Criminal Motor Defence

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.

• 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.