http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4392584.stm
Death driving offences announced
Drivers who cause death by careless driving could face five years in
prison under a string of new driving offences announced by the government.
They have been tabled as amendments to the Road Safety Bill and would
apply in England, Wales and Scotland.
The measures also create a new offence of "causing death when driving
while unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured", carrying a sentence of up
to two years.
Road charity Brake said the proposals were a "step in the right direction".
BBC transport correspondent Tom Symonds said the new offence of death by
careless driving was a toughening of the law that road safety groups had
been demanding for a long time.
Current laws mean that someone convicted of death by dangerous driving
can be sentenced to 14 years in prison, while the penalty for careless
driving has a maximum penalty of a £2,500 fine.
Tom Symonds said: "The problem is, if you kill someone when you've only
driven carelessly, then you can't be sent to prison - you can only have
a fine.
"This new offence will make it a lot more difficult for people to get
away with that lower level of penalty."
The new measures also include a statutory definition of careless driving.
'Overdue' changes
Brake spokesperson Aimee Bowen said: "Changes to the system of charges
and penalties for driving offences are long overdue.
"All too often we see killer drivers, who devastate families and
communities through reckless and selfish behaviour behind the wheel,
getting away with little more than a fine."
But, while welcoming the proposals, she said: "They fail to address the
ongoing lack of justice for many drivers who cause serious injury on the
roads."
Criminal Justice Minister Fiona MacTaggart told BBC Radio Five Live that
the offence of death by careless driving would allow courts to take into
account the fatal consequence of careless driving.
"At present you can get such a sentence if someone is drunk, but you
can't if someone is sober and just driving carelessly," she said.
"What we're doing is - we're on the side of the victim, we're making
sure that people who kill on the road can get proper prison sentences.
"We're making sure that if someone kills when they're driving carelessly
- even if they didn't mean to - then they can be sent to prison."
'Horrendous' sentence
Tony Leigh's 14-year-old daughter Jessica was killed instantly by a
motorist speeding at 60mph.
He told Five Live: "[The driver] went to court and pleaded not guilty
and then, when he finally got into court after about a year-and-a-half,
all he got was a £300 fine and six penalty points."
Mr Leigh said he believed the punishment - after hearing the graphic
details of his daughter's death in court - was "horrendous" in its
inadequacy.
But he said the new measures would address his concerns: "In a car, I
must admit, you don't go out on that day saying I'm going to run someone
over.
"So up to five years in his case - where it was a tragic accident, which
could have been avoided if he had been driving more sensibly - then I
reckon five years is quite good."
--
Tony
"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham