A 'normal range' of sentences for dangerous driving causing death should not be treated as a de facto statutory maximum; it is often a dangerous generalisation. The 1989 increase in the maximum penalty under s 328A of the Criminal Code (Qld) from five to seven years is a relevant matter that should be reflected in sentencing. An undue concession by a Crown Prosecutor on sentence is not necessarily fatal to an Attorney-General's appeal, though it is a factor militating against success and may warrant a conservative substituted sentence. Aggravating factors including grievous consequences to victims, criminal record, lack of remorse, unlicensed driving, offending while on bond, and continued offending after the incident can take a sentence well above the previously observed range.
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