Judges should be able to hand out tougher prison sentences for dangerous drivers

 1st July 2011

Gareth Johnson:  Judges should be able to hand out tougher prison sentences for dangerous drivers

Gareth Johnson recently took part in a House of Commons debate to call on the maximum sentence for dangerous driving to be increased. Currently the most a Judge can give the worst kind of offender is two years imprisonment.  Gareth believes this is wholly inadequate.

Even when the most outrageous acts of dangerous driving take place and an innocent person ends up with horrific injuries, Judges cannot at the moment give a sentence that reflects the nature of the offence. Gareth believes a change in the law is necessary.

Gareth said:  “All drivers are responsible for errors of judgement. We all can make mistakes when behind the wheel but deliberately driving in a manner that inevitably leads to an accident should be dealt with seriously by the Courts. Too many lives have been ruined by the selfish actions of drivers who use our roads as a race track. It must be right therefore that when these people are convicted of dangerous driving that our Courts have the option of a sentence greater than two years.

“The past five years in Dartford has seen twenty eight people die on our roads with a further two hundred and twenty eight injured. Whilst not all of these incidents will be due to dangerous driving, the figures highlight how many people are affected by road accidents in our local area.

“We all can suffer a loss of concentration when driving but deliberate dangerous driving should be treated differently and that should include the option of longer prison terms than is currently the case.”

Editors’ notes:

Hansard reference:http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110622/halltext/110622h0002.htm#11062254000543