THERE’S WIDESPREAD SUPPORT for a new driving offence to get tough on dangerous driving, according to a survey by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).
In the IAM poll of over 1400 people, 94% support plans to introduce a new offence: ‘causing serious injury by dangerous driving’. Just 6% were against.
The new law, part of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, is intended to secure tougher punishments for dangerous drivers who cause injury to others.
When asked to name the biggest deterrents to bad driving, 70% chose ‘enforcement – the likelihood I will get caught’. Almost half of respondents (48%) said ‘the consequences – causing death or injury to myself or others’ and 43% said ‘the severity of the punishment if I am caught’.
IAM chief executive, Simon Best, said: “People want to see tougher penalties to deal with situations where the victim of a road accident is seriously injured. But the government needs to ensure that punishments for dangerous driving accurately reflect the severity of the offences committed.
“It may seem shocking that enforcement is a greater deterrent to poor driving than the risk of causing death of injury, but just as seeing police on the beat reduces crime, highly visible traffic cops reduce bad driving. Therefore any change in law needs to be supported by well resourced enforcement on our roads.”
