Where a motor vehicle is used to facilitate a pre-planned criminal act (such as a drive-by shooting), the injuries caused by that criminal act are not 'caused by the fault of the driver in the use or operation of the vehicle' within s 3A of the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 (NSW), even where the driver deliberately collided with the victim's vehicle to facilitate the criminal act. The driving fault is merely the occasion for the injuries, not their predominant and immediate cause. This is distinguishable from cases where criminal conduct by vehicle occupants is an integral part of an escalating course of harassing driving (as in Hawkins).
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