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Killer drivers could escape jail Killer drivers could avoid jail
(about 23 hours later)
Motorists found guilty of causing death by careless driving could escape prison under new sentencing proposals. Motorists found guilty of causing death could avoid jail despite a tough new law being brought in.
The Sentencing Guidelines Council is expected to recommend community penalties for drivers who kill someone after momentarily losing concentration. The new charge of causing death by careless driving will apply in England, Wales and Scotland and will carry a maximum five-year sentence.
The government introduced the new crime of causing death by careless driving after calls from road safety groups. But the Sentencing Guidelines Council is recommending community penalties in cases where drivers kill someone through "momentary inattention".
It will carry a maximum five-year sentence, with the recommended minimum penalty expected to be non-custodial. Road safety groups had called for tougher sentences for drivers who kill.
Ministers put forward the changes to the Road Safety Bill, which applies to England, Wales and Scotland, in 2005 after calls from road safety groups for tougher laws for drivers who kill. They argued that drivers in some cases were not being sufficiently punished.
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. Current laws mean that someone convicted of death by dangerous driving can be sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Satellite navigation But in the past, drivers who caused a death might have found themselves charged with careless driving - which did not take into account that someone had died and only carried a fine.
Although offenders face a maximum jail term of five years, in cases where a motorist with an exemplary driving record kills someone after a slight misjudgement or mistake, the Sentencing Guidelines Council will recommend a community sentence. We really do want to see the custodial sentence as the starting point Lorna Jackson, Brake
The new legislation is intended to lead to harsher sentences for motorists where a fatality was caused by a fleeting or short period of bad driving.
The current maximum penalty for careless driving is a £2,500 fine.
Ministers put forward the changes to the Road Safety Bill in 2005, after pressure for tougher laws for drivers who kill from road safety groups.
The new offence of death by careless driving won Royal Assent in November 2006 as an alternative to causing death by dangerous driving, but has yet to be brought in.
HAVE YOUR SAY Anybody who kills due to carelessness or otherwise should spend a minimum of five years in jail Keith Hutchinson, Sunderland Send us your comments
But the SGC said that even in cases of medium seriousness, judges should be able to impose a community order.
Cases that lead to a death after a driver's "momentary inattention" could even be dealt with by low level community order, it added.
And the normal maximum sentence for causing death by careless driving should be three years' imprisonment, the SGC said, despite the maximum allowed being five years.
Its consultation paper said: "Where the level of carelessness is low and there are no aggravating factors, even the fact that death was caused is not sufficient to justify a prison sentence."
Although offenders face a maximum jail term of five years, in cases where a motorist with an exemplary driving record kills someone after a slight misjudgement or mistake, the SGC is recommending a community sentence.
The offence may cover being distracted by satellite navigation equipment.The offence may cover being distracted by satellite navigation equipment.
The huge growth in the use of such systems and mobile phones has been blamed for increasing the risk of causing deaths through careless driving.The huge growth in the use of such systems and mobile phones has been blamed for increasing the risk of causing deaths through careless driving.
In addition, motorists who kill after forgetting to renew their car insurance could also escape custody, even though the maximum sentence for the new offence of "causing death when driving while unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured" is two years in jail. COMMON DRIVING DISTRACTIONS Tuning in radio/playing CDsConversations with passengersRetrieving items such as purses/wallets from back seat External distractions such as billboards or pedestriansChildren sat on back seatsMobile phone use and conversation, even hands freeLighting cigarettesEating at the wheel or using items like teapots Shaving or applying make-up DVD players or televisionsSource: BSM
The Sentencing Guidelines Council's recommendations follow lengthy public consultation, involving the relatives of people who died in car crashes. In addition, motorists who kill after forgetting to renew their car insurance could also avoid custody, even though the maximum sentence for the new offence of "causing death when driving while unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured" is two years in jail.
Lorna Jackson, from the road safety charity, Brake, said she still hoped custodial sentences would be a "starting point".
She said: "If someone in my family had been killed by a driver I wouldn't be satisfied for them to get a community sentence.
"Obviously if there are some really persuasive mitigating circumstances then that could be reduced down to a community sentence. But we really do want to see the custodial sentence as the starting point."
Cynthia Barlow's 26-year-old daughter Alex Jane McVitty was killed in a road accident in June 2000 when she was knocked from her bike and run over by the driver of a concrete mixer lorry turning left across her path.
'Thorough investigation'
Ms Barlow said the main issue with drivers who kill was accountability.
"The principle issue is to get across to drivers that they are responsible for what they do, they're responsible for their actions.
"We're not happy about the death cases staying in a magistrates' court.
'RECKLESS' DRIVING CHARGES Dangerous drivingManslaughter or culpable homicide while driving a vehicleCausing death by dangerous drivingDriving without due care and attentionDriving without reasonable consideration for other road usersDriving without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other road usersCausing death through careless when unfit through drinkCausing death by careless driving when unfit through drugsCausing death by careless driving when failing to supply a specimen for analysis
"We do think that they should always go to a higher court, so there is a more thorough investigation, a better standard of prosecution so that at least families can know the facts, which at the moment they don't with a magistrates' court hearing."
The SGC and Sentencing Advisory Panel (SAP) are two independent bodies that work together to produce sentencing guidelines that encourage consistency in sentencing throughout the courts of England and Wales.
The SAP, which makes initial reports to the SGC, has recommended that the new crime should carry a community sentence in the least serious cases.
The recommendations on careless driving follow lengthy public consultation, involving the relatives of people who died in car crashes.
The SGC also proposed new sentencing structures for the offences of causing death by dangerous driving, and when a motorist kills under the influence of drink or drugs, or while driving illegally.
It said the most serious offenders of dangerous driving should receive between seven and 14 years' imprisonment.
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