Clause 24 - Penalty points

Part of Road Safety Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 10:15 am on 1 February 2005.

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Photo of David Kidney David Kidney Labour, Stafford 10:15, 1 February 2005

I hope that the Minister can help me about the statutory basis. I am not aware that there is any beyond the fact that the police have discretion over whether to take cases to court. At present, in cases of careless driving, police forces sometimes offer the offender the opportunity—instead of going to court and facing a fine and penalty points—to pay to go on a training course and undertake rehabilitation and education at his or her expense. Driver improvement courses are subject to some kind of national guidance by police forces and there are registered driver trainers used under contract. I do not think they are available everywhere, but most places now offer them.

I want to raise the issue of how the new statutory provisions interact with the existing courses and the basis on which people will be offered courses. Driver improvement courses can be offered to anybody who is facing a careless driving offence. It might be their first offence, or their second or third. Under the clause, it is a precondition that the person must have at least seven points already on their driving licence before the court can direct that instead of a conviction, penalty points and a fine, they should undertake one of the courses. I question the logic of that. Should it not be first offenders who are offered the opportunity of rehabilitation and education and who are able to undertake courses instead of being prosecuted, rather than those who are at a stage where their licence is at risk? With seven points they would be getting close to disqualification.

For example, take a persistent speeder. To get at least seven points on their licence under the current law, they would need to have been caught speeding three times. In that case, they would have nine points on their licence. They could not get seven, because it is three points each time. So, when that person comes into court for the fourth time, they will have at least seven points on their licence. If they are convicted for a fourth time, they will get three more points. If all the offences have occurred within three years, they will be disqualified under the totting-up procedure.

The Bill offers an opportunity to avoid the penalty prescribed by law in relation to disqualification, rather than an opportunity to educate someone who has erred. I just wonder whether, as a matter of public policy, we would prefer to offer the education at the beginning, rather than giving people the chance to buy off disqualification because they are persistent offenders. That is why I ask about interaction and about why we offer the courses under those conditions rather than the conditions I mentioned.

Driver improvement courses and speed awareness courses are being offered on a discretionary and voluntary basis to first offenders at the moment. Must that stop if we pass this law, or can the courses continue to exist side by side with the law? If we say, ''No, courses will be offered only on the statutory basis in the future,'' I am concerned that we will prevent people from undergoing education and rehabilitation at the beginning, as they can at the moment in some parts of the country. I hope that the Minister can answer my questions.

I raised those issues for obvious reasons. The significance of widespread opportunities for rehabilitation and education is that they could be an extremely valuable tool in reducing future casualties on our roads, as long as we get the model right in   relation both to the conditions in which the courts make directions and offer courses to offender, and to the content of the course.

In the RAC Foundation briefing to Members for Second Reading, there was a comment about the variable quality of the courses at present. In that respect, the Bill will make a big improvement. The other thing is public acceptability; whether those who are not offenders think that people are dodging the law by undertaking the courses or genuinely contributing to improving road safety, which benefits us all. That is why I raised these issues with the Minister, and I hope that he can explain and justify what is proposed.