MP: Reckless drivers 'are playing the system'
Steve Barclay MP has told Daybreak that reckless drivers 'are playing the system' by pleading guilty to careless driving as a way of capping the maximum sentence the court can impose.
'Crackdown' on careless driving
The campaign to get justice for crash victim Jamie Butcher is set to go national today with MP Steve Barclay planning to raise the case in the House of Commons.
Crash victim's family 'had heart ripped out'
The family of crash victim Jamie Butcher has told Daybreak that sentencing of the driver who killed their son has 'destroyed' them and 'ripped the heart out of the family'.
Michael Moore, of Murrow Lane, Parson Drove, was doing almost twice the speed limit and had run a red light when he hit the 22-year-old.
He was jailed for just 43 months in April - a sentence the distraught Butcher family condemned as pathetic.
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'Lenient' sentences for dangerous drivers
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act earlier this year revealed that no drivers had received that maximum sentence since it was introduced:
- Whilst 175 drivers were convicted of Causing Death by Dangerous Driving in 2010, another 99 were acquitted of the charge.
- The conviction rate was 64%. The number of drivers convicted of this charge decreased by 39% compared to the previous year with 287 convictions in 2009.
This briefing includes a summary of the convictions and conviction rate first and then the sentences incurred by those convicted of the four main causing death by driving charges:
- Causing Death by Dangerous Driving (175 convicted).
- Causing Death by Careless Driving Whilst Under the Influence (42 convicted).
- Causing Death by Careless Driving (253 convicted).
- Causing Death by Driving Whilst Unlicensed, Disqualified or Uninsured (68 convicted).
Crash victim's family back campaign
The family of crash victim Jamie Butcher have taken part in a campaign video calling for tougher sentences for dangerous drivers. Visit www.stopdangerousdrivers.com for more information.
Family want Justice for crash victim
The campaign to get justice for crash victim Jamie Butcher is set to go national with MP Steve Barclay planning to raise the case in the House of Commons, reports the Ely Standard.
Michael Moore, of Murrow Lane, Parson Drove, was doing almost twice the speed limit and had run a red light when he hit the 22-year-old.
He was jailed for just 43 months in April - a sentence the distraught Butcher family condemned as pathetic.
Four years for causing death by dangerous driving
The average sentence for causing death by dangerous driving is just four years - 62 per cent shorter than for manslaughter, according to road safety charity the Institute of Advanced Motorists. The average sentence length of manslaughter is 6.6 years.
- Those sentenced to prison for causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving are given an average sentence of 1.3 years.
- Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs has an average sentence of 4.35 years.
- Fifty-three per cent of those convicted of causing death or bodily harm through driving offences were sentenced to immediate custody (260 people) in 2012.
- This has dropped from the 83 per cent sentenced to immediate custody in 2001.
- The average fine for careless driving is £138, 27 per cent less in real terms than it was in 2001.
- Dangerous driving is the only area with tougher fines. The average fine is £518 - 30 per cent more in real terms than in 2001.
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MP calls for tougher sentences for dangerous drivers
The campaign to get justice for crash victim Jamie Butcher is set to go national with MP Steve Barclay planning to raise the case in the House of Commons.
Student Jamie was mown down and killed on a pelican crossing in Churchill Road, Wisbech, in February last year.
The MP will launch an e-petition calling for a review of the sentencing guidelines for dangerous drivers.
The campaign is also calling for the offences of dangerous and careless driving to be merged.