Criminal Motor Defence

We provide tailored and pragmatic advice to insurers, brokers and corporate clients. Our expertise is unrivalled, handling the highest number of fatal driving cases nationwide of any firm. Our lawyers are specialist criminal lawyers with years of experience in the criminal justice system. Our dedicated 24 hour service provides drivers with access to early advice from an expert lawyer immediately after an incident.

Overview

We have a truly national team so we’re on hand to support you wherever you are – our team in Scotland, and Northern Ireland enables us to offer a genuinely cross jurisdictional service.

Our lawyers understand the anxieties drivers experience when unexpectedly implicated in a criminal investigation following a fatal or serious injury road traffic collision. We handle these matters sympathetically and sensitively.

Our criminal motor defence lawyers work closely with our catastrophic injury team avoiding unnecessary duplication of costs and ensuring issues of civil and criminal liability are aligned.

In cases where a driver is not considered a suspect, we can advise the driver before they provide a statement to the police, or represent them when giving evidence at an Inquest or Fatal Accident Inquiry, to ensure that the account that they provide will not cause them to unnecessarily incriminate themselves.

Our service includes:
  • A dedicated 24/7 helpline connecting your drivers with a specialist lawyer for advice as soon as a collision occurs.
  • Attendance at police station interviews and early dialogue with the police to advise the driver from the moment the collision occurs.
  • Pragmatic advice as to the charges faced, ramifications of those charges and advice/representation in the event of being charged.
  • A dedicated Police Misconduct Defence team.
  • As well as a telephone helpline the DACB Crisis Room app can provide an organisation, and specifically their fleet drivers, with urgent access to legal advice should a driver be involved in a fatal or serious injury road traffic collision.

Our early involvement is key for a successful outcome and the chance to significantly reduce the value of any claim.

Featured experience

  • Our client was able to contact us within minutes of the driver reporting a fatal accident to them, by calling us on our 24/7 emergency number. We were able to speak to the driver at the scene to advise him, as well as speaking to the police to confirm that we were instructed on behalf of the driver. We were able to persuade the police that it was not necessary or appropriate for them to arrest the driver immediately and that the driver could be invited to attend a voluntary interview in the coming weeks.
  • We used this time to take a detailed account from the driver and prepare a statement to be used in his interview. We also carefully analysed the camera footage which was taken from cameras around the vehicle to determine the driver’s ability to see the pedestrian as he went to cross the road. We continued to work very closely with our client and we reviewed the vehicle’s maintenance records and the driver’s training records so we could advise our client’s on whether or not they should be provided to the police. Our proactive approach helped ensure that no further action was taken against the driver.
  • Defending a van driver who collided with a pedestrian The pedestrian died as a result of the collision. Advice and representation to the defendant at the police station, including identifying issues in relation to the accident, led to the police taking no further action against the defendant.

View our fees

Find out how much we charge for our Criminal Motor Defences services.

Client Testimonials

What our clients say

  • The support we get from DACB has now become an integral part of our internal process for dealing with major road incidents. They take the time to understand our business and the way we work, which has resulted in them providing a first class service each and every time we have called for their help.

    SHEQ Director of large haulage company

  • I would like to thank you for all the legal advice you have given me over the last few weeks. You have been unbelievably kind and so professional in the way you handled my case. I believe I was a bit of an anomaly in that I didn’t fit in the usual fit of people who are charged with dangerous driving!! Under the circumstances I believe we got the best outcome, avoiding the community order and paying a greater fine. It was the most traumatic experience but I will put it behind me and move on with my life.

    Quote from a driver

  • While it has been an extremely painful journey for us since day one, when we met you at the start of this, we felt comfortable that my father was in safe hands. You were very kind and patient with us, while being very professional. Throughout the past two years, my father has always trusted you and felt confident in your ability and skill. This was always reassuring for us. My mother and I would have liked to thank you in person, but as you are aware my father preferred not to have anyone with him in court. However knowing you were with him, made us feel better about not being there. Thank you again and I wish you every success in future cases. Your clients are very lucky to have you, as we were with you. There are no words to describe how grateful my mother and I are to you.

    Quote from a client's daughter

Criminal Motor Defence key contacts

Who we are

Why choose DAC Beachcroft?

We’re a broad-based commercial firm serving a wide range of sectors with a strong heritage in insurance,
health and real estate. We combine excellent legal skills and cutting-edge delivery expertise to design
solutions that fit the needs of our clients – often involving clever uses of technology.