Ryan's Law: Widen definition of 'death by dangerous driving'

The offence of causing 'death by dangerous driving' should be widened to include: failure to stop, call 999 and render aid on scene until further help arrives.

Ministers are aware of the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Ryan Saltern and extend their sympathy to family and friends.

Failure to stop and report offences are often referred to as “hit and run”, but this is not an accurate reflection of the offence. The offence is designed to deal with behaviour relating to failing to stop, not as an alternative route to punish an offender for a more serious, but unproven offence.

The vast majority of failure to stop and report offences involve low level traffic incidents, for example where a driver clips the wing mirror of another vehicle in a narrow street.

In a small number of cases, the failure to stop or report may be related to an incident which leads to the death or serious injury of another person. Where there is evidence the driver caused harm, there is a range of offences for which the driver may be charged including causing death or serious injury from dangerous or careless driving. In these cases, the courts will treat the failure to stop as a further aggravating factor in the sentencing decision. Where there is evidence that the driver tried to frustrate justice or avoid detection, they may also be charged with perverting the course of justice, which carries a life sentence as a maximum penalty.

The Government takes this issue seriously. The Department for Transport is looking into the issue of such incidents of failure to stop resulting in death or serious injury, and exploring whether there are further options that can be pursued.

Department for Transport