THE MANX public is being given the chance to have its say on tough new penalties which have been proposed by the government for driving offences resulting in serious injury.
Prison sentences up to 10 years and much heavier fines are amongst the recommendations made by the Department of Infrastructure on legislative proposals contained within the Road Traffic and Highways (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill.
The basis of the new legislation is designed to act as a deterrent to unsafe driving on Manx roads and to make the punishment for offences which result in death or serious injury reflect the gravity of the offence committed.
The consultative document points to a number of court cases in the past where the courts found their hands tied when it came to handing down punishment to offenders who had been involved in road accidents where serious injury had been inflicted on other drivers and passengers.
The document added that the new laws are needed “so that the retributive justice is proportionate to the harm that has been done.” It is hoped that the tougher new laws will reduce the number of accidents resulting in fatalities or serious injury. Statistics show that in 2006 there were 8 fatalities and 67 serious injuries; 2007 - 9 fatalities, 79 serious injuries; 2008 - 6 fatalities, 44 serious injuries and 2009 - 7 fatalities and 62 serious injuries.
To illustrate the current inadequacies of the penalties, the document looks back at a case which involved a woman who was travelling on the mountain road. The report says, ‘A motorist heading north lost control of his vehicle and collided with her car. She suffered multiple fractures and life-changing brain injuries exacerbated by a stroke.
‘In this case the only sanction available was to charge the offender with the minor offence of careless or inconsiderate driving (maximum penalty £2500), of which the offender was found guilty. The penalty imposed was far below the maximum and was not commensurate with the great harm that had been done.’
The consultation document also looks at another case in the UK a 17-year old driver who had just passed his test took his car for a trip on Welsh country roads, accompanied by two young men and two young women.
‘He lost control of the car and veered off the road. All his passengers were killed but he survived. As the new GB offence had not yet been brought into force, he could only be charged with the minor offence of careless or inconsiderate driving (maximum penalty £2500), of which he was found guilty.
‘In the public mind, and particularly among relatives of the deceased, the penalty was seen as being grossly out of kilter with the material harm that he had done.’
The provisions contained within the Bill have been developed from proposals which were included in the Department's Road Safety Initiative of 2004 that received a broadly favourable public response.
Minister for Infrastructure Phil Gawne said the main proposals were:-
1. To create four new driving offences which prescribe increased penalties for certain existing offences, and provide a wider range of alternative verdicts in road traffic cases and revision of fines to reflect inflation
2. To make supplementary provisions with respect to paid driving instructors by catering for their registration or licensing when giving paid instruction and enforcing those provisions
3. To cater for the seizure, retention and disposal of motor vehicles in cases where they have been driven on roads in contravention of certain prescribed offences
4. To provide further incentives to the film industry to use the Island by extending the period in which a road may be closed to through traffic and other minor changes
5. To permit the designation of improvement lines for the widening of highways, together with the acquisition of land between those lines and the boundaries of highways
6. To ensure better reinstatement of highways opened up by statutory undertakers
7. To make other amendments of a lesser nature with respect to highways and traffic regulation
The new Bill also sets out clear guidelines for courts to hand down penalties and driving bans to drink drivers, ranging from 2 to 5 years disqualification. And hit-and-run drivers who fail to stop at the scene of an accident will also be punished harder with up to 9 months in prison and a fine of £5,000 (previous 3 months and £2,500).
Stricter penalties for drivers who use mobile phones whilst at the wheel are also included in the new Bill in response to what is described as “widespread concern” at the very lenient sentences currently imposed by the judiciary.
Future penalties, if approved, increase from a maximum of £1,000 to £2,500 with discretionary driving bans and forfeiture of the mobile phone. The consultation also suggests that courts should consider stricter penalties for drivers of heavy vehicles who commit such an offence.
To obtain a copy of the consultation documents, contact Chris.Hannon@gov.im, call him on 01624 685010 or write to Mr Hannon at Department of Infrastructure, Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF. Alternatively, the documents can be viewed on the Government website, www.gov.im/Consultations.gov.
Any comments on the proposals should be submitted to the Department by no later than 5.00pm on Friday 14 January 2011, either by e-mail to Mr Hannon or by post at Department of Infrastructure, Sea Terminal Buildings, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF.
