UK drivers who kill while on mobile phones could face life sentences - Polidicks

[QUOTE]Drivers who cause death when looking at their mobile phones will face life in jail for the first time under Government plans to be revealed on Monday. In a major hardening of sentencing guidelines, ministers will propose raising the upper limit of imprisonment for dangerous drivers who kill from 14 years to a lifetime. It is designed to send a “clear message” that people who cause “immeasurable pain” to families with reckless driving should be given a “punishment that fits the crime”. [/QUOTE] [url]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/04/drivers-kill-mobile-phones-will-face-life-sentences/[/url]

Why should the sentence depend on whether they kill someone or not? I really don't understand justice that isn't based solely on intent.

Personally I believe it's about time they hardened the law for dangerous drivers.

Completely agree. It's willful negligence, by using a mobile phone whilst driving you are conciously breaking the law, and consciously knowing you are putting others at danger by doing this. No incident or death caused by that is an "accident", it's completely willful.

Whats the point of that? Bad drivers aren't hardened criminals, sending them to a prison has no point, revoking there licence would be more fitting. We need to remember justice is not about revenge.

why is the sentence suddenly life for people looking at their phone

Unsure about this. I am a huge advocate of drivers on their mobile phones to be punished by law. It's a stupid risk that puts everyone in danger. However a whole life term is a horrible fate that I wish on no one. Besides which, this offence is not murder. The offender had no intention to kill someone, so the worst this can be legally is manslaughter, right? (Please correct me if I am wrong.) As terrible as this accidents are I believe that they should not be deserving of a whole life sentence IMHO.

[QUOTE=Superkilll307;51473879]Whats the point of that? Bad drivers aren't hardened criminals, sending them to a prison has no point, revoking there licence would be more fitting. We need to remember justice is not about revenge.[/QUOTE] Because theyre not "bad drivers", theyre inconsiderate assholes just like people that excessively speed and end up killing families

[QUOTE=Map in a box;51473897]why is the sentence suddenly life for people looking at their phone[/QUOTE] You're already breaking a law for looking at your phone whilst driving anyway. You consciously chose to perform that action, making it wilful negligence. Dumbasses causing road traffic accidents (some of which are resulting in deaths) because they are looking at their phones is a pretty huge problem. A life sentence over here isn't your entire life, it's a good 15 (maybe25?) or so years I believe before you get a hearing on whether or not it's extended. It's quite a severe punishment, but you did wilfully perform an action that led to you losing control of the vehicle long enough to kill someone. Even if you didn't set out to kill someone (a-la manslaughter), your actions directly led to that outcome. [editline]4th December 2016[/editline] The severity of the sentence having the intention of trying to scare people out of performing the action in the first place. Which doesn't seem to work for pettier crimes, but this isn't quite the same and crackdowns have worked somewhat in the past in this area.

[QUOTE=Piciul;51473927]Because theyre not "bad drivers", theyre inconsiderate assholes just like people that excessively speed and end up killing families[/QUOTE] Deprive them of their license and make driving without a license punishable with life then

[QUOTE=Zonesylvania;51473853]Personally I believe it's about time they hardened the law for dangerous drivers.[/QUOTE] Life in prision is extreme even for death caused by carelessness. Alot of people here never actually been locked up. Let me tell you that it is much much more worse than you think it is.

[QUOTE=RobL;51473852]Why should the sentence depend on whether they kill someone or not? I really don't understand justice that isn't based solely on intent.[/QUOTE] ??? Justice solely based on intent makes no sense. Are you saying people shouldn't be punished for manslaughter?

[QUOTE=Jouska;51473980]Alot of people here never actually been locked up. Let me tell you that it is much much more worse than you think it is.[/QUOTE] Yes. It is.

[QUOTE=Jouska;51473980]Life in prision is extreme even for death caused by carelessness. Alot of people here never actually been locked up. Let me tell you that it is much much more worse than you think it is.[/QUOTE] It's extreme, but it might be necessary if people are still often doing it with the current legislation in place and then end up killing people. Also consider that when people use their phone while driving in Europe, they almost certainly made the conscious decision to endanger others. There are [I]very[/I] widespread information campaigns highlighting the dangers here in Germany for example.

[QUOTE=Jouska;51473980]Alot of people here never actually been locked up. Let me tell you that it is much much more worse than you think it is.[/QUOTE] Well being dead isn't much better now is it? If tougher consequences leads to people being less fucking careless when it comes to other people's life, then so be it.

I really wouldn't classify it as an accident if you kill someone while on your phone, you knew damn well that'd be a horrible distraction. But a life sentence is crazy. A "punishment that fits the crime" in a sense of trying to discourage something usually only works out on paper. What they instead should do is try to step up enforcement to catch this shit before it causes death, and stick the harsh penalties such as temporary loss of license then.

