YORK campaigners reacted with delight after the Government announced tougher sentences for dangerous drivers.
Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said today he would introduce a new offence of “causing serious injury by dangerous driving”, with a five year maximum jail term.
The current maximum is two years for dangerous drivers whose actions do not lead to death.
Dawn Stagnell, whose son, Liam, suffered serious brain injuries in an accident four years ago, said: “I am really pleased. This is what we have been looking for.
“It is too late to help Liam now, but this could help prevent other people going through what he has gone through. Liam has made good progress but he is not going to have the life he would have wanted.”
Mrs Stagnell, who lobbied then Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2008, added today: “Hopefully people will think a little more about the consequences before they drive their cars like lethal weapons.”
The change comes only days after The Press and York’s top judge highlighted the case of James Ramsden, 25, jailed for only two years and nine months despite driving the wrong way down the A64 at more than 100mph, resulting in a head-on smash that left driver Graham Bell in hospital for 11 days. Ramsden was jailed for 20 months for the dangerous driving, plus a further 13 months for other offences.
Judge Stephen Ashurst said his “hands were tied” in the sentencing. Had Ramsden’s actions resulted in a death, he could have been jailed for 14 years.
Mr Clarke said: “We have listened to the victims of dangerous drivers, their families, MPs, judges and road safety groups and their experiences have directly informed these changes. Making our roads safer is a priority – five people died on our roads each day last year, so we need to do everything we can to further improve safety.”
Ellen Booth, senior campaigns officer of road safety charity Brake, said: “This new offence finally means that serious injury is recognised within the title of the offence, and this recognition is vitally important to victims and their families.”
The changes will be part of the Government’s Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, after Karl Turner, Labour MP for Hull East, and York’s MPs Hugh Bayley and Julian Sturdy all lobbied for a change.
Mr Bayley said: “I view it as a timely and intelligent reaction to a problem. I have met Liam Stagnell and his mum, Dawn, on a number of occasions to press for a change in the law.”
Noel Jenkinson, then 36, from the Scarborough area, was jailed in 2008 for a year after he admitted dangerous driving in the accident that injured Liam Stagnell.
Change in law long overdue
EARLIER this week, we reported a case of driving so dangerous a court heard it was a miracle no-one had been killed.
Banned driver James Ramsden flashed v-signs at police as he drove a stolen car at more than 100mph the wrong way along the A64.
He ploughed head-on into an innocent motorist, Graham Bell.
Mr Bell spent 11 days in hospital. But the court heard Ramsden seemed more interested in the CDs left in his car than Mr Bell’s injuries.
It is hard to think of a worse case of dangerous driving.
Yet the Recorder of York Judge Stephen Ashurst was unable to give Ramsden the sentence he felt he deserved. Because no-one had died, two years in prison was the maximum allowed.
That, we pointed out, made no sense. We called for the law to be changed so menaces like Ramsden could be put away for much longer.
Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke is announcing today that he has plans for a new offence of “causing serious injury by dangerous driving”. Had it been in force when Ramsden was sentenced, he could have been jailed for five years.
We’re not the only ones to welcome this proposal. Dawn Stagnell, the mother of young York rugby player Liam, whose life was ruined in a crash caused by a reckless driver, said it was just what her family had been fighting for.
Hopefully, this move will send out a strong message that might stop idiots like Ramsden treating the roads as their own private playgrounds. If so, we’ll all be safer for it.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article