Road Traffic Act 1988, s 2

Dangerous driving

The statutory wording, points to prove, defences and penalty — verified against legislation.gov.uk (current revised versions, July 2026).

What the law says

A person who drives a mechanically propelled vehicle dangerously on a road or other public place is guilty of an offence.

CJS codes
Official CJS offence index (March 2026)
—Charged under the specific underlying offence code.

Points to prove

  • 1. being driver of a mechanically propelled vehicle
  • 2. drove dangerously
  • 3. on a road/other public place

Defences

  • No specific standalone defence was extracted from the source text; consider any applicable statutory defence, reasonable excuse, lawful authority, self-defence, necessity, consent, identification challenge, or other common-law defence on the facts.

Mode of trial & maximum penalty

Either way — Summary: 6/12 months' imprisonment and/or a fine; Indictment: 2 years' imprisonment and/or a fine. Obligatory disqualification until test passed

Reference only — verify against current legislation and force policy before charge. Spotted an error? Tell us.

Sources

  • Verified dataset — legislation.gov.uk (current revised versions)

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