Texting driver gets 21 months' jail after seriously injuring cyclist

mattsccm wrote:

Getting there but multiply the sentence by 12 and it would be correct. I hope she rots whilst she is there.

Jail is expensive. Better to put her away for a while and then just stop her driving so she can't do it again.

Simmo72 wrote:

CAMERON, do something useful and put out a campaign....billboards/tv/radio/cinema and SOCIAL friggin MEDIA. The only way the stupid will change (because these are the people who do it) is by drumming it into their tiny brains.

No, the ban will run whilst in jail....something of a joke.

The great motoring unwashed are a key Tory voting demographic, they wouldn't dare offend them buy suggesting than they should drive there cars less or put there phones down when their doing it.

Simmo72 wrote:

......No, the ban will run whilst in jail....something of a joke.

Whilst you are correct in that the ban begins immediately and runs during the jail sentence, the law was stiffened in 2014.
Courts are now able to impose longer bans than before to ensure the offender cannot drive upon release.

mike the bike wrote:

Simmo72 wrote:

......No, the ban will run whilst in jail....something of a joke.

Whilst you are correct in that the ban begins immediately and runs during the jail sentence, the law was stiffened in 2014.
Courts are now able to impose longer bans than before to ensure the offender cannot drive upon release.

Good news actually; the driving ban is automatically extended to take account of the jail time. I got an answer from the Ministry of Justice in May on this point. The law was brought into force on 13th April 2015 with section 30 of the Criminal and Justice and Courts Act 2015. There is an automatic addition of 50% of whatever the jail term is, added to the length of the ban imposed. This takes into account the fact that people only serve half the jail time given. Why they couldn't have just started the driving ban from the date of release is beyond me.

Simmo72 wrote:

......No, the ban will run whilst in jail....something of a joke.

Whilst you are correct in that the ban begins immediately and runs during the jail sentence, the law was stiffened in 2014.
Courts are now able to impose longer bans than before to ensure the offender cannot drive upon release.

Simmo72 wrote:

......No, the ban will run whilst in jail....something of a joke.

Whilst you are correct in that the ban begins immediately and runs during the jail sentence, the law was stiffened in 2014.
Courts are now able to impose longer bans than before to ensure the offender cannot drive upon release.

the little onion wrote:

Yet it appears that no driving ban has been imposed as part of the sentence. Once again, driving is seen as a right not a privilege

I would suggest re-reading it's not long enough, but it's longer than most

the little onion wrote:

Yet it appears that no driving ban has been imposed as part of the sentence. Once again, driving is seen as a right not a privilege

Was this bit incorrect?

"A woman who hit a cyclist while texting her husband and driving has been jailed for 21 months and banned from driving for three years."

Ric_Stern_RST wrote:

That said, i think that if you get prosecuted for dangerous driving which results in serious injury or death, i simply don't think you should be allowed to drive again.

Agreed - if your behaviour negatively changes someones life then yours should be changed as well. A year in jail may do this but I think for many never being allowed to drive again would be a more severe punishment.

danthomascyclist wrote:

I don't know any other place on earth where you can injure someone to such an extent and get such a small sentence.

Can you actually tell us what comparable sentences in other countries would be?

vonhelmet wrote:

danthomascyclist wrote:

I don't know any other place on earth where you can injure someone to such an extent and get such a small sentence.

Can you actually tell us what comparable sentences in other countries would be?

For France: Use of a telephone in the hand: €135 fine and 3 points
You are not allowed to use a headset or headphones whilst driving. Any wireless system for telephony has to be fully handsfree.
Cyclists are not allowed to use a phone or headsets/earbuds etc.
http://www.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/connaitre-les-regles/reglementation...

