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The friday meet of the CTC, members of the Sentencing Council and many other influencial officials has highlighted the widespread disatisfaction with current sentencing guidelines for on the road incidents.
Forming part of the CTC’s wider Road Justice Campaign, the meeting was pitched as a valuable opportunity to shape an up-coming review of guidelines for judges when faced with cases relating to ‘accidents’ on the road.
Contributors, including members of the Queens Council, judges, magistrates, professors of law, campaigners and victims, discussed appropriate punishments for driving offences including driving bans; the discrepancy of sentences for offences resulting in injury and death; and debated the value of custodial and non-custodial sentences. They also discussed the roles of juries in cases involving serious driving offences.
Rhia Weston, who heads up the Road Justice campaign said, “It’s our aim to ensure sentences punish offenders and deter people from committing offences in order to keep the public safe – and in the case of road crime that means everyone who uses our roads”.
The CTC is demanding that the Secretary of State for Justice, Chris Grayling, commit to:
- Emphasise more and longer driving bans, with prison sentences for the worst offenders
- End the dismissal of dangerous driving as careless
- Launch a public consultation no later than mid-September 2014
Lissa Matthews, of the Sentencing Council said: “The scope of the sentencing review has not been finalised yet and therefore could include all driving offences.”Widening the scope of the pending review is something CTC has been pushing for.
Anyone who wants stricter sentencing as the outcome of the review can email Chris Grayling’s office via the CTC website.
