Ban killer drivers from roads for life, says mum

Lynne Farrimond - whose son Nick died in 2016 - has launched a petition that she hopes will trigger a House of Commons debate.It calls for anyone who causes death by dangerous driving not to be allowed back on the road. She told the Lancashire Post: “Anything that can stop another family suffering what we have gone through has to be tried. We still cry every day.”The move comes months after the government announced tougher sentences for killer drivers following the Johnston Press-led Drive for Justice campaign.Nick, a 32-year-old from Bamber Bridge, was mown down and died at the scene near Whitestake.The driver, Leo McCarthy, who was under the influence of drink and drugs, was jailed for six years last year and received a 10-year driving ban. He had fled the scene, leaving his Peugeot on its side in a nearby field after inflicting fatal injuries to Nick.Lynne says her family has decided to take action now despite still struggling to come to terms with what they have been through. She said: “We’ve been talking about doing something for a while, but the shock was just overwhelming.“Even the everyday things are difficult but now we’ve done it. It’s taken so much out of us, what that driver has done. “There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t see something on the news or in the paper, of someone being killed (on the road).“This is the only thing that will ensure that they will not be back on our roads. To stop anyone else having to go through what we have been through, that’s exactly it.“They (killer drivers) have done it once so what is stopping them from doing it again.”Lynne hopes the petition will attract the 100,000 signature mark that will see the issue debated in parliament.As although the tougher sentencing guidelines will have an impact, not imposing life bans will see drivers responsible for fatal accidents return to the road years later, she said.She said: “Nick did a lot of driving for his work (as a delivery driver) and not for a second would he have considered drink driving.“At the sentencing, the judge made a point of saying even though he had been drinking (on the night of his death), he was only just over the limit but had ordered a taxi to go home.“He was the type of person who wouldn’t dream of drinking and driving.“We can’t let (the driver) take anything else from us or anyone take anything from other people in the same way.”

View the petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/215721

Drive for Justice

The Drive for Justice Campaign - launched by Johnston Press titles across the country - culminated in ministers announcing a raft of changes including stricter sentences for killer drivers.Exposing the injustice of those sentenced for causing death on our roads, it exposed that not one single person had been given the maximum 14-year sentence for death by dangerous driving since Parliament lengthened the sentence from 10 years in 2004.It will mean life sentences will be introduced for those who cause death by dangerous driving and careless drivers who kill while under the influence of drink or drugs.Ministers confirmed in October that maximum sentences will increase from 14 years to a life sentence. Justice Minister Dominic Raab said: “We’ve taken a long hard look at driving sentences and we received 9,000 submissions to our consultation.“Based on the seriousness of the worst cases, the anguish of the victims’ families and maximum penalties for other serious offences such as manslaughter, we intend to introduce life sentences of imprisonment for those who wreck lives by driving dangerously, drunk or high on drugs.“We will introduce a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving, punishable by imprisonment to fill a gap in the law and reflect the seriousness of some of the injuries suffered by victims in this category of case.”