Careless driving is defined in section 62 of the Road Traffic
Act 1974 (WA) as driving "without due care and
attention".
Examples of behaviours which may be classified as careless could
be, but are not limited to, the following:
- going through a stop sign,
- looking down as opposed to looking at, or concentrating on, the
road ahead.
- Crossing over lanes where the road is marked with solid white
lines,
- Drifting into another lane on the road, without realising.
It should also be noted that some of the above conduct could
– in certain circumstances – amount to the more serious
offences of dangerous or reckless driving. The act of careless
driving is ordinarily not intentional or deliberate but arises as a
direct result of inattention or a momentary lapse of judgement (i.e
a poor split-second decision).
