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33 Medico-Legal J. 1 (1965)

handle is hein.journals/medlgjr33 and id is 1 raw text is: EDITORIAL CRIMINAL ROAD CONDUCT MOST people regard motoring offences as quite distinct from crime in geneial, thleir commission being due to human inadvertence or arising from a bit of bad luck. This notion of veniality has received a considerable shaking from the researches of Dr. T. J. Willett (see Review on page 35) who has demonstrated that 21% of serious motoring offenders have criminal records of non-motoring offences. In other quarters it has been said that the law of motoring has become over-complex, especially in creating the distinctions between reckless, dangerous and careless driving which may be difficult to assess from evidence in a given case. Motoring law has grown from statutes passed when driving was little more than a sport indulged in by the wealthy and still bears the marks of class principles, the motorist v. the rest, with the scales weighted against the motorist. With the fantastic development of the use of the motor car a new orientation has become imperative. Dr. Willett has shown that a considerable preponderance of motoring offenders are now manual workers. So, the picture of the wealthy man as a motoring offender fades, although he may still be convicted of driving when alcoholically impaired, and the new conception of the motoring offender as a less favoured person begins to take shape. A motorist drives as he lives and studies of personality in relation to driving are becoming increasingly important, it could be said that some people have a form of diminished responsibility which makes it unsuitable for them to have charge of motor vehicles. The typical serious motoring offender at the present time is the motor cyclist, his characteristic offences are failure to insure or driving while disqualified. These offences, the latter of which inevitably implies the former, are regarded by the thoughtless as pure technicalities although the gravity of the consequences to the victim and his dependants of an accident caused by an uninsured driver may be incalculable. It has been shown that 78% of persons found guilty of driving while disqualified have previous convictions for non-motoring offences. Lord Devlin has recently observed that no system of law can be effective without the willing backing of society. At present the dichotomy in the public mind between the motoring and non-motoring offender is almost complete and is reflected in the relative leniency with which motoring offences are regarded in magistrates' courts. It is not even considered necessary to provide the Bench with information about non-motoring convictions in motoring cases. If it could be widely known that a considerable proportion of motoring crime is associated with criminal behaviour in other respects it might be possible to engender a gradual change of attitude with subsequent improvement in the exercise of care by the respectable motorist. DRIVING AND SUDDEN DEATH Is the danger to others from the sudden unexpected death of a car driver, air pilot or similar person a serious public hazard? With present methods of examination can the risk in an individual be detected? Recurring attacks of unconsciousness, as in epilepsy, are usually well known to the sufferer and, while there always has to be a first time, the chances of this happening while in charge of a moving vehicle are small. This risk is recognized in regulations which exclude those so afflicted from holding driving licences in this country. Statistically, the greatest danger is coronary artery disease. Drs. Myerburg and Davis (Amer. Heart J., 68, 586-595, Nov., 1964) studied records of 1,300 coronary deaths in Dade County, Florida, with a view to determining the risk to the public.

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