Commentary on Sections Schedule 6: Offences committed by disqualified drivers: further amendments
289.Schedule 6 contains amendments relating to the offences of causing death or serious injury by disqualified driving under sections 3ZC and 3ZD of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (RTA 1988) respectively.
290.Paragraph 1 alters the current offence of causing death by driving when unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured under section 3ZB of the RTA 1988 by omitting references to disqualified drivers. Disqualified drivers who cause death or serious injury will now commit the new offences in sections 3ZC and 3ZD of the RTA 1988.
291.Paragraph 2 introduces amendments to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (RTOA 1988), which are explained in more detail below.
292.Paragraph 3(1) introduces amendments to section 24 of the RTOA 1988 which deals with alternative verdicts.
293.Paragraph 3(2) amends section 24(A2) to provide that where a person is found not guilty of a manslaughter charge in connection with driving and the allegations amount to or include an allegation of either of the offences under section 3ZC or 3ZD of the RTA 1988 then the defendant may be convicted of either of those offences as an alternative to manslaughter.
294.Paragraph 3(3) provides that where defendants are prosecuted for offences under sections 3ZC or 3ZD of the RTA 1988 and the charges against them cannot be proved, they will still be liable to conviction for the offence of driving while disqualified under section 103(1)(b) of the RTA 1988.
295.Paragraphs 4 and 5 ensure that the disqualification and retest provisions in sections 34 and 36 of the RTOA 1988 will apply to offenders convicted of offences under sections 3ZC and 3ZD of the RTA 1988. This means that offenders convicted of causing death or serious injury by disqualified driving will be banned from driving for at least two years and required to pass an appropriate driving test before their qualifications can be reinstated.
296.Paragraphs 6 and 7 add sections 3ZC and 3ZD of the RTA 1988 to the list of offences in section 45 and 45A of the RTOA 1988 to which a four-year endorsement period applies.
297.Paragraph 8 adds sections 3ZC and 3ZD of the RTA 1988 to the list of offences in Schedule 1 of the RTOA 1988 . That Schedule is concerned with procedural points linked to the prosecution of offenders, including the need for the prosecution to provide evidence as to who was driving the vehicle at the time the offence was committed. Paragraph 9 makes consequential amendments which are necessary in the light of the amendment to the offence in section 3ZB of the RTA 1988.
298.Paragraph 10 adds the offences in sections 3ZC and 3ZD of the RTA 1988 to paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 to the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003. Where a non-UK national is convicted of one of the offences in this Schedule, the UK must inform the authorities in the state in which the offender is normally resident.
299.Paragraph 11 adds section 3ZC of the RTA 1988 to Part 1 of Schedule 15 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003, thereby making it a specified violent offence for the purposes of Chapter 5 of Part 12 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Schedule 15 is a list of specified violent and sexual offences which are subject to the dangerous offenders sentencing scheme.  Schedule 15 is relevant for the purposes of: eligibility for an extended determinate sentence (imposed under section 226A or 226B of the Criminal Justice Act 2003); and the duty to impose a life sentence (imposed under section 225 or 226 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and corresponding provision in the Armed Forces Act 2006) where the offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and the court considers that there is a significant risk to the public of serious harm from further such offences.
300.Paragraph 12 adds section 3ZC of the RTA 1988 to the list of offences in Schedule 1 to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. That Schedule lists offences classed as ‘homicide offences’ for the purposes of the Act. A coroner must suspend an investigation when a prosecuting authority requests them to do so on the ground that a person may be charged with a ‘homicide offence’ involving the death of the deceased.