Clause 19 - Careless, and inconsiderate, driving
Road Safety Bill
10:00 am
Mr Christopher Chope (Shadow Minister, Environment and Transport; Christchurch, Conservative)
If the hon. Gentleman is seeking to put clear blue water between me and my hon. Friend the Member for Beaconsfield, he will certainly not succeed. My hon. Friend is a highly respected member of the Bar and what he says on a range of criminal justice issues is listened to with great care. He is not suggesting that we should erode the distinction between causing death by dangerous driving and the maximum penalty for dangerous driving. I have not discussed with him whether there should be a similar distinction between the maximum penalty for causing death by careless driving and that for straightforward careless driving. I will draw his attention to the debate we are having, which is certainly useful.
The hon. Gentleman has accepted, by inference, that there is already scope within the law for having different maximum penalties which relate to the consequences of unlawful behaviour. In principle, if we go down the road of careless driving resulting in death—the issue of causation might be buried there—it would not be wholly without precedent.
The Minister commented on the casualties as a result of blue lights. It was not the Sunday Express but today's Daily Express which says that the annual death toll for civilians involved in crashes with police cars has risen from the figure the Minister gave for 2001-02—he said it was 24, while the Daily Express says 23—and that last year that figure rose to 30. Also, the number of people injured almost doubled, from 615 in 2003 to 1,181.
Clearly, there is a major and worsening problem there. That is the concern being expressed and there is a desire to ensure that the Home Office's attitude to this area of law is not unduly influenced by the police's seeming involvement in an increasing number of fatal collisions—and not always in responding to 999 calls. In the last year, the number of police car accidents was 20,221, but those involving 999 calls was only 5,940. Therefore, three quarters of police accidents did not involve 999 calls. Clearly, as the Minister has accepted, the standard of police driving is not as universally good as some people, certainly myself, would wish.
We have opened up a good debate and in the light of what has been said I will not press my amendment to a vote now. We will reserve our judgment on whether to come back on Report after listening to the new clause 4 debate. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Clause 19 ordered to stand part of the Bill.