A place to record lenient sentencing for motorvehicle....

[thirdcrank]

Birmingham driver jailed over fatal race and bus stop crash

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-b ... m-59711341

It's not clear from that headline that this was two separate crashes: he'd been on bail for for two years for the first episode of bad driving when he committed the second.
===========================
More detail in the local rag

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsbirm ... uxbndlbing

[thirdcrank]

I don't bother too much about sentencing - lenient or otherwise - but this case, which seems to have been largely overlooked by the media caught me attention

Hertfordshire drug-driver Duval Daly taunts family of Michael Bennett

He was jailed for six years and nine months for offences including causing death by careless driving.

Daly, of Grove House, College Road, Waltham Cross, pleaded guilty to five offences: causing death by careless driving when over the limit for cocaine, cannabis and diazepam; and causing death while having no insurance and no licence.

St Albans Crown Court heard Daly, who had 55 convictions for 143 offences, was thought to have been up to 20 times the legal limit for cocaine at the time.

The question of remorse seems to have arisen - it's a mitigating factor attracting a sentence discount - but it's not reported whether it was applied in this case. After the defendant had put his tongue out and taunted the bereaved in court, the judge remarked

"It puts into context his expression of remorse,"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-b ... s-59744774

[Bonefishblues]

I know there was discussion in the context of Katie Price v-a-v her being incapable of reform/change, but this is a different level altogether.

[thirdcrank]

I was only referring to the narrow issue of a sentencing discount for remorse.

Over the ages, there have been various sentencing regimes intended to protect the public with extended detention. One version is the life sentence which involves eventual release on licence with the possibility of recall to prison for breaking the terms of the licence. Although the then current system of extended sentences was part of the syllabus for the police promotion exam in 1971 and I got all the marks for the relevant question having learnt it by heart on the fifteen minute train ride to the exam centre, I forgot it just as quickly and nothing was lost.

I do get the impression that a discount for remorse is now almost automatic.

[mattheus]

I do get the impression that a discount for remorse is now almost automatic.

Almost - your lawyer needs to remember to write your remorse statement.

[reohn2]

I don't bother too much about sentencing - lenient or otherwise - but this case, which seems to have been largely overlooked by the media caught me attention

Hertfordshire drug-driver Duval Daly taunts family of Michael Bennett

He was jailed for six years and nine months for offences including causing death by careless driving.

Daly, of Grove House, College Road, Waltham Cross, pleaded guilty to five offences: causing death by careless driving when over the limit for cocaine, cannabis and diazepam; and causing death while having no insurance and no licence.

St Albans Crown Court heard Daly, who had 55 convictions for 143 offences, was thought to have been up to 20 times the legal limit for cocaine at the time.

The question of remorse seems to have arisen - it's a mitigating factor attracting a sentence discount - but it's not reported whether it was applied in this case. After the defendant had put his tongue out and taunted the bereaved in court, the judge remarked

"It puts into context his expression of remorse,"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-b ... s-59744774

The words,key and throwaway spring readily to mind along with labour and hard.

[Bonefishblues]

I do get the impression that a discount for remorse is now almost automatic.

Almost - your lawyer needs to remember to write your remorse statement.

I'd assumed it was a tick-box?

[mattheus]

I do get the impression that a discount for remorse is now almost automatic.

Almost - your lawyer needs to remember to write your remorse statement.

I'd assumed it was a tick-box?

<insert sad laughing smiley>

[thirdcrank]

One to consider for the proponents of lock-em-up-and-throw-the-key-away

Colorado truck driver's sentence cut by 100 years

A truck driver who was facing a 110-year jail term for a deadly crash has had his sentence reduced to 10 years, following widespread outcry.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-59839723

[Chris_S]

A lorry driver admits to killing a cyclist but is cleared by the jury

https://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/new ... s-driving/

[mattheus]

I suppose Not Guilty is a pretty lenient sentence :-/

I know that road, and have ridden sections of it quite a few times, day and night. Large sections have a (not brilliant) cycle path, which I would certainly use (but I don't think there was anything at the crash site). It's quite a popular TT course too, very fast.

Tomas is lucky to get off scot-free if he had a TV program visible in his cab.

(I also think it's crap that a professional driver would have such an untidy mess of cables for a dashboard, but that's by-the-by ... . )

[thirdcrank]

A lorry driver admits to killing a cyclist but is cleared by the jury :roll:

https://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/new ... s-driving/

That's reported to have been a five-day trial so, even allowing for the endless breaks, there's been more evidence and oratory than what's reported there. Apart from that, as I'm always posting, it's no longer considered dangerous or careless driving to crash into somebody or something so securing a conviction when a death results is quite a mountain to climb. Add to that the bike apparently not complying with the lighting regs and that's the sorry state things are at

[reohn2]

A lorry driver admits to killing a cyclist but is cleared by the jury

https://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/new ... s-driving/

Incredible!

[Bonefishblues]

Arguably deserves a place here:

https://youtu.be/ZFuVLD-zGh8

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/c ... 10642.html

[Rob Archer]

https://premium.lynnnews.co.uk/news/kin ... o-9248722/

The article's behind a paywall so here's the text:

Uninsured Lynn driver was nine times the drug-drive limit when he knocked an elderly man off his bike, a court has heard. Stephen Dent, who was also unsupervised on a provisional licence, then twice drove over the man’s bike – all witnessed by police. The cyclist suffered a fractured shoulder and bruising, town magistrates heard on Thursday. The incident happened near the junction of Valingers Road and London Road on December 29 last year. Prosecutor Hannah Butler said 42-year-old Dent drove over the bike after the collision and then again as he reversed back – stopping his Ford Galaxy very close to the patrol car’s front bumper. The court heard that he told officers that he hadn’t had drink or drugs but then failed a roadside drug wipe.

Following his arrest, he gave a reading of 468 micrograms of a cocaine breakdown product per litre of blood in his system. The legal limit is 50. Mrs Butler said Dent claimed in interview that the cyclist had been weaving in front of him and was in a blind spot of the pillar of the Galaxy’s windscreen.

The defendant, of Pleasant Court, pleaded guilty to drug-driving, careless driving, having no insurance and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

“Fortunately, he was driving quite slowly,” said solicitor George Sorrell in mitigation.

“He was clearly not paying attention.

“He was under the influence still with a drug in his body he thought would’ve gone.

“I can’t offer any mitigation about the circumstances – the poor, unfortunate cyclist ended up with a significant injury. And to make it perhaps worse he’s described as being elderly. A very unpleasant experience.

“The defendant realises the consequences could’ve been far worse. He expresses remorse and regret and that’s genuine.”

For drug-driving, Dent was banned for two years, fined £200 and ordered to pay £50 costs plus a victim surcharge.

For careless driving, he was ordered to pay £200 compensation to the victim.

There were no separate penalties for the other two matters.

So, it cost him £450 in total. A ban is pointless as he shouldn't have been driving in the first place. The cyclist (me) lost a year-old Brompton (£1200) and several week's work (at least £2000), as well as a shoulder that's still painful after a couple of months physio. I was really lucky not to come off worse as he drove over my leg too which was badly bruised. I'm pursuing a civil claim but not expecting much as he had no insurance.

Being described as 'elderly' has also caused me great trauma. Both the police officers there were aged about 12!