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Four out of five careless drivers who kill 'walk free'

01/02/2012

According to a new newspaper investigation, more than four out of five drivers who have killed as a result of careless driving have walked free from courts.

Motorcycle News reported all but 48 of the 313 people sentenced for the new offence of causing death by careless driving have not been sent to jail.

The new offence allows drivers convicted of causing death by careless driving to be jailed for up to five years, whereas previously, motorists who killed due to lack of attention would only be charged with careless driving.

The new legislation had been introduced to create a more suitable punishment for driver and motorbike insurance policy holders.

Despite the introduction of the new offence, figures released by the Ministry of Justice show that most offenders have continued to receive non-custodial sentences. These include driving bans and community service, while no-one yet has been given the maximum sentence of five years in jail.

The figures were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Motorcycle News and cover the period from the introduction of the offence in August 2008 to the end of 2010.

General Secretary of the Motorcycle Action Group, Nich Brown told MCN: "We have a justice system demonstrably capable of turning a blind eye to the most appalling acts of negligent and dangerous driving that leave innocent riders dead or severely injured, while at the same time jailing riders whose actions result in no death or injury as if they had."

"It begs the question, are individuals treated differently according to their chosen mode of travel?"

A Ministry of Justice spokesman told MCN: "The sentences for each individual case are decided by the independent judges and magistrates using the full facts available to them.

"They will base their decisions on guidelines produced by the independent Sentencing Council."

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