Driving Without Due Care? Slippery Roads

Question:

I was involved in an accident consisting of me and one other car.

I came round a corner doing around 50mph in a 60 limit, I was not traveling too fast to make the turn in my opinion. As I turned the steering wheel, the car felt light and I carried on going in a straight line.

I turned a little more and the back of the car started to slide. As I tried to correct the slide, I collided with an oncoming vehicle. The corner where the accident took place is located near a farm.

The other driver agreed that the road conditions were slippery and I also told the police that the road condition was to blame. Do you think the police will prosecute me for careless or dangerous driving?

Emma Says:

They will probably accuse you of driving without due care and attention. Its your job as a driver to make sure that you speed is appropriate for the road conditions.

Having said that there are a number of potential arguments and a defences here. If the roads were slippery due to mud on the road from the farms or ice then you may be able to argue that in all the circumstances the standard of your driving did not fall below that of the reasonable and careful driver in all the circumstances.

There may also be an issue of a mechanical defect with your vehicle. Did you raise the odd effect on the steering when the police arrived. The prosecution have to prove that the accident wasn’t down to a mechanical fault and if you raised this issue and they failed to rule it out we maybe able to get any proceedings withdrawn.

Have the police indicated they are going to take further action? Have you got any points on your licence or are you a new driver? Tell me more.