Discussion
i thought id start this after reading the excellent "......unbelievable" thread....its very interetsing to get the many points of view/opinions ...and although sometimes heated its generally fair and i think its great that the BIB members continue to offer thier very useful explanation of the law and its application. alot of the debate seems to be centered on the application of a law that people think is unfair or irrellevant ..ie a hidden speed trap on an empty dual carriage way at midnight...BIB quite rightly point out that we are all capable of avoiding prosecution..simply abide by the law....others point out that at best the above example is a waste of resources and at worst its a disengenuous revenue raising ploy that damages the publics support for the police..which is crucial to more serious crime prevention i.e terrorism....does it make everyones life harder when in the example above the law is applied without much common sense....and on the other hand a man who filmed himself on his phone doing 130mph on the a14 doesnt go to jail....given the BIB have no sentencing powers...id love to know how you feel about this?
nobody.....the 18yr old driving 1 handed at 130mph was charged with dangerous driving.....but i suppose i thought you might find it frustrating that he wasnt..seeing as you spend alot of time having to explain/defend all aspects of the law.........its the first topic i started...clearly not a page turner and i appologise if the op sounded like an oxbridge entrance exam question.....
Well, I'm not BiB but I was quite pleased he didn't go to jail.
I don't think that travelling at X speed is inherently dangerous, nor worthy of jail. Robbers, Theives, Burglars, Muggers, Rapists etc.. Jail them all. For even a minor offence.
He didn't injure anyone. Now, I KNOW it can be more luck than judgement that no-one got injured, but those same odds are played every single day. Look down to change radio station and don't see the child step into the road? Or drive the same way every day looking at the radio hundreds of times, never hitting any jaywalker.
I don't think that travelling at X speed is inherently dangerous, nor worthy of jail. Robbers, Theives, Burglars, Muggers, Rapists etc.. Jail them all. For even a minor offence.
He didn't injure anyone. Now, I KNOW it can be more luck than judgement that no-one got injured, but those same odds are played every single day. Look down to change radio station and don't see the child step into the road? Or drive the same way every day looking at the radio hundreds of times, never hitting any jaywalker.
dh1 said:
nobody.....the 18yr old driving 1 handed at 130mph was charged with dangerous driving.....but i suppose i thought you might find it frustrating that he wasnt..seeing as you spend alot of time having to explain/defend all aspects of the law.........its the first topic i started...clearly not a page turner and i appologise if the op sounded like an oxbridge entrance exam question.....
No it didn't concern me at all that he didn't go to prison, I don't as rule worry about the sentences given out for any offences committed by people.dh1 said:
found the story...my mistake..she hasnt been jailed yet..sentecing at the end of this month...but was told by the judge at southampton to expect jail..convicted of causing death by dangerous driving
Well death by dangerous is an offence likely to end in a custodial sentence. You really don't want to commit that particular one.dh1 said:
dont you think its a bit wierd though?...very sad obviously when someone loses thier life.....but riding through red light without a helmet....surely there is some mitigation there?....
She isn't judged on his action, she is judged on hers. Was what she was doing acceptable & did it contribute to someone's death ?
dh1 said:
dont you think its a bit wierd though?...very sad obviously when someone loses thier life.....but riding through red light without a helmet....surely there is some mitigation there?....
Riding through a red light full stop.Mitigation may affect the sentence, NOT the conviction.
dh1 said:
true...but a cyclist goes through a red light..no helmet..and a motorist..texting..hits him and kills him...she goes to jail...which seems to imply the outcome determines the sentence
Death by dangerous driving would require certain specific outcomes 
Road Traffic offences are more preventative than based on outcome, which is often an area for conflict. Opinions on this site demonstrate that.
The cyclist was wrong but cyclists shooting red lights seems to be an accepted practice and as an ex cyclists who used to train for 350 miles a week I think its the most ridiculous habit ever to have become almost the norm.
Cyclists going through red lights are quite frankly asking for trouble.
However texting at the wheel...
Thats eaqually as stupid and the lady has only herself to blame..
I was once driving my companies HGV along the M62. I was on the inside lane approaching a slip road.
A BMW was coming down the sliproad obviously joining the motorway but I was aware that it wasn't joining the motorway in any prescribed fashion.
It wasn't indicating and it wasn't varying its speed in order to merge. It just seemed to be intent on just sailing out into the traffic..
I carefully watched it for any signs of acknowledgement of my existance of which there was none.
I then started to slow down as it was obviously going to converge with me at the motorway.
As I looked down from my high vantage point I could see into the BMW and there was the woman driver TEXTING on her mobile!!!! WHILE JOINING A MOTORWAY FFS!!!
If that woman was texting going through a junction then absolutely throw the book at her.
Cyclists going through red lights are quite frankly asking for trouble.
However texting at the wheel...
Thats eaqually as stupid and the lady has only herself to blame..
I was once driving my companies HGV along the M62. I was on the inside lane approaching a slip road.
A BMW was coming down the sliproad obviously joining the motorway but I was aware that it wasn't joining the motorway in any prescribed fashion.
It wasn't indicating and it wasn't varying its speed in order to merge. It just seemed to be intent on just sailing out into the traffic..
I carefully watched it for any signs of acknowledgement of my existance of which there was none.
I then started to slow down as it was obviously going to converge with me at the motorway.
As I looked down from my high vantage point I could see into the BMW and there was the woman driver TEXTING on her mobile!!!! WHILE JOINING A MOTORWAY FFS!!!
If that woman was texting going through a junction then absolutely throw the book at her.
i agree that the stupidity of some road users is astonishing ....whoever they are ...which i suppose goes back to the points made on the other thread...which is you either accept that every roaduser is sufficiently tallented and dilligent at all times and will always act in the best interest of thier and everyone elses safety and have no speed limits etc....or you accept that even if only one person in the whole country doesnt...you need laws....i remember reading that the only sure way to make people drive safely was to have cars with no brakes and seatbelts with an enormous sharpened steel spike coming out of the steering wheel.....although that does feel like and oxbridge exam discussion point!
Forums | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff