Vehicular Homicide

Vehicular homicide, also referred to as vehicular manslaughter, is a crime in most states in the United States. Vehicular homicide results from the negligent operation of a vehicle causing death. Vehicular homicide in general is a lesser charge that that of manslaughter. The Model Penal Code contains no separate category of vehicular homicide and vehicular homicide that involves negligence and is included in the category of negligent homicide. Vehicular homicide is comparable to the offense in other countries, and that is, dangerous driving causing death.

Each state, with the exception of Alaska, Arizona, Montana, and Oregon has vehicular homicide statutes. The laws make a vehicle a potentially deadly weapon which allows for an easier conviction and more severe penalties. In the states that have the statues in place, the defendants can be charged with the more severe crime which is manslaughter and in some situations, murder.

The victim of vehicular homicide can be a passenger in the car with the defendant, or someone who is not in the car, such as another motorist or pedestrian.

Professors at both Harvard University and Dartmouth College did a study on the sentencing of vehicular homicide charges and found that those who were convicted were given on average, shorter sentences than other defendants who had been found guilty of other types of homicides. What the study found was that the gender of the offender didn’t statistically affect the length of sentence given, however, the race did. The victim’s identity was a more important predicting factor of sentencing length, with longer sentences given to an offender in cases where the victim had no violent criminal record and/or was female. Minnesota is one state that has a statue in place allowing for a charge of vehicular homicide in an unborn child is injured or killed by a motorist.

The state of Georgia has two degrees of vehicular homicide, or homicide by vehicle, which is what it is known as there: (1) First Degree Homicide By Vehicle – is considered a felony and once convicted the offender faces between 3 and 15 years in prison, or 5 to 20 for repeat offenders, with no chance of parole for a minimum of 1 year. It is considered first degree homicide by vehicle is the driver “unlawfully met or overtook a school bus; unlawfully failed to stop after a collision; was driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol; was driving recklessly; failed to stop for, or otherwise was attempting to flee from law enforcement; or previously been declared a habitual violator.”; (2) Second Degree Homicide By Vehicle – is considered a misdemeanor and once convicted the offender faces up to one year, which the judge can suspend, or a fine of up to one thousand dollars, or both. Second degree homicide by vehicle encompasses every other homicide by vehicle, involving other violations of the law the govern motor vehicles which are not classed as first degree homicides.

Last Updated ( Friday, 05 September 2008 10:31 )

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