Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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In England ANYONE can ask for a Sentence to be reviewed if they think it may be unduly lenient.
Its a max of 14 years for death by dangerous driving. Its a Level 3 offence(Failing to have proper regard to vulnerable road users) and also 3 other charges of perverting the course of justice, fraudulently obtaining insurance and failing to stop at the scene of an accident. As its a level 3 offence the starting point is only 3 years...........
Worth a read.
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sentencing_manual/death_by_dangerous_...
About time we started doing the Theory Test on foot, Part 1 of the Driving Licence on a bicycle - and then make licences renewable, annually for the first couple of years to not less frequent than every 5 years when you've had one continuously for 10.
Some motorists seem to have no idea what it's like to use the road without a motor.
I've been saying for a while that the licensing needs to be updated so that it has to be renewed every few years with certification from eye examiners, and every 5 - 10 years with a re-test to show competence.
Exterminate, exterminate!
Perhaps I have very low expectations, but I'm surprised the got a jail sentence.
Why he didn't take his chances with a jury of his driving peers. All he would have had to do is suggest that the sun might have been shining, and it might have got in his eye, a bit (the proverbial "get out of jail free card")
He'd have got his keys back and been sent on his marry way to do it again.
Sentence is a Joke!!!
What on earth does someone have to do to get a life driving ban?
That sounds like a good idea for a road.cc article - find cases where people have been banned for life, and what they did to get there. This would identify the gap between the law as it exists in theory, and as it is applied in practice. I know someone who did a similar piece of research into what the threshold really is for a doctor/dentist/other medical practitioner to be "struck off" (i.e. banned from practising medicine) for life - very scary stuff. This was then used as a basis for a campaign to increase accountability for misconduct and gross negligence.
Legal System/Horses Arse......nope I can't tell the difference either.
They'll also let him take the ban concurrently with his sentence, so if he serves the maximum (ha!) he will only be banned for a further 8 months on his release.
This hasnt been the case for years....
even the daily mail covered it!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1228881/Mother-wins-law-change-d...
Except the change in law was never enacted!
http://thecyclingsilk.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/when-is-law-not-law-when-no...
Wow. This really needs to be more widely known. At the moment there seem to be two groups - those who don't know the law was ever changed, and those who "know" the law changed but don't know it didn't actually change!
So the situation is still as ridiculous as it always was? Has the Mail (or the rest of the press) reported that anywhere?
Good news
The law has now been brought into force (on the 13th April this year). I wrote to my MP and he's come back with the answer that it's now in force, so Driving bans are no longer concurrently served.
He says the commencement order can be found here - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/819/contents/made
Great, thanks for updating this.
Well he'll only do 22 months of that joke sentence...
Three year, four month imprisonment with four year driver's license ban? So he's driving again within 8 monthsof being released from prison....
I'd be surprised if somebody like him would care whether he's banned from driving or not. He'll be driving from the day he's released.
Another joke sentence, why is no-one laughing?