Tougher sentences for disqualified drivers

Brake has congratulated the Government on delivering tougher sentences for disqualified drivers as part of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act, which came into force on Monday, April 13).

Under the new rules anyone convicted of causing death by driving while disqualified will face a maximum of 10 years in prison, up from only two years previously.

There is also a new offence that has been created "causing serious injury by driving while disqualified" anyone convicted of this offence will face up to four years in prison.

Ed Morrow, campaigns officer for Brake, the road safety charity, said: “This is an important day for everybody involved in campaigning for better justice for victims of criminal driving.

“Getting behind the wheel when a court has already found you to be a danger on the road, and has disqualified you from doing so, is one of the most selfish decision you can make as a driver.

“It is entirely right that maximum sentences are being increased, and we hope that judges will make use of them where appropriate.

“This is a good first step to securing better justice for victims and families, many of whom have been left feeling betrayed by inappropriate charges and paltry sentences.”

The road safety charity says that there are a number of other urgent issues with how the justice system handles cases of criminal driving, and it will be pressuring whoever forms the next Government to follow the current Ministry of Justice review through to a satisfactory conclusion.

Source Fleet News

Elderly Couple Get Locked in Their Own Car

An elderly couple panicked and became 'trapped' in their new Mazda 3 hatchback after they had left their wireless key fob outside the car. 

The couple did not realise it was possible to unlock the vehicle without the key while sat inside and as a result almost died after spending 13 hours locked inside

According to the Otago Times, the couple were discovered at 7:45AM the following morning by a neighbour, at which point Mollieanne was unconscious and her husband was having serious breathing difficulties.

Health workers told the couple that they would have been killed had they spent just another half hour inside the vehicle.

Reports claim Brian had looked methodically for a way out of the car, and had even resorted to trying to breaking the window with a car jack, to no avail.

“Once I found out how simple it was to unlock it I kicked myself that I did not find the way out... I had this mind-set that I did not have the transponder [so I could not get out],” Brian told the Times.

The couple has since heard from five other car owners who have had similar experiences. The debacle has lead to the Mazda dealership who supplied the car vowing to provide more technical information on essential systems to elderly customers.

Source