RAC Foundation Backs Road Safety Bill
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The RAC Foundation welcomes the Government’s decision to create new powers for the courts to tackle careless drivers who cause death behind the wheel.
Today (31st) the Government has tabled amendments to the Road Safety Bill, currently being considered by the House of Lords, which would add the offence of causing death by careless driving to the statute book.
The RAC Foundation has lobbied since 1999 for the introduction of this offence, with an appropriate maximum penalty, in addition to the existing offence of causing death by dangerous driving. We believe that having an offence of causing death by careless driving on the statute books would help by allowing prosecutors to bring a charge appropriate to the level of bad driving; which recognises the death of a third party; and which carries a range of penalties appropriate to the gravity of the offence.
The Foundation has been supporting Sally Keeble MP’s Private Members Bill, which would have created this new offence.
Edmund King, Executive Director of the RAC Foundation, said today “The RAC Foundation for Motoring has consistently argued the need for the creation of a new offence of ‘causing death by careless driving’ and we are delighted to see these amendments being brought forward. We urge peers to give their support to this long-overdue measure.”
The need for a specific offence of causing death by careless driving arises as a result of the disparity between the offences of careless and dangerous driving, both in term of the burden of proof and the sentencing option available to courts following conviction.
Kevin Delaney, Traffic and Road Safety Manager of the RAC Foundation, said:
"The offence of causing death by dangerous driving is extremely difficult to prove and prosecutions tend to be brought only in the most extreme cases of grossly bad or wicked driving.
Prosecutors tend to charge with the lesser offence of ‘careless driving’, or accept a plea of guilty to ‘careless driving.’ This often leaves relatives feeling that justice has not been done following the death of a loved one.
The RAC Foundation believes that having an offence of causing death by dangerous driving on the statute books would help bridge that gap."
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RAC Web Site & Roadside Assistance
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Today (31st) the Government has tabled amendments to the Road Safety Bill, currently being considered by the House of Lords, which would add the offence of causing death by careless driving to the statute book.
The RAC Foundation has lobbied since 1999 for the introduction of this offence, with an appropriate maximum penalty, in addition to the existing offence of causing death by dangerous driving. We believe that having an offence of causing death by careless driving on the statute books would help by allowing prosecutors to bring a charge appropriate to the level of bad driving; which recognises the death of a third party; and which carries a range of penalties appropriate to the gravity of the offence.
The Foundation has been supporting Sally Keeble MP’s Private Members Bill, which would have created this new offence.
Edmund King, Executive Director of the RAC Foundation, said today “The RAC Foundation for Motoring has consistently argued the need for the creation of a new offence of ‘causing death by careless driving’ and we are delighted to see these amendments being brought forward. We urge peers to give their support to this long-overdue measure.”
The need for a specific offence of causing death by careless driving arises as a result of the disparity between the offences of careless and dangerous driving, both in term of the burden of proof and the sentencing option available to courts following conviction.
Kevin Delaney, Traffic and Road Safety Manager of the RAC Foundation, said:
"The offence of causing death by dangerous driving is extremely difficult to prove and prosecutions tend to be brought only in the most extreme cases of grossly bad or wicked driving.
Prosecutors tend to charge with the lesser offence of ‘careless driving’, or accept a plea of guilty to ‘careless driving.’ This often leaves relatives feeling that justice has not been done following the death of a loved one.
The RAC Foundation believes that having an offence of causing death by dangerous driving on the statute books would help bridge that gap."
Web Site:
RAC Web Site & Roadside Assistance
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posted by Jon Fry at 1:51:00 AM
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