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Haven't read all the posts, so sorry if it's already been mentioned, but isn't there a process for appealing a sentence that is felt to be too lenient?
I agree absolutely with the ban for life approach (and I also think that at the very least anyone who loses their license for any period of should have to retake their test to prove their ability rather than simply having it handed back).
Serving 50% of a prison terms seems about par for the course these days so he could be back on the roads fairly soon.
I'd also agree that he should be main personally liable for the children's compensation and health needs.
There is a process of appeal, but the maximum is five years. Increasing that would at least stop him being out after half his sentence. As for guilt; he has none or be would have pled guilty. He should have got a lifetime driving ban,cannot understand why he didn't.
He should have got a lifetime driving ban,cannot understand why he didn't.
Because we live in a World where driving is seen as a right and not a privilege.
Which needs to change and the more people who have that privilege taken away for good the better everyone else will behave on the roads.
Maybe the answer is self driving cars as it will mean being able to drive is seen as less of a must and maybe one day hopping in your efficient electric eco box self driving car will be no different to jumping a cab.
That is just terrible! Seriously don't know how I would react if that happened to my 2 little ones!!!
Putting him in a wheelchair would be a start??!!
What an appalling story on all counts.
But thank goodness that we also have laws that forbid the proposed actions/responses above 😯
Prison sentence aside, why are idiots like this not banned from driving for life. I just cannot understand how anyone can think this person should be allowed to drive ever again. Its so far beyond my understanding I cannot fathom it. He wont be driving unnorison anyway so its only really a 2 year ban.
I thought he pled guilty to charges relating to the crash but denied the charge(s) relating to chasing the Mazda.
EDIT - I've checked, and he did. No less of a dick obviously, for effectively claiming it was a momentary dangerous error when in fact it was prolonged and deliberate dangerous driving.
It's cases like this that make me think we should get rid of (some) specific driving laws. Why "causing serious injury by dangerous driving" with a max of 5 years when you could be prosecuted for grievous bodily harm with a potential 25 years on jail?
Can't help feeling when I look at the photo of the range rover driver, that I'm looking at a photo of every stw driving 'expert' ever
Been looking into child seats as my kids are growing fast, and there seems to be a shocking lack of acknowledgement and leadership in both law and the Uk market for the efficacy of rear facing kids seats. No idea if that has any relevance in this case but shouldn't we be doing everything to make cars safer, including raising child seat standards?
The laws around driving offences do need to be changed and reviewed, as an earlier post said, do something- petition, write to your mp and so on.
Also consider how ' we' drive.....I know I am not perfect and need to be more aware..... 20k per year commuter myself and see some horrific driving, and generally feel it is not just one type of driver who commits stupid, irrational or dangerous acts, so not all youths are racing nor old people dodering along it is a range of everyday folk generally like 'us'.
Making cars safer is good but you have to make the drivers safer as well
The law must and needs to change to reflect the crime and consequences of that crime, I hope in prison is a still a balance of punishment (losing ones liberty and being locked up for 23 hrs a day) though the length of sentence should have been greater;and rehabilitation and no one should be encouraging vigaliantism nor crimes ro be committed against another.
In terms of prison sentence I'm very much in the camp of punishing the action not the consequences. In that context, whilst it might seem unfair at an emotive level, 4 years for a road rage chase seems about right. There was no intent to injure, just a wilful disregard for the safety of others and they should be treated differently.
However, I also feel that banning driving for life for such crimes, as well as drink and drug driving should be the default court response. And no leniency for those that require to drive for their current job or lifestyle.
You would hope that he will be rejected by society as scum on his release making a return to his previous lifestyle and wealth pretty impossible and that in itself is a life sentence.
Because we live in a World where driving is seen as a right and not a privilege.
It does seem to keep coming back to this doesn't it?
It also seems to be reflected in the way motorists treat each other - little or no respect for any other road user except themselves.
"OUT OF MY WAY!!" seems to be the mantra sadly.......
The type of car is irrelavant - I've seen Chelsea tractors by orange peroxide blondes being driven badly all the way though to cotton tops in Micra's via sensible looking chaps with families on board & Nurburgring heroes in their 911's & M3's..
It's bloody depressing..
edit: not to mention so called "professional drivers" aka bus drivers!! 👿
It's bloody depressing..
I'm not so sure. You could look at it negatively sure if that's your bag; but I've had a licence for 27 years and I genuinely can't say that the standard of driving I have witnessed has declined in that time. A generation who never had to pass a test has been replaced with a generation tested far more comprehensively than mine was. Road use has doubled in that time so statically you would expect to see twice as many incidents. The more congested the roads, the more opportunity for conflict but I don't perceive the actual attitude of road users has declined. Indeed, the social attitude to drink driving has fundamentally improved. In 27 years the number of fatalities on UK roads is down to nearly a third of the late 1980's level whilst road use is massively up. A lot of that will be down to improvement in car design but, it's still hard to make a case for a significant downward attitude.
Of course if you are looking for it, with a dollop of confirmation bias, you'll find evidence that road attitude is going to the dogs, but I think this is more perception than truth.
I think it depends on where you are..
In the SE it's very busy ergo folks patience & manners often go astray.
I'd agree that driving standards haven't worsened - there's just more of us on the road.
Certainly far more traffic on the road than when I started driving in 1988..
In 27 years the number of fatalities on UK roads is down to nearly a third of the late 1980's
Isn't part of that because vulnerable road users have been basically designed and bullied off the roads? If everyone is wrapped in steel and airbags then deaths are likely to go down.
Better design makes cars safer and so a crash that would have been fatal in 1986 is survivable in 2016.
Both of which lead to this sort of thing:
[img] 
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I don't think it's a generational thing though, there are just more people on the roads nowadays.
It also seems to be reflected in the way motorists treat each other - little or no respect for any other road user except themselves."OUT OF MY WAY!!" seems to be the mantra sadly.......
As said before, the number of people on the road travelling ever increasing distances from home to work, dropping kids off to school etc, and being pressured to do it in as short as time as possible...
A change in societies behaviour in the last few decades has contributed to these outcomes more than people would care to admit.
And there are some people who think we should be allowed to carry guns...
Isn't part of that because vulnerable road users have been basically designed and bullied off the roads?
Nope,
From the same website you got your graph:-
[i]Cycling on the road in the UK has increased 12% up the last 10 years (using 3 year rolling average).[/i]
And in reality the number of deaths on UK roads from cyclists has always been a tiny fraction of the total, so a significant change one way or the other would have a very limited impact on the total figure.
I saw this thread yesterday but didn't trust myself to post calmly - so refrained.
I cannot believe the light sentence this 'person' has received. Surely for the impact he has had on these peoples lives, a longer prison term and a far, far longer driving ban would be more appropriate?
You cannot undertake that kind of manoeuvre on the road and not expect a high probability of a high-impact collision with significant potential to cause injury. As a result, to me this would constitute an intent to injure others directly as a result of his actions - i.e pre-meditation.
A change in societies behaviour in the last few decades has contributed to these outcomes more than people would care to admit.
Unfortunately, I agree.
A change in behaviour in society? He represents all white males in the U.K?
It's always been there and improved and gone downhill or can it be measured?
Sometimes I wonder about the cyclists killed by reckless driving and the light sentence given: *hours of community service.
He was lucky he didn't cause death or lucky he wasn't a black Muslim from the ghetto as he represents a minority and the pitch forks would be out.
He represents a majority thus represents himself. An idiot behind the wheel. Like some of us here.
Slow down!