Who decides the level of fines and bans ?

[The big yin]

Traffic cops last night, numpty young driver in crappy corsa hit an hgv, wrecked fron of lorry and totalled car, had to be cut free, found to be SIX (yes six)times the drug drive limit, taken to court received £150 fine and banned for 1 year.
Who decides the punishment for these things, I would have fined them way more than that and banned for minimum of at least five years .
Also Sussex roads police officer caught doing over 100 mph in a 30 and got banned for 28 days and fined (and should lose his job.)
I think these things need to be tightened up.
Comments please .

[vonhosen]

Courts have guidelines they have to adhere to.

There are a number of factors (could be aggravating or mitigating) that will differ between cases.

Fines are based on incomes (up to a legislated maximum for the offence).

[The big yin]

I get there will be rules that the courts have to follow, but 6 times over drug drive limit , £150 and year ban is not enough imo and he will possibly do it all the time regardless.
It makes me mad at times

[Aretnap]

The fact that he was SIX TIMES the drug drive limit is not particularly relevant. The limits for drugs are based on the minimum amount that can be detected reliably and/or the minimum amount which might be ingested inadvertently (eg by being in the same room as someone smoking a spliff), not the amount which actually causes impairment. For some drugs it is possible to be many times the legal limit without having your driving seriously impaired. So the exact level is not a factor in the sentencing guidelines as it is for alcohol.

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magi...