Drivers' Group Victory over rookie MP's imprisonment Bill

Oct. 7, 2011 - PRLog -- Drivers' Protest Union is claiming a victory over Rookie MP Karl Turner's ill conceived Bill to imprison drivers for seven years for dangerous driving on the mere perception of inexpert and hostile witnesses. The Bill was due for its second reading on October the 28th.

The D.P.U. claim to be the only drivers group to Challenge Turner's Bill publicly but also actively briefing MPs and Ministers behind the scenes too.

'Today's announcement by Justice Minister Kenneth Clarke to limit a sentence to five years but based purely on serious injury effectively kicks Turner's Bill into the long grass and vindicates our case against it' Says Keith Peat the President of D.P.U. 'I wonder if Turner will now apologise and retract his rudeness to us and about us in the media?' Asks Keith who also wonders 'how long it will be before it sinks in that his Bill is lost and it should be withdrawn?'  

'We still deplore the use of emotion in Parliament by citing cases that do not apply to a Bill as Turner did and for which we complained to other MPs and the Speaker. But even the case cited by Mr Clarke is misleading since that driver was doing 70 MPH in a 30 MPH limit and so wasn't an accident in our view.' Say D.P.U.

'We have a very serious issue with using the severity of an injury to determine sentence' They say. They go on: 'There can be serious crushing injury at five MPH too where, for exactly the same incident but without human flesh intermingling, the outcome is just bent metal where the police don't turn up. There will be accidents when humans mingle with heavy moving machinery and mistakes are human. What we cannot do is to jail people for making a bad mistake. We hope the courts will not just accept the perceptions of inexpert and hostile witnesses as to whether or not it was a pure accident when considering sentences.' Say the D.P.U.

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The Drivers' Protest Union (D.P.U.) A road safety and driving group who's aims are to promote genuine and effective road safety, protect the driver from exploitation, unfair or unnecessary prosecution, unfair taxation and unnecessary speed restriction.