MPs urge action on road deaths
MPs are pressing the Government to overhaul road safety laws and apply tougher sentences and higher fines to those who cause death or injury by dangerous driving.
In a new report, the Transport Select Committee accuses Ministers of failing to take deaths on Britain’s roads seriously and says that punishments for dangerous drivers should reflect those given in cases of manslaughter or violent attacks.
“Where death or injury is involved, it appears that police and prosecutors take a more lenient view of drivers’ behaviour than does the general public,” the report states.
“But the best manifesto in the world will not produce results unless individual forces and individual police officers take road deaths and injuries as seriously as they take cases of manslaughter or grievous bodily harm,” it concludes.
The committee says that drivers are often charged with careless driving, rather than dangerous driving, as it is easier to secure a conviction in relation to the lesser offence.
Reporting as the Home Office conducts its review of road safety laws, MPs were also critical of plans to lower penalties for speeding in built-up areas and described the drop in police breath tests as “extremely disturbing”.
The House of Commons committee also stressed that transferring the responsibility for policing the main road network from police to the Highways Agency was “fundamentally misguided.”
The Government should stand up to the motoring lobby which has “bullied” ministers into “dropping effective but controversial policies”, the report added.
Around 10 people are killed each day on Britain’s roads.
