Harsher penalties for drink drivers
Injury lawyers have urged the government to enforce harsher regulations and punishments for those who drink and drive.
The call comes after over 20,000 people were killed or filed personal injury claims after they suffered from a road accident, caused by drivers who were under the influence.
Currently in Great Britain, the maximum jail time for someone who drives while ‘unfit through drinks or drugs or with excess alcohol,’ is only six months.
Therefore, one lawyer, Michael Jefferies, claimed that such a penalty was not severe enough and the government should do more to deter such crimes.
“Six months as a maximum sentence is simply not a substantial enough deterrent. The potential dangers of drink driving are clear and anyone deliberately getting into the driver’s seat while over the limit displays both recklessness and an absolute disregard for the fact that they are endangering the lives of others,” he said.
Jefferies, who has dealt with compensation claims made by the victims of drunk drivers, believes a tougher sentence should be accompanied by educational measures too.
“A maximum sentence should reflect the severity of the offence. Drink driving endangers lives and puts innocent people at risk. In my view, a tougher maximum penalty is warranted here. Anyone prosecuted for drink driving should also be enrolled on courses on safe driving and perhaps even speak to victims of drink driving accidents.
“We should be taking measures to really hit home the severity of the incident and prevent these people from reoffending,” he concluded.
Drink driving more common with men
The need for stricter sentencing becomes clear, especially as a new survey displayed that criminal driving behaviour is increasing.
Studies have shown that male motorists are nearly one-and-a-half times more likely to have a driving conviction, than females.
Nearly one in five motorists have at least one conviction and research, by an insurance group, found that men were more than twice as likely to have been caught drink-driving.
A breakdown by offence was a shown: 85% for speeding; 9% for jumping traffic lights; 2% for driving whilst over the alcohol limit; 1.5% for driving without insurance and 1.3% for driving whilst using a hand-held mobile phone.
Drivers living in the Midlands seem to be the least law-abiding, with 31.5% of men and 1.6% of women having a conviction to their name.
In contrast, just 9% of men and 6% of women in Northern Ireland had motoring convictions. Road safety charity Brake, also exposed that 18-year-old drivers are more than three times as likely to be involved in a crash than 48-year-olds.
Simon Douglas, director of insurance firm, said: “The vast majority of convictions, 85% of them, are for speeding offences. [The] second most likely offence is for jumping traffic lights (9%) while a worrying 2% are drink-drive offences.”
He reminded motorists: “Whatever your age or sex, insurers take notice of driving offences, especially multiple offenders and this is reflected in premiums.
“That’s because regular offenders are much more likely to make an insurance claim than those who have a clean licence,” he said.Updated on 04/03/2010