Causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving


Causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving is a statutory offence in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. It has been abolished in the Republic of Ireland.

Statute

This offence is created by of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 :
This section is printed as amended by section 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1948 and of the Criminal Justice Act 1953.
This section was repealed for the Republic of Ireland by of the Road Traffic Act 2010. In the Republic of Ireland, a person liable to be charged an offence under section 53 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 was not liable, by reference to the same occurrence, to be charged with an offence under this section.
"Misdemeanour"
The reference to a misdemeanour must now be construed as a reference to an offence.
"Bodily harm"
See bodily harm
In England and Wales, this offence is now used to prosecute:
  • drivers of horse-drawn carriages and vehicles
  • motorists who cannot be prosecuted for dangerous driving because they were driving elsewhere than on a road or public place, or because they were not warned that prosecution was intended pursuant to section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988
  • cyclists who cannot be prosecuted for dangerous cycling because they were cycling elsewhere than on a road, or because they were not warned that prosecution was intended pursuant to section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988
It was used in 2009 to prosecute a death caused by a cyclist collision, which would have fallen outside other laws as it is the closest equivalent to dangerous driving for cyclists. It was used again in 2017 for similar reasons.

Mode of trial

In England and Wales, this is an indictable-only offence.

Sentence

In England and Wales, this offence is punishable with imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years, as it is in Northern Ireland. In modern times, the offence has been used predominantly to charge cyclists that cause injury to pedestrians.

Attempt

The offence of attempting to cause bodily harm by wanton driving requires an intent to cause bodily harm.