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<b>MORE GRIEF :</b> A call for stricter penalties for convicted drivers who have caused death has been voiced in the UK by the Institute of Advanced Motorists. <i>Image: AA</i>
LONDON, England - Drivers convicted of causing death by dangerous driving should be given stronger and more consistent penalties, according to the UK's Institute of Advanced Motorists.
An IAM analysis of 11 recent prosecutions involving mobile and smartphone use revealed that the average sentence for causing death by dangerous driving was four-and-a-half years in prison and a disqualification from driving for seven years.
FATAL CONSEQUENCES
In each of 11 cases, the convicted drivers were found to have lost their concentration due to using their mobile phone.
Loss of concentration caused:
• Six incidents in which vehicles ran into stationary or slow traffic or a broken-down vehicle.
• Three incidents in which vehicles drifted across the road and collided head-on with another vehicle.
• Two incidents that led to the death of pedestrians.
The IAM believes most people agreed that using a mobile phone while driving was unsafe yet, since 2006, 750 000 penalties had been issued to drivers for that very reason. IAM chief executive Simon Best said: "The maximum sentence available to the courts is 14 years so there is still scope for an even stronger road safety message that drivers who kill while distracted on a phone will be caught and jailed for a long time.
“The lesson here is obvious: never use your phone while driving. Whether you have a hands-free kit or use a loudspeaker doesn’t matter. Using your phone in any capacity reduces your attention from the task at hand – driving."
An IAM analysis of 11 recent prosecutions involving mobile and smartphone use revealed that the average sentence for causing death by dangerous driving was four-and-a-half years in prison and a disqualification from driving for seven years.
FATAL CONSEQUENCES
In each of 11 cases, the convicted drivers were found to have lost their concentration due to using their mobile phone.
Loss of concentration caused:
• Six incidents in which vehicles ran into stationary or slow traffic or a broken-down vehicle.
• Three incidents in which vehicles drifted across the road and collided head-on with another vehicle.
• Two incidents that led to the death of pedestrians.
The IAM believes most people agreed that using a mobile phone while driving was unsafe yet, since 2006, 750 000 penalties had been issued to drivers for that very reason. IAM chief executive Simon Best said: "The maximum sentence available to the courts is 14 years so there is still scope for an even stronger road safety message that drivers who kill while distracted on a phone will be caught and jailed for a long time.
“The lesson here is obvious: never use your phone while driving. Whether you have a hands-free kit or use a loudspeaker doesn’t matter. Using your phone in any capacity reduces your attention from the task at hand – driving."
