Jail text-messaging death drivers, judges told

Motorists who read or write text messages on a mobile phone could face jail sentences of up to seven years if they cause a death, under new guidelines from a sentencing watchdog today.

The new, tougher penalties will be imposed by judges and magistrates in England and Wales under guidelines issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC), which is chaired by the Lord Chief Justice.

The most serious cases where drink, drugs, or persistent bad driving are factors could be liable for jail terms up to the maximum of 14 years, the council said.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Ensuring drivers who cause death on our roads through bad driving are suitably punished is essential if justice is to be done and people maintain their support for the criminal justice system."

He added that ministers were also keen to see the two proposed new offences of Causing Death by Careless Driving and Causing Death by Driving while Unlicensed, Disqualified or Uninsured, come into force "at the earliest opportunity".

The two new offences were introduced by the Road Safety Act 2006 and will come into force on or after August 4. The new sentencing guidelines will be applied from that date.

The SGC said it was sending out a “clear message” that driving offences that result in death are serious offences and should receive appropriate sentences.

It recommends lengthy custodial sentences for cases involving “prolonged, persistent and deliberate” bad driving or where drivers are drunk or under the influence of drugs.

The use of mobile phones is also treated “robustly” the SGC said, with advice that if an offender is distracted by a hand-held mobile phone when the offence is committed, it will be treated as “particularly” serious.

The guidelines state that reading or composing text messages over a period of time while at the wheel will be likely to result in an offence being in the “higher level of seriousness” and offenders should serve up to seven years in prison.

Advice on driving bans is also given, reminding magistrates and judges that disqualifications are effective from the day that they are imposed and so only have a practical impact if they go beyond the period that will be served in prison.

The guidelines cover four offences: causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by careless driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, causing death by careless driving and causing death by driving while unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured.

For the first three offences, judges and magistrates are being advised that they will need to assess how bad the driving was, and the degree of danger created, when determining sentence. Other features, chiefly to do with the offender’s behaviour, are treated as “aggravating” factors.

The SGC said it recommended that “prolonged, persistent and deliberate bad driving” and consumption of “substantial” amounts of drugs or alcohol should put offenders into the most serious category of causing death by dangerous driving and be given jail terms of at least seven years.

A combination of these features of dangerous driving - particularly if accompanied by aggravating factors, failing to stop or a very bad driving record - should attract sentences towards the maximum of 14 years.

The SGC said it recommended that, where death followed careless driving, a custodial sentence of up to three years was likely, with higher sentences where there is a combination of aggravating factors.

But where the driving involved “momentary inattention” and there were no aggravating factors, an offender should be given a community sentence, which could include a curfew requirement.

If death results from an offence involving driving unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured, the maximum sentence possible is two years.

The chairman of the SGC, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, said: “Sentencing in cases where death results from the misuse of a car on the road are among the most difficult for judges and magistrates.

“The harm is the greatest anyone can inflict - the death of a victim - but the level of culpability can range from a flagrant disregard of the safety of other road users to a terrible moment of inattention.

“This guideline is designed to support sentencers in making the very difficult decisions that face them in these cases.”

A another SGC member, Chief Constable Peter Neyroud, said: “The new offence of causing death by careless driving recognises the enormous level of harm caused by the offence.

“This has been welcomed by those representing the families and friends of victims.

“The impact of the guideline we have drawn up is that there will be more custodial sentences and community sentences where in the past offenders would almost certainly have received a fine for the same driving behaviour.”

When the new guidelines take effect, a driver with no previous convictions who causes an accident leading to death because they were using a mobile phone can expect a prison sentence of 15 months or more, while someone responsible for death due to prolonged bad driving after drinking alcohol would be facing eight years or more behind bars, the guidelines say.

Asked if anyone using a mobile phone at the wheel could expect a prison sentence if found guilty of causing an accident which results in death, he replied: “Pretty much straightforwardly, yes.”

Mr Neyroud went on: “What we are talking about is shifting the balance here to recognising the harm to the victim and the victim’s family, recognising the fact that when you are driving a car it is a privilege and not a right and you should drive it carefully at all times.”

He added: “The numbers will be relatively small because the number of people causing death by dangerous driving is relatively small, but there is a strong likelihood of more offenders in these cases going to prison.”

Mary Williams, the chief executive of road safety charity Brake, said: “Obviously, we are delighted that there are going to be more people going to prison for the new charge of causing death by careless driving. But what is fundamental still is that the charge structure is inadequate.

“We have got this difference between careless driving and dangerous driving which is a very, very tiny difference and yet the guidelines today are saying that somebody convicted of death by careless driving would be jailed for up to three years, compared to the maximum sentence for death by dangerous driving of 14 years.

“The penalty for the new charge of killing while unlicensed or disqualified is only two years, compared to a mandatory minimum of five years for possessing an illegal firearm. There is no charge for seriously injuring somebody by driving dangerously or carelessly.”

Road Peace, the charity for road traffic victims, said that the new guidelines did not alter the legal maximum penalties but would increase the length of jail terms, especially for the most dangerous drivers who kill.

Amy Aerson-Thomas, RoadPeace director, said: “This should help tackle the misperception that culpable death on the roads is less serious than other homicides.”

At present it was rare for such drivers to receive more than nine years’ jail, she added. But the group stressed that the guidelines were a step in the right direction, rather than the “major change” needed. “Few drivers go to prison and this will not change.”

The AA president, Edmund King, broadly welcomed the new guidelines. "To avoid facing the prospect of a 7 year prison spell motorists must stop using hand-held mobiles at the wheel. It is better to wait 7 minutes to stop safely and make that call, rather than spending 7 years regretting the consequences of your actions," he said.