Tougher sentences for drivers who cause deaths

For a long time there have been calls from families who have lost loved ones to bad driver's fro tougher sentencing to be applied. At present many drivers who have killed through bad driving would have got away with a six month driving ban and a 300 ($600) fine.

But tougher new guidelines are set to change the way people are punished for their bad driving practices. These include causing death by driving while writing text messages, using a mobile phone, drink, drugs and just general bad driving. 

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "Ensuring drivers who cause death on our roads through bad driving are suitably punished is essential if justice is to be done and people maintain their support for the criminal justice system.

"That's why the Government welcomes the firm guidelines published by the independent Sentencing Guidelines Council today."

The Ministry of Justice spokesman added: "Justice Ministers want to see two new offences of causing death by careless driving and causing death by driving while unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured, introduced at the earliest opportunity and will make an announcement later today." 

This is fine, but these guidelines are just that, when it actually comes down to the actual prosecutions and sentencing the drivers are likely to still get away with a sentence that does not really mean much to the victims families.

Former Thames Valley Chief Constable Peter Neyroud, a member of the Sentencing Guidelines Council, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that the new framework was "a comprehensive re-looking at the offences" 

"What we are talking about is shifting the balance here to recognising the harm to the victim and the victim's family, recognising the fact that when you are driving a car it is a privilege and not a right and you should drive it carefully at all times."

For drivers who persistently break the law by driving when they shouldn't be these changes will probably not make any difference at all. 

Source [Metro]