Careless driving

Legislation: Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic) s 65

Maximum penalty: 12 penalty units (first offence) (6 penalty units for non-motor vehicle); 25 penalty units (subsequent offence) (12 penalty units for non-motor vehicle)

Period: 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2023

Jurisdiction: Magistrates' Court

Charges

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Cases

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All outcomes

Males

Females

Aged 18 to 24

Aged 25 to 54

Aged 55 and over

*Note: unavailable options have under 10 cases

Charge data

In the Magistrates' Court, 8,999 charges of careless driving were sentenced in the three years to 30 June 2023. The most common sentence for a charge of this offence was a fine (68% or 6115 charges).

On SACStat, a charge is a single count of a sentenced offence. Charge data is most useful in understanding how a specific crime is usually sentenced.

Case data

In 8,787 cases sentenced in the Magistrates' Court in the three years to 30 June 2023, each case included at least one charge of careless driving. Among the 8,787 cases, 7,003 people were male and 1,784 people were female. The most common outcome for cases was a fine (63.8% or 5605 cases).

A case is a collection of one or more charges against a person or company sentenced at the one hearing. Case data is most useful in understanding the total sentence usually imposed on people found guilty of a particular crime.

Bar graph showing sentence types imposed for charges of careless driving — **Figure 1**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of careless driving
**Number: 8,999 charges**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for charges of careless driving — **Figure 2**: Imprisonment lengths for charges of careless driving
**Number: 3 charges**

Bar graph showing lengths of community correction orders for charges of careless driving — **Figure 3**: Community correction order lengths for charges of careless driving
**Number: 729 charges**

Bar graph showing fine amounts for charges of careless driving — **Figure 4**: Fine amounts for charges of careless driving
**Number: 1,486 charges**
**Note**: The graph only includes fines that were not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate fines).

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for charges of careless driving — **Figure 5**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of careless driving by financial year
**Number: 8,999 charges**

Bar graph showing the number of charges each year for the offence of careless driving — **Figure 6**: Number of charges of careless driving by financial year
**Number: 8,999 charges**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths each year for charges of careless driving — **Figure 7**: Average imprisonment lengths for charges of careless driving by financial year
**Number: 3 charges**
**Note**: The graph only includes imprisonment that was not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate imprisonment).

Bar graph showing fines amounts each year for charges of careless driving — **Figure 8**: Average fine amounts for charges of careless driving by financial year
**Number: 1,486 charges**
**Note**: The graph only includes fines that were not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate fines).

Bar graph showing sentence types for all offenders for cases of careless driving — **Figure 9A**: Sentencing outcomes for all people for cases of careless driving
**Number: 8,787 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for male offenders for cases of careless driving — **Figure 9B**: Sentencing outcomes for males for cases of careless driving
**Number: 7,003 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for female offenders for cases of careless driving — **Figure 9C**: Sentencing outcomes for females for cases of careless driving
**Number: 1,784 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged under 25 for cases of careless driving — **Figure 9D**: Sentencing outcomes for people aged under 25 for cases of careless driving
**Number: 2,353 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged 25 to 54 for cases of careless driving — **Figure 9E**: Sentencing outcomes for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of careless driving
**Number: 5,757 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged 55 and over for cases of careless driving — **Figure 9F**: Sentencing outcomes for people aged 55 and over for cases of careless driving
**Number: 657 cases**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for cases of careless driving — **Figure 10**: Imprisonment lengths for cases of careless driving
**Number: 694 cases**, including imprisonment only (402 cases) and imprisonment combined with a community correction order (292 cases).

Bar graph showing non-parole periods for cases of careless driving — **Figure 11**: Non-parole periods for all people for cases of careless driving
**Number: 402 cases**
**Note**: Imprisonment terms do not include a community correction order.

Bar graph showing lengths of community correction orders for cases of careless driving — **Figure 12**: Community correction order lengths for cases of careless driving
**Number: 627 cases**

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for cases of careless driving — **Figure 13**: Sentencing outcomes for all cases of careless driving by financial year
**Number: 8,787 cases**

Bar graph showing the number of cases each year for cases of careless driving — **Figure 14**: Number of cases of careless driving for all people by financial year
**Number: 8,787 cases**

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length each year for cases of careless driving — **Figure 15**: Average imprisonment lengths for cases of careless driving by financial year
**Number: 694 cases**

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length and average non-parole period for each year for cases of careless driving — **Figure 16**: Average imprisonment lengths and non-parole periods (NPPs) for cases of careless driving by financial year
**Number: 55 cases**
**Note**: *NPP Cases* in the graph indicates that only cases with a non-parole period are included.