What an ****.

[brucemillar]

It sounds as if he was only charged with careless driving which attracts the lower tarrif sentence, Had he been charged with dangerous driving sentence could be up to 14 years. It's evidently very difficult in law to prove dangerous driving because you have prove the act was deliberate. Its probably time to introduce an intermediate sentence without the heavy burden of proof demanded by dangerous driving.

Nail on head. This is a constant complaint from those who have suffered the consequences of these acts. There are very strict guidelines to determine "dangerous" v "careless" the CPS and the Police do at times seem to struggle to interpret them and it is common practice to see "dangerous" as the original charge, reduced to "careless". Pursuing "dangerous" is more difficult and could result in the charge being thrown out. As such defense lawyers will often plead to accept careless knowing that the prosecution will get a charge and a sentence and thee defendant will get the lighter penalty. Some "justice" will be seen to be done. A dropped charge for "lack of evidence or proof serves nobody.

My understanding is that this is due to the inability and complex nature of trying to prove that somebody knew that their driving would result in the consequences that then occur - The law of unintended consequences.

Did he set out meaning to injure others? Was it his intention to cause injury to others. Could he have foreseen that his actions may result in injury to others.

Sadly (despite what we may think) the answer to all of the above is usually "no" This then results in a lesser charge of "careless" driving or even "driving without due care".

The current call is for another level of criteria to be allowed that takes into account where "it can be shown" that the standards of driving were likely to result in xxx.

We see this dilemma almost daily.

Is driving at 100mph in a 70mph limit more likely to result in death then driving at 80mph in a 70mph limit. Both are breaking the law and both, could be considered "dangerous" or "careless"

 

[Teflonso]

It sounds as if he was only charged with careless driving which attracts the lower tarrif sentence, Had he been charged with dangerous driving sentence could be up to 14 years. It's evidently very difficult in law to prove dangerous driving because you have prove the act was deliberate. Its probably time to introduce an intermediate sentence without the heavy burden of proof demanded by dangerous driving.

You are of course probably correct, but this situation is just madness. A witness who was being chased and bullied plus a dashcam from the car that he hit showing him driving like a mad man. What on earth do you have to do to get charged with dangeroud driving? I despair.

So he ends up with 4.5 years and willl be out in 2. On the other side of the coin, there are two youngsters who's lives are wrecked. I'm almost 13 years into a disability resulting from an accident (not of my making) and I can tell you, forget any compensation payment, forget all the other stuff, life can sometimes be terribly hard and the happy pills don't make much of a difference.

I can't imagine what those kids have to face in the next 10 years let alone the next 80 and it makes my pee fizz with anger.


.

 

[bh13coupe]

I hope he gets torn a new one.

 

[Tiim533]

4 years 6 months.

Good.

 

[Yugguy]

Just seen a pic of him and it confirms what I very often observe in bullying drivers. He was only able to intimidate from the safety of his large car. I very much doubt he'd have chased that Mazda if it had been a 6 foot bloke in it. Utter ****.

 

[Doodle]

Bit of a PR disaster for JLR. Manager for the Gaydon LR Experience centre, in a company motor.

 

[renault12ts]

^ Not a good career move.

 

[ChrisEdu]

Can but hope for some of that prison justice that gets seen from time to time.

 

[Doodle]

^ Not a good career move.

No, looks like he's been dismissed, unsurprisingly.

 

[renault12ts]

I'm amazed no one has criticised the use of the dash cam...yet!

 

[AMGeed]

I'm amazed no one has criticised the use of the dash cam...yet!

Why would they? It recorded the situation as it happened and fortunately the scumbag driving will have a paltry 2yrs of his life inside.
He should never hold a driving licence again for the trauma caused by his hand.

What I 'd like to see happen to him couldn't be printed in such a family friendly forum such as this.

 

[zipdip]

Well the driver was a complete idiot,but I must admit when I saw the film of this accident it was in my mind that the disco was turning,I would have been on the brakes a lot sooner than happened,also what did not help is the corner of the 4x4 met the other car slap bang in the middle of the radiator,which means the car is going to get hit big time,such a terrible accident as young children have been badly injured,I think it is a lesson to many drivers to drive on the defensive.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Looks like another example of one of those blokes (yes always blokes) who think that they are driving Gods, probably done some training and maybe trained others and as a result imagine that they can drive as they like because they are equipped with the skill to get themselves out of difficult situations.

Shame he couldn't have just rolled it into a field or something.

 

[st13phil]

Crashes like this that result in life-changing injuries, or even loss of life, are an absolute tragedy and I completely understand the response that a 4½-year sentence is inadequate.

However...

While the actions of the individual concerned did on this occasion have terrible consequences, in different circumstances they may not have done. Which is why there is the perpetual question of whether the consequences of an action should be the primary driver of the punishment or whether the action itself should define the level of punishment. In the imperfect world in which we all live, in English law the action defines the level of punishment and the consequences are taken into account as a modifier, whether that be to increase or decrease the sanction applied.

Turning to the question of Careless vs. Dangerous and the differing sentences the two offences attract, as already mentioned the burden of proof for a successful conviction for Dangerous is high and arguably this is right when the minimum level of punishment for that offence is considered. In the instant case, only the CPS will know why they ran Careless and not Dangerous. They have all the facts, while all we have are media reports.

 

[fab1975]

This sort of aggressive behavior is both stupid and criminal.
Hopefully he'll be forced to have a more passive attitude in jail...

 

[brucemillar]

Meanwhile in Kent:

Video shows dangerous speeding driver spinning out of control on A2/M2 near Rochester and Strood

 

[RonFleet]

Reminds me of an accident I watched a few years ago on the M3 between J5 and J6. A small van came tearing through the Sunday lunchtime traffic in the pouring rain switching lanes, undertaking and overtaking. Until he lost it. I watched in amazement as he pirouetted from lane one, across lane two, into lane three, hit the barrier and went back the other way, still rotating, and ended his little display upside down in a ditch beyond the hard shoulder. Despite the heavy traffic, he didn't hit anyone. Superb car control...

 

[uumode]

I have now seen a short video clip up to the moment of impact. Driver 'left sisters paralysed after crashing into car during road rage chase' | Daily Mail Online

It does appear that the Land Rover "undertakes" a stationary car that is waiting in the middle of the road to turn right. He then cuts across the front of the stationary car and straight into the path of the oncoming "impact" car.

A witness - whom I believe was the driver of the stationary car said in court that he "could have waited a few seconds" and this would not have happened.

From the video it is clear that this was not a loss of control. This was a calculated maneuver to avoid queuing behind traffic waiting to turn right and across oncoming traffic. He clearly fails to see the oncoming traffic (why did he think that the traffic was queuing ahead of him?).

The consequences of his idiotic driving are just shocking. Two young girls left paralysed from the waist down.

This was not some "yoof" at the wheel but a grown man who should have known better. WTF was he thinking.

Agree with all your points

 

[oldguy57]

If you think about it , the consequences of innocently driving your car on the road can be quite terrifying. I find myself concentrating much more on what I do and what other people are doing than I used to whilst still trying to enjoy being out and about on the roads. Fortunately these morons are in the tiny minority but the results of their actions can be totally disproportionate to their numbers.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

It's all going on in Kent.