In practice, you will normally need to:

1. Serve the required period of your driving ban.
2. Apply for a new provisional driving licence.
3. Pass the relevant theory test.
4. Take and pass the compulsory extended driving test.

More information about retaking your driving test is available on the government's website. Once the required tests have been passed and the ban has ended, the driver can return to driving in accordance with the applicable licensing rules. However, because it is more expensive and asks more of you than a standard driving test, it can take time to prepare and pass the test. As such, the extended driving test requirement can be one of the most significant long-term consequences of a dangerous driving conviction.

What if you believe your driving was not dangerous?

Before entering a guilty plea, it is important to consider not only the impact on your sentence, but the potential to raise a strong defence. The team at JMW can review the evidence and advise you of whether the prosecution can prove the specific offence alleged. If not, we can mount a defence on your behalf that can result in you being found not guilty and no penalties being imposed.

The prosecution must prove that the driving fell far below the standard expected of a competent and careful driver and that the danger would have been obvious to a competent and careful driver. This means that, in some cases, issues may arise around:

• Whether the driving fell far below the required standard.
• What actually happened during the incident.
• Identification of the driver.
• An unexpected and previously unknown mechanical fault.
• A genuine and unforeseen medical event.
• An emergency situation.
• Whether the driver's knowledge of the vehicle's condition can be established.

These are highly fact-specific questions. If you believe you have a defence, seek legal advice at an early stage rather than pleading guilty on the assumption that a conviction is inevitable.

The solicitors at JMW are experts in considering whether a case is one of dangerous or careless driving, and we often instruct experts to assist in such determination. If it is arguable that your case should have been charged as one of careless - not dangerous - driving, appropriate steps will be taken to optimise the success of the argument.

If we cannot avoid a conviction, we will attend the sentencing hearing as your legal representative and highlight mitigating factors to make sure the court considers a fair sentence.