In this article a petition wants drivers jailed per each victim.
See the petition
In effect a potential life sentence for having an accident.
See Cameron to listen to widows of dead cyclists
What utter nonsense. A murderer has to deliberately and with intent attack more than one person with the intent to kill each.
A road accident is totally unintentional and if more than one person dies from it that is from one unintended action. Now I know some cyclists are daft, but surely most of us can see the difference here? So anyone who votes for this is either daft or wants drivers treated with a special hatred.
The next aspect is dangerous driving. That is entirely perceived and subjective. It is the only long prison term offence which depends on the opinion of non experts and hostile witnesses, except where there is a guilty plea. In every other such case, ordinary people must stick to fact in evidence and opinion is reserved for expert witnesses only. Once again any honest and intelligent person will accept that there should never be a lower burden of evidence accepted in any cases involving long terms of imprisonment. Why should drivers be discriminated against when it comes to evidence?
The driver should be sentenced for their actions that resulted in the death. And there was enough on this one to warrant a prison term. However, I have to point out that had no-one been killed or injured and there were only bent metal, a sentence would be far less. So from the terrible coincidence that human flesh intervened from exactly the same action, with the added dimension that currently society is allowing an unnecessary activity on our roads, we want to jail people for long terms.
It's at times like this that we need to ask, do we need cyclists in the road? After all, it must be faced, had their husbands not have been riding bikes, they would probably still be with them.
In view of all that, I feel this petition is ill conceived.
Drivers speak out now.
Letter to The Times
See some earlier comments here.
All & sundry cyclist groups here.
And Brake & Direct Line are at it here
What must be faced is that Alexander Walter was drunk, banned and driving a stolen car. What we need to ask is, do we need people like that at liberty in our society ?
ReplyDeleteBut he was jailed for over ten years and I have no quibble with that. This is a proposal to jail drivers for life for one accident. Are you kidding me?
ReplyDeleteDavid Cameron is wrong to give this a hearing. Had these people not been cycling, they would still be here. That doesn't excuse the driver but his offence was exacerbated because society encourages a dangerous scenario.