DRIVE FOR JUSTICE: Peer praises campaign for tougher action on drivers
The stark warning was issued during a Parliamentary debate highlighting the hidden danger of using mobile phones while driving.
Read more on the Drive For Justice campaign here:
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe debate was called by Conservative peer Baroness Emma Pidding who praised our Drive For Justice campaign for highlighting the scandal of lenient sentencing for those who kill on the roads.
The investigation revealed how drivers who kill have been sentenced to an average of just four years in prison with dozens escaping jail altogether.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdNo-one has been handed the maximum 14-year sentence for causing death by dangerous driving it was extended from 10 years in 2004.
Lady Pidding said: “I especially congratulate the Johnston Press group and its new investigations unit, which last month ran a series of hard-hitting stories highlighting the gap between sentencing for killer drivers and the level of sanctions expected by grieving families.
“The Drive For Justice Campaign, run by titles including The i, the Scotsman, the Lancashire Evening Post and The Star in Sheffield, is a major contribution to the national debate and a significant boost for public awareness.”
Lady Pidding highlighted the spiralling death rate from accidents caused by drivers distracted while using mobiles – in contrast with a marked fall in the number of fixed penalty notices for phoning while driving.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdShe said: “People recognise drink driving and fatigue at the wheel for the killers they are – and there is no shortage of campaigning against them. I see phone-driving as the hidden killer. I want it to become as socially unacceptable as drink driving.”