Criminal Defence
Dangerous Driving Lawyers in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
A dangerous driving charge under section 320.13 of the Criminal Code alleges that a vehicle was operated in a manner dangerous to the public, having regard to all the circumstances. It is a criminal charge, not a ticket, and a conviction carries a record and can carry a driving prohibition. Defending it in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia is a dangerous driving lawyer’s work at this firm, from the marked departure test to sentence.
Section 320.13 Punishes the Driving, Not the Outcome Alone
Section 320.13 makes it an offence to operate a conveyance in a manner dangerous to the public. The basic offence is hybrid, with a maximum of two years less a day on summary conviction and ten years on indictment. Where the driving causes bodily harm the maximum rises to fourteen years, and where it causes death the offence carries a maximum of life imprisonment. A crash is not required. A charge can rest on the driving alone, reported by another motorist or captured on video.
The Crown Must Prove a Marked Departure
The Supreme Court of Canada has held that dangerous driving requires a marked departure from the standard of a reasonable driver in the circumstances. A momentary lapse of attention is not enough. An error any careful driver could make is not enough. The court looks at the manner of driving rather than the consequences, so a serious crash does not by itself prove the offence, and unremarkable-looking driving can still qualify. The line between civil negligence and a marked departure is where these cases are won.
The Penalties Include a Discretionary Prohibition and a Record
The basic offence carries no mandatory minimum fine, and the driving prohibition is discretionary rather than automatic; where bodily harm or death results, minimum punishments apply, starting at a thousand dollar fine on a first offence. A conviction still brings a criminal record, insurance consequences, and, where bodily harm or death is alleged, a real risk of jail. Sentences turn on the driving, the record and the harm, and the range is wide.
A Careless Driving Resolution Avoids the Criminal Record
Both provinces have a careless driving offence in their Motor Vehicle Acts. It is a provincial offence with a fine and points, not a criminal conviction. Where the driving looks more like carelessness than a marked departure, resolving the Criminal Code charge to the provincial offence is often the right outcome, and it is a resolution the Crown will consider on facts that sit near the line.
The Defences a Dangerous Driving Lawyer Runs
The defence starts with what the driving actually was, taken from dash cameras, witnesses, scene measurements and the reconstruction report where there is one. A mechanical failure, a medical event at the wheel or an emergency that explains the driving can each answer the charge. So can the marked departure standard itself, applied honestly to a few seconds of bad driving. Expert evidence matters more in these files than in most driving cases.
The Firm Defends Dangerous Driving in Both Provinces
New Brunswick files run from Moncton and Saint John and Nova Scotia files from Halifax, in each province’s Provincial Court or, on election, its superior court. Impaired driving is its own practice at DUI defence, refusal at refusal charge defence, and the full charge list at criminal defence. The contact page connects to the nearest office.
The Province Pages
I Was Charged After a Single-Vehicle Crash. Can That Stand?
It can. The charge rests on the manner of driving, and the Crown must prove it, crash or no crash. A collision with an innocent mechanical or medical explanation is not a marked departure, no matter how expensive the damage.
Will I Lose My Licence Before the Trial?
Not from this charge alone. Unlike an impaired charge, dangerous driving carries no automatic roadside suspension. A prohibition can follow a conviction, and the provinces apply their own demerit points on their own schedule.