Government ‘breaking promise on life terms for killer drivers’
THE GOVERNMENT has been accused of breaking its pledge to introduce life sentences for killer drivers after failing to bring forward legislation that would bring the “long overdue” changes into law.
A year after the Ministry of Justice announced that motorists who cause death by dangerous driving and careless drivers who kill while under the influence of drink or drugs would face life in jail, campaigners criticised the lack of progress on the issue.
The announcement on October 15, 2017, came after a campaign by The Yorkshire Post and its Johnston Press sister titles to achieve justice for families of those killed by dangerous drivers.
But yesterday the Yorkshirebased road safety charity, Brake, said it was ”perplexed by the Government’s refusal to deliver justice for the victims and bereaved families of road crashes”.
Ministers have previously said that there was no set date for when tougher sentences would be introduced and that the process was incorporated into the Government’s review of cycle safety, announced this year.
Bradford South MP Judith Cummins, who backs the campaign, said: “It is astonishing that the Government has failed to keep its promise on tougher sentences for drivers who kill or seriously injure others on our roads.
“Implementing this change is long overdue, but the Government seems incapable of addressing even the most basic concerns about sentencing and through its inaction has demonstrated scant regard to the protection of road users and pedestrians.”
Brake’s director of campaigns,
Joshua Harris, said: “By delaying the new tougher sentences, the Government is causing further suffering to families who have lost loved ones in road crashes.”
Sheffield widow Karen Codling, whose husband was killed by a drunk driver who went on to serve just two years in jail, said the lack of progress meant there was “still no deterrent whatsoever” for dangerous drivers.
Father-of-two Eric Codling was riding his bike in Whirlow, in November 2013 when Emma Egan, who was over the drink-drive limit and travelling at about 69mph, struck and killed him.
She had been chasing boyfriend, Liam Dent, who was travelling in a car in front, after he ended their relationship. Egan was jailed for four years in 2014 at Sheffield Crown Court. She was told to serve two years and was put on licence for two more years.
Ms Codling said: “When you lose someone you love like this, no amount of time in jail will change how you feel and how it devastates your life, but right now the paltry sentences they are handing out just make it all worse.”
The changes announced last year would see drivers who cause death by speeding, racing, or using a mobile phone, facing sentences equivalent to manslaughter, with maximum penalties raised from 14 years to life.
Offenders who cause death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs will also face life sentences, and a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving will be created.
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: “The Government is committed to making sure that the courts have sufficient powers to deal with driving offences appropriately and proportionately. We will bring forward proposals for changes in the law as soon as parliamentary time allows.”