Where dangerous driving arises from a deliberate decision to drive a grossly overloaded vehicle, the length of the journey during which others were exposed to risk is the entire journey (and the intended journey), not merely the period from when the vehicle first lost stability. This is analogous to the treatment of sleep-deprived drivers, where the risk arises from the decision to drive, not from the point of microsleep. Concepts of foreseeability from civil negligence have no role in assessing dangerousness for the strict liability offence under s 52A. The Whyte factor of victims being strangers is neutral in sentencing terms and does not have obvious aggravating or mitigating effect.
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