Causing Death by Dangerous or Careless Driving: Sentencing

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 28th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell, and to be called to speak. I thank the hon. Member for Cardiff West (Mr Barros-Curtis) for securing this incredibly sensitive debate, and I thank all hon. Members for their contributions. By the very nature of life, we will have circumstances in our constituencies where someone has passed away or been killed as a result of a road accident or has died afterwards.

I have to say this: I do not believe that anyone sets out in their car intending to take a life. Tragically, however, it does happen, whatever the reasons may be—from using a phone behind the wheel to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. I am old enough to remember when driving under the influence of alcohol was always the reason; then it was alcohol and drugs, or just drugs on their own. In the last few years, the prevalence of motorists using drugs that affect their driving and make them a threat to others behind the wheel, has become a massive issue.

The maximum penalty in England and Wales for causing death by dangerous driving is now life imprisonment, but in many cases, as the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh) says, it is not applied. The hon. Lady referred to the possibility of a mandatory life sentence for the crime. That is probably what I would seek as well, rather than leaving it to the discretion of the magistrate or the judge handing out the sentence. Judges retain a large amount of discretion, allowing them to assess individual culpability. I am not quite sure how that is done. It is not for me to tell a judge that they are doing things wrong, because that is not my way of doing things, nor does my knowledge cover legal matters. However, I do believe that justice in these cases is best served by allowing judges to consider the unique circumstances of each case. It is clear that the system is largely effective, as 95% of those convicted of causing death by dangerous driving are sent to prison. The stats indicate that the majority receive a prison sentence, but often the cases that come to our attention are those in which there is no life sentence or no sending to prison.

I should have welcomed the Minister to his place; I apologise for not doing so earlier. I wish him well in his role, and I hope that Members can get the answers that we seek from him. None the less, we must continue to listen to the concerns of victims’ families, because that is what motivates us all as elected representatives.

As some Members highlighted, offenders can continue driving until conviction after causing a fatality, or can resume driving soon after leaving prison. When offenders receive a sentence and go to prison, it would be appropriate for them to have their driving licence removed. They should not be able to just resume driving as soon as they exit prison, in many cases probably after serving a small sentence. These gaps must be addressed, both to protect the public and to provide greater reassurance to families.

In Northern Ireland, the maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving remains 14 years. That should be brought into line with England and Wales, giving our courts greater powers to impose even harsher sentences where they see fit. My Strangford constituency has seen the blight of dangerous driving, with people losing their lives as a result. Just last year, on the same night, two young people were killed in separate incidents: Lucas Trainor, aged 12, and Jaidyn Rice, aged 16. They were two lovely young people and had not even got to the prime of life when they lost their lives as a result of accidents. My thoughts continue to be with both families, whose lives have been changed forever.

Members have explained and retold the stories of families in the Chamber today. The families who have been left behind face the impact every day of their lives. The son of one of my good friends was killed in a different circumstance. I remember that my friend always told me, “Jim, when I go to bed at night, I think of Stuart, and when I wake up in the morning, I think of Stuart.” That is the kind of thing these families do. Something like a vacant chair is very real to them, as are the anxiety, angst and pain in their hearts.

I call on the Government to make jail time mandatory for these cases while retaining some judicial discretion when sentencing. These cases are immensely complex. They cause profound distress to drivers, victims and their families. Although no sentence can ever reflect the loss suffered, the court must be allowed to assign a sentence that is truly reflective of blameworthiness. I thank the hon. Member for Cardiff West for giving us the chance to speak about this issue today, and I look forward to the Minister’s response.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jake Richards)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff West (Mr Barros-Curtis) for securing this incredibly important debate and raising these issues, both in the Chamber and outside of it with me and others in the weeks preceding the debate.

I start, as many have, by paying tribute to my hon. Friend’s constituent Sian, who is here today. She has shown extraordinary courage in fighting to make sure that the death of her daughter, Keely, was not in vain, and to make changes to improve the country for others. We should applaud her for that. It is not easy, and it is hugely admirable. I want to apologise Sian, too, because she wrote to me, through her Member of Parliament, and did not receive a prompt response. There has been an error in my office. That is unacceptable, and I am getting to the bottom of it. I look forward to meeting her later today, hopefully to talk about the substantive issue, but also to apologise to her personally.

I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Josh Dean). I met him and the Watermans, and it is good to see Derek and Sue here again today. After that meeting, I committed to raise the specific issues of their campaign and the tragic death of Jess with the then Roads Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood). I did so in writing and then met her, her officials and her special advisers, who are political appointees in the Department for Transport, to make sure that those issues are really high on the agenda as the Government’s strategy on road safety comes into force. There is more that we can do; this is work in progress. The Roads Minister has changed since then, but I have also met the current Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough (Justin Madders)—indeed, because of the debate today, I wrote to him again this morning—to make sure that the campaigns and issues we are talking about are right at the top of his agenda.

I am not trying to duck the issues raised during the debate, but some of them are for the Department for Transport. I will try to address as many of them as possible and, of course, to deal with the sentencing aspects, but if I cannot address an issue, I will make sure that the Member who raised it gets a written response from the Roads Minister, who deals with some of the road safety issues.

[Jim Shannon]

I look forward to hearing the Minister’s responses to my questions. The hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding) referred to graduated driver licensing in Northern Ireland, which we introduced after a long consultation and deliberation with all the bodies concerned. That seemed to be a strategic way forward, and it has certainly been received well by all sections of the general public in Northern Ireland. Is that something that the UK Government and the Ministry of Justice will consider introducing?

[Jake Richards]

Critically, it is not for my Department to consider it, but the Department for Transport is certainly looking at it and is alive to the international evidence that has been raised by a number of Members. I cannot get ahead of what the Roads Minister will set out, but I will make sure that he has heard the contributions to this debate.

I thank hon. Members from all parties for raising difficult cases, particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh). I was not aware of the work that Debbie has done around Lillie’s tragic death, so it was very moving to hear about that, and particularly about the café, which so many people will enjoy in her memory. I am very happy to meet Debbie if that would be helpful to her—or, indeed, I will get the Roads Minister to meet her if that would be more beneficial.