For dangerous driving occasioning death under s 59(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act 1974 (WA), where the offending involves a deliberate decision to take a risk without aggravating factors such as alcohol or drugs, contemporary sentencing standards indicate approximately 3 years' immediate imprisonment with a guilty plea, or more without one. Where aggravating factors are present, the starting point is approximately 4 years. A deliberate decision to ignore a stop sign and accelerate across a busy intersection without keeping a proper lookout constitutes dangerous driving, not merely careless driving. A Liberato direction is not required where the case does not turn on a conflict between competing accounts of what occurred.
The full text is available to signed-in members.