Drunk driver kills cyclist and gets jailed.

[PaulB]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...fter-drinkdrive-death-of-cyclist-9601968.html

Seven years. Mind you, 'refreshment was taken'.

 

[Cycling Dan]

Drunk drivers who kill need life without parole. I mean 200+ years until they can be considered (silly EU)

 

[ColinJ]

And what exactly do you have to do to get a lifetime ban from driving, or even a significant ban? A poxy 2 year ban for that!

(Hopefully, they at least will not start the ban until she comes out of prison ...? )

 

[raleighnut]

And what exactly do you have to do to get a lifetime ban from driving, or even a significant ban? A poxy 2 year ban for that!

(Hopefully, they at least will not start the ban until she comes out of prison ...? )

Amen to that.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Horrible woman! Look at the state of that car,for a person to put a dent like that in metal must take some force! The poor bloke could've been anyone of us,and why does the report refer to the victim as Novak and not Mr Novak?

 

[Pale Rider]

Ban starts on the day the judge imposes it, so it will almost certainly have been served by the time she is released from prison.

In any event, she does have to take an extended driving test if she wants to drive again.

Since I don't knowingly consort with motoring or other criminals I don't know anyone who has had to take the extended test, but it is supposed to be much tougher than the regular one.

 

[CopperBrompton]

It seems to me there are four separate offences here:
- Drink driving
- Death by careless driving (I would say dangerous, but I know how hard that is to prove)
- Failing to stop
- Careless driving after the collision (driving while barely able to see through the windscreen)

Seven years (aka 3.5 years served) seems a very light sentence for this combination

 

[numbnuts]

A life seems very cheap these days RIP

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Ban starts on the day the judge imposes it, so it will almost certainly have been served by the time she is released from prison.

In any event, she does have to take an extended driving test if she wants to drive again.

Since I don't knowingly consort with motoring or other criminals I don't know anyone who has had to take the extended test, but it is supposed to be much tougher than the regular one.

Wasn't there legislation introduced five or six years ago to allow disqualifications to run from the date of release from prison?

GC

 

[ColinJ]

It is about time that driving was seen as a privilege rather than a right. It is much easier to cancel a privilege than a right ...

 

[CopperBrompton]

Driving already is a privilege. Pedestrians, equestrians and cyclists get to use the roads by right; drivers do so by license.

 

[Pale Rider]

Wasn't there legislation introduced five or six years ago to allow disqualifications to run from the date of release from prison?

GC

Not that I'm aware.

Given the variable nature of prison release dates it would be difficult to administer.

I agree a ban looks pointless in this case because of the prison sentence, but I suspect the offence carries mandatory disqualification, so the judge had no choice.

For what it's worth, in cases where a driver is banned and not sent to prison, the judge/magistrate will usually tell the driver something like: "The ban starts immediately, so if you have driven to this court this morning, you cannot drive home."

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Not that I'm aware.

Given the variable nature of prison release dates it would be difficult to administer.

I agree a ban looks pointless in this case because of the prison sentence, but I suspect the offence carries mandatory disqualification, so the judge had no choice.

For what it's worth, in cases where a driver is banned and not sent to prison, the judge/magistrate will usually tell the driver something like: "The ban starts immediately, so if you have driven to this court this morning, you cannot drive home."

This was the story I was thinking of.

"Mrs Woodward called for a change in the law to stop prisoners being able to serve driving bans while in jail.
New rules mean driving bans can now be imposed after a sentence is completed."​

GC

 

[ColinJ]

Driving already is a privilege. Pedestrians, equestrians and cyclists get to use the roads by right; drivers do so by license.

I wrote "seen as". I meant the law appears to be treating driving as a right, rather than the privilege that it is. Somebody who does what the driver in question did should have the privilege revoked for life.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Somebody who does what the driver in question did should have the privilege revoked for life.

I agree. For my part, just the failing to stop part would be a lifetime ban.