Press Release

3 November 2005

Hollow victory for law change campaigners

Home Office announces on 31 October 2005 that traffic law changes will be part of Road Safety Bill

Pressure from organisations representing road crash victims and concerned about road danger has ensured that for the first time in decades the Government is proposing new measures to address the present casual attitude to bad driving.

But the long awaited Government proposals to finally bring justice to road crash victims fall far short of RoadPeace's and other charities' expectations, and do not appear to reflect the suggestions in their organisations' responses to the consultation on Road Traffic Offences involving Bad Driving (3 February to 6 May).

Of particular concern are the following Home Office proposals:

• to make the new proposed offence of Causing death by careless driving an either way instead of an indictable offence, as was suggested in the consultation.
• not to introduce an offence which would address injury

RoadPeace fears that the majority of culpable road death cases will be dealt with in Magistrates courts and that the availability of a far lesser charge will result in downgrading of serious cases. RoadPeace is concerned that injured road crash victims will not receive justice.

Zoe Stow, chair of RoadPeace, said:

"The recognition that a charge of Driving without due care and attention is not appropriate to address a culpable homicide is a step forward, albeit belated. But the new proposals stay with the concept of 2 standards of driving, which is responsible for so much futile legal argument and lies at the root of the failure of current traffic law to deter or deliver justice"

Brigitte Chaudhry, Founder of RoadPeace, said:

"RoadPeace had suggested a simple charge of 'Vehicular manslaughter' for death, with a wide range of sentencing options left to judges based on the level of drivers' total culpability, and for applying 'Causing bodily harm' for injury. Instead, there will be some 6 offences for death and none for injury - a recipe for chaos and injustice."

Contacts: RoadPeace office 020 8838 5102 Rita Taylor 01963 359 044

Brigitte Chaudhry 020 8964 1800 Zoe Stow 01491 642 857.

Notes to Editors:

'Road deaths and injuries shatter lives'

In the UK, from 1940 - 2000 (60 years - a person's lifetime), 17,586.625 million people were reported injured and killed on UK's roads - if we take under-reporting and the effect on families into account, then more than half the population is affected by road death and injury in their lifetime. On the world's roads, 3000 people are killed daily - a daily 9/11 disaster!

At present, out of the 3500 deaths on Britain's roads, only some 250 are followed by a prosecution, which mentions the death in the charge. Other culpable deaths that get prosecuted (many do not) are only followed by a summary charge in a magistrates court, dealt with by lay magistrates, where the death remains totally disregarded, not mentioned or even recorded. No other country in the world treats death on the road so shabbily in law. It is rare for even summary charges being brought in cases of injury.

War on the Roads: casualty statistics

In London

• 300 lives lost every year
• in every 5 deaths is a pedestrian
• One child is killed every two weeks
• Motorcycle fatalities are increasing
• Target is 40% reduction in KSI

In the UK

• 10 people are killed every day
• Most victims are young men
• Road crashes are the leading cause of death/disability for those under 40.
• Poor children are five times more likely to be killed or injured than better off children
• There is a 1 in 200 chance of dying in a road crash
• Pedestrians and cyclists account for 1 in 3 road deaths
• Half of all 'accidental child deaths' occur on the road
• A 20 mph limit in residential areas would reduce child road deaths and serious injuries by 67%!
• Over half of road safety expenditure is for hospital treatment of casualties

Member of the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims (FEVR) which has UN consultative status

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