A sentence at the top of the range for dangerous driving causing death (maximum 4 years) should be reserved for cases without significant mitigating factors, because otherwise the sentence would overlap with the manslaughter range. For an 18-year-old offender showing genuine remorse, even upper-range dangerous driving causing death involving sustained reckless driving, alcohol, and passengers in an unprotected position warrants a sentence of 2 years rather than 3 years out of a 4-year maximum.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 3 later cases that cite this judgment.