[QUOTE=Jouska;51473980]Life in prision is extreme even for death caused by carelessness. Alot of people here never actually been locked up. Let me tell you that it is much much more worse than you think it is.[/QUOTE] I know perfectly well how terrible life in prison can be, but some consequences have to arise from deliberate carelessness to the extent where you're going to take somebody else's life as a result. Permanently suspending somebody's licence isn't going to stop all of them from taking to the streets again if given the chance. It's also quite a clear cut case of wilful negligence if you end up killing somebody thanks to your desperate need to look at your cellphone while driving a vehicle, your actions are what is responsible. If you need to take a call, do the sensible thing and pull over to the side of the street, then go driving again. Don't text or use apps while driving period. The severity of the sentence seems to me to be motivated as a preventive measure. It might not work as well as expected, but it will certainly have an impact.

You're currently liable to a somewhat hefty fine and points on your license if caught with your phone in your hands when driving as is. Even when at a standstill such as traffic lights I believe. But the potential loss of your license isn't stopping people from doing it. A life sentence might be more extreme than necessary, but this is a reactionary measure to a problem we've had for a while now. Just in my county alone we've seen a huge drop in usage behind the wheel just from the awareness campaigns run by the police and more consistent enforcement of the current punishments; [url]http://www.edp24.co.uk/motoring/number_of_drivers_caught_using_mobile_phone_in_norfolk_collapses_by_65pc_1_4546202[/url] Anyone who is still violating this set of laws despite all these renewed awareness campaigns and harsher punishments is genuinely fucking dangerous to be on the road. So I can see where the extreme measures are coming from, even if it's heavy handed.

The justice system is so messed up. A hacker might get twice as many years as a child abuser while a someone who hit someone while on the mobile gets a life sentence?

[QUOTE=thelurker1234;51474018]I really wouldn't classify it as an accident if you kill someone while on your phone, you knew damn well that'd be a horrible distraction. But a life sentence is crazy. A "punishment that fits the crime" in a sense of trying to discourage something usually only works out on paper. What they instead should do is try to step up enforcement to catch this shit before it causes death, and stick the harsh penalties such as temporary loss of license then.[/QUOTE] I agree to some extent, but at this point it would have to be a very long temporary loss of license to be appropriate to the decision made by the driver.

harder sentences almost never deter offenders, because if you're dumb enough to run someone over whilst texting, you're definitely too stupid to know what sentence you're going to receive.

I think there should be a crackdown on people caught using their phones before accidents. The Gardi, for example, do a great job with monitoring the roads and checking on people using their phones, and they did it fairly frequently.

I would also like to point out that the driver has go the rest of their lives knowing that they have killed someone.

[QUOTE=hexpunK;51473964] A life sentence over here isn't your entire life[/QUOTE] thats a bit confusing

[QUOTE=nuttyboffin;51474025]The justice system is so messed up. A hacker might get twice as many years as a child abuser while a someone who hit someone while on the mobile gets a life sentence?[/QUOTE] I don't really see what's so shocking about killing someone being punished more heavily than rape or hacking?

[QUOTE=Tamschi;51474031]I agree to some extent, but at this point it would have to be a very long temporary loss of license to be appropriate to the decision made by the driver.[/QUOTE] Well I was talking about before they kill somebody. The police being told to look more sharply to spot out. IIRC some of these countries even have automated ways of reporting people based on their license plates (sweden.) And as the article states, it's already up to 14 years. That's the problem with the idea of long sentences as a prevention measure, people usually don't actually think about punishment when they're committing a crime.

[QUOTE=_Maverick_;51474040]I would also like to point out that the driver has go the rest of their lives knowing that they have killed someone.[/QUOTE] I don't have any sympathy for people who get into accidents because they were drunk or because they were on their mobile phone. Especially as someone who's learning to drive. It's not fucking hard to stop looking at your phone. People need more self-control.

[QUOTE=Duck M.;51474054]thats a bit confusing[/QUOTE] Yes. Yes it is. It can reasonably be extended to be basically your entire life. But you've got to be a right fuck up to receive that.

What I would love to see is summary execution for taxi drivers who park in the middle of the road outside Tesco with hazards on for a good 5 minutes, blocking a whole lane of traffic on a narrow road. Yes I am bitter after half an hour ago.

[QUOTE=Superkilll307;51473879]Whats the point of that? Bad drivers aren't hardened criminals, sending them to a prison has no point, revoking there licence would be more fitting. We need to remember justice is not about revenge.[/QUOTE] I have to agree. It's incredibly shitty to drive while distracted by phones or other stuff, but they're not planning to murder people with their vehicle. Something like a 10 year ban from driving on top of legal fees is more suitable than putting them in prison.