The Petition of a resident of the UK,
Declares that the Petitioner believes that the sentences for drink driving need to be tougher in the UK; in one case the brother of Rebecca Still was knocked down and killed by a drunk driver whilst he was on the pavement with his friends; further that the Petitioner believes that the driver did not lose his licence until eight months later and did not go to prison until nine months later; further that the driver received four years in prison but may only serve two years. The Petitioner would like zero tolerance for drink drivers so that they lose their license earlier and so that sentences are longer.
The Petitioner therefore requests that the House of Commons urges the Government to amend legislation so as to be tougher on drink driving.
And the Petitioner remains, etc.—[Presented by Greg Mulholland, Official Report, 3 July 2013; Vol. 565, c. 1027.]
[P001192]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Justice:
The maximum penalty available for causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs is 14 years imprisonment. The courts are also obliged to disqualify the offender from driving for at least two years and to order an extended retest. Within that limit, sentences in any individual case are for the court to decide, taking into account any aggravating or mitigating factors and any sentencing guidelines.
Sentencing guidelines are developed independently of Government by the Sentencing Council. In February, the Justice Secretary wrote to the Sentencing Council, to ask them to review the sentencing guideline for death by driving offences. They have responded positively: the Council have recently published their new workplan, which sets out their intention to hold a public consultation on motoring offences causing death or injury in Autumn 2014.
Driving bans come into force immediately they are imposed at point of sentence and the court informs the DVLA so that the enforcement takes place. Since disqualification from driving is a sentence it would not be appropriate to ban a defendant from driving before they are convicted, however where appropriate the courts can impose a bail condition that the individual should not drive a motor vehicle. If there is a delay in sentencing after conviction, the court also has a power to impose an interim disqualification on a defendant, where it is lawful to do so. Guidance on this was recently issued by the Crown Prosecution Service:
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/p_to_r/road_traffic_offences_guidance_on_prosecuting_cases_of_bad _driving/#a11