Paul Rowen raises case of dangerous driver

Date article online: 14/06/2006

Rochdale MP Paul Rowen has raised the issue of sentencing for driving offences with the Government. This follows a local man, Sajid Hussain, who had been allowed to walk free after being convicted of serious motoring offences for a third time.

The hit-and-run driver had previously been given a two year driving ban after paralyzing a five-year-old boy in a car accident while driving uninsured and unlicensed. The driver was 16. A year later he was given a 18 month detention order after the car he was driving hit a 67-year old lollipop lady. Again he fled the scene, leaving his victim for dead.

This year the same man was given a four-month suspended sentence after being caught driving while banned. Refusing to stop for police, he sped off and crashed into a stationary car and street car.

Paul, who is also a Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesman said: "This man has caused serious suffering, both for the boy who was paralyzed and the lollipop lady who was left with broken cheekbones, jaw, pelvis and arm, and their families. It is clear by the way he is happy to jump back in the driving seat that he has no understanding of the misery he  is responsible for.

"It beggars belief that a man who has repeatedly committed such serious driving offences and has consistently flouted his driving bans is allowed to walk free from the magistrate's court. What is to stop him committing this crime again? How are the public to be protected? I am just not convinced that the Government is on top of this problem."

The Road Safety Bill currently going through Parliament introduces a variety of road safety measures. It creates new offences of causing death by careless driving and when driving while unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured.

Paul said: "The new Road Safety Bill gives us an opportunity to reduce deaths and accidents on our roads, but we need more ambition from the Government. For example, the Government is refusing to reduce the legal blood alcohol level to 50mg even though it estimated that it would save 65 lives a year. And just last week the Road Safety Minister said that he had absolutely no plans the introduce the 'Vision Zero' scheme that is now saving lives in several European countries.

"It is ridiculous that sentencing does not reflect the seriousness of some driving offences. People who get behind a wheel without a driving license or insurance, or when they are banned, know full well what they are doing. When they are caught they should expect a serious punishment. At the very least, those who continue to flout the law like Sajid Hussein should be put behind bars to protect people on our roads. Magistrates must be made to understand how angry the public are when criminals are allowed to get away with it time and time again.

"Above all else, we need to make sure that the Government's plans work in the real world. The Government is always keen to create new laws and new offences, but they don't always have the desired effect. If judges won't use the laws and sentence accordingly, then we will be in exactly the same situation we are in now."