In your country, what is the usual sentence for cases like involuntary manslaughter in a traffic accident?

Question

Not drink and drive. Not hit and run. No bad records beforehand. Nothing wrong with the vehicles.

I wonder if the law differs a lot from country to country.

Answer 1

Because enough [is enough]

Answer 2

I think in the UK the charge would be Causing Death by Dangerous Driving.   If the accused is found guilty then it would be up to the judge to award sentence as laid down by Parliamentary Acts.

Penalties for each category (dangerous or careless) reflect the relative seriousness of the offence ranging from fines for the least serious offences to an almost certain prison sentence, disqualification from driving and a re-test prior to return of the license for the last category.

A little more advice is given in the second link.

G.

Answer 3

No idea Kanda.

A slap in the wrist I suppose. Driving licence taken away for life I guess.

But is sure spoken about for years and years and years :-)

( oh you said no drink and drive ?)

Answer 4

I hope this is not for anyone you know Kanda! lol A lot of factors can and do go into our justice system. One is money...thus a very good lawyer. Second is if alcohol was involved and now some are including if talking on cell phone.

Mainly if you have been cited before for DUI (driving under the influence) you will be sentenced more that a first offender. But I am thinking that no way off with a fine only....maybe probation for 1-3 years AND a fine. But if it is a drunk driver you can bet at least 2 to 4 years. There are no set in stone sentences but the judge has a guide he can go by and depending on his mood he can go hard or light.

It may also change by state that it happened in. No state is always alike and since we have fifty of them again you can get a number of different answers.

I wish I could be more specific but it is usually the State's laws that handle each offense.

Answer 5

Thats a tough one as accidents differ so much, but in a recent accident a senior school principle suffered a heart attack and slumped over the steering wheel but veered over the other side of the road and had a head on with a police officer who nearly died but i do not think even if the officer had died , that the other guy would be punished.  In Australia there is no set fines or sentences on accidents but each case is dealt with by the circumstances.However, if a person goes through a red traffic light it is considered serious and incurs a fine of around 500 dollars, but if they also kill someone then it is manslaughter and can become a very heavy fine or imprisonment. Sometimes its not what you know but who you know and how much money you have to afford a fancy lawyer that will prove that the person in the wrong was under duress due to a maritual dispute or some other mental strain. If you dont have these means or money then you pray that the judge isnt having a bad day lol.

Answer 6

It looks like Saudi Geoff answered for the Uk

But it also depends if you're famous or not, if you are you're likely to get a much lighter slap on the wrist.

It's a good question, I've always wondered what would happen if a child ran into the road and we hit her/him and they died, even though I won't let my hubby drive fast, but the thought is always there. It's an awful thought to have I know.

I firmly believe that it isn't always the drivers fault. Unless they were high on drugs or booze, or on their phones, otherwise preoccupied.

Answer 7

Hungary:

If it is the fault of the driver and 1 person dies: 1-5 year

If it is the fault of the driver and 2 or more people dies: 2-8 years

If it is not the fault of the driver: I couldn't find that, sorry, but I guess there is no sentence in this case.

Answer 8

Motor vehicle homicide but that's for a deliberate act. Negligence would be involuntary. That is the word for it. A clean record could get off with no jail time.

Answer 9

U.S.

The alternative name for this crime is constructive manslaughter. Although the accused did not intend to cause serious harm or foresee the risk of doing so, and although an objective observer would not necessarily have predicted that serious harm would result, the accused's responsibility for causing death is constructed from the fault in committing what might have been a minor criminal act.

Answer 10

In the United States such cases are tried by each state --- so you would have many different answers.  One case (turned up by a Google search for "manslaughter sentence") was 13 years.  www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=113923292...