This one is interesting:
Blessures involontaires causées à un tiers et entraînant une interruption de travail de plus de 3 mois

Amende forfaitaire de 45 000 euros
Retrait de 6 points sur permis de conduire
Suspension/ annulation de 5 ans du permis de conduire (sans sursis ni “permis blanc”)
Immobilisation/confiscation du véhicule
Peine de prison de 3 ans

Which translates as:
Unintentional injuries caused to third parties and causing an interruption of work of more than 3 months

Fixed fine of 45,000 euros
Withdrawal of 6 points on driving license
Suspension / cancellation of 5 years of driving license - without suspension or " White permit" (I'm not sure what a White permit is, but assume this might apply to those who are currently under suspension)
Immobilization / confiscation of the vehicle
3-year prison sentence
Source: http://www.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/connaitre-les-regles/reglementation...

vonhelmet wrote:

danthomascyclist wrote:

I don't know any other place on earth where you can injure someone to such an extent and get such a small sentence.

Can you actually tell us what comparable sentences in other countries would be?

Perhaps they meant 'way' rather than 'place on earth where'?

Though I suspect in the US you'd get a harsher sentence. You do for most things there, and the difference seems particularly noticable when it comes to driving offences and corporate crime.

Actually, if black, you might get shot, of course, but that's another issue.

FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:

vonhelmet wrote:

danthomascyclist wrote:

I don't know any other place on earth where you can injure someone to such an extent and get such a small sentence.

Can you actually tell us what comparable sentences in other countries would be?

Perhaps they meant 'way' rather than 'place on earth where'?

Though I suspect in the US you'd get a harsher sentence. You do for most things there, and the difference seems particularly noticable when it comes to driving offences and corporate crime.

Actually, if black, you might get shot, of course, but that's another issue.

As a citizen of the US (and Texas, but that's another post) killing or severely injuring a cyclist has been mostly seen here as part of the risk the cyclist assumed by riding a bicycle on the roads. There was a NY case recently where the cyclist was killed and the driver got probation.

danthomascyclist wrote:

Quote:

WoW!!! At last a judge with a back bone!!!

Quote:

The court recognised the serious nature of this offence and issued an appropriate sentence which hopefully will act as a deterrent to other motorists who consider using a mobile phone while driving.

I disagree with both statements. The victim has suffered life-changing injuries. She'll be out of prison in less than a year if she behaves.

I don't know any other place on earth where you can injure someone to such an extent and get such a small sentence.

This isn't a deterrent - it's an acknowledgement that on the scale of justice the act of nearly killing a cyclist is less serious than:
Taking bronze cannons from a shipwreck ( http://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/diver-jailed-for-two-years-42748/ )
Or file sharing ( http://www.itnews.com.au/news/uk-considers-ten-year-prison-term-for-file... ).

Concidering we've seen drivers given nothing more than 200 hours picking up litter and painting fences for actually Killing cyclists(and in many cases let off scot free), imho this is a step in the right direction.

A basic tenet of British justice is that crimes against property are always punished more heavily than crimes against the person. I'm not in favour of prison sentences generally but where someone has made a decision to risk someones life by reducing their ability to drive safely (phone, text, drink, drugs) it is deserved. I see the driver has to take an extended retest - this should be mandatory for all accidents where an injury results.

danthomascyclist][quote wrote:

WoW!!! At last a judge with a back bone!!!

Quote:

I disagree with both statements. The victim has suffered life-changing injuries. She'll be out of prison in less than a year if she behaves.

I don't know any other place on earth where you can injure someone to such an extent and get such a small sentence.

That would be most countries. With a few notable exceptions. You have a narrow view my friend. Many countries have no driving test, no highway code, no safty engineering, no roads policing (well there are no rules).

Since you mention "on Earth" the global figures are these.

Road crashes kill 1.3 million people every year.
Road crashes are the #1 killer of 15 to 29 years old and soon expected to
be the first cause of death for 4 to 15 years old.
50% of those killed are vulnerable users (pedestrians, cyclists or motorcyclists)
Over 90% of the deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
where only around 50% of the vehicles registered worldwide are located.
In 15 years from today, the number of vehicles in circulation in developing
countries is expected to rise from 1 billion to 2 billion.

So without wishing to be rude or anything, you are talking/writing a lot of old
rot.

.