Difference between revisions of "Federal Driving Offences (13:X)"

This section is not specifically aimed at motor vehicle operators, but is applicable in some circumstances. Under the ''Criminal Code'', criminal negligence involves acts or omissions showing “wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons” (s 219). In Canada, the law surrounding the ''mens rea'' requirements for criminal negligence was clarified in ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1fs09 R v Creighton]'', [1993], SCJ No 91. The standard is to be measured by a modified objective test: whether the accused’s conduct constituted a marked departure from that of the reasonable person given all the circumstances. Characteristics personal to the accused will not be considered with the exception of accused’s incapacity to appreciate the nature of the risks associated with their actions.

In ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1vrp5 R v Beatty]'', 2008 SCC 5, [2008] SCJ No 5, the Court addressed the issue of criminal negligence in the context of dangerous driving. Unlike ''Creighton'', there is no substantive dissent, though five of the newer Supreme Court justices took a slightly different approach to the modified objective test. They noted that the actual (subjective) state of mind of the accused at the time of the accident is relevant in determining if there was a marked departure from the standard of the reasonable person. In Beatty, a momentary lapse of attention with no other evidence of dangerous driving was held '''not''' sufficient to warrant criminal sanction under s 249 (criminal negligence causing death).