"The head of the Prison Service has said that too many motorists are being jailed for driving offences."
Full ITV report below
www.itv.com/news/858991.html
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Too many?
I recon too few. I would jail automaticly all the drink drivers and those who kill.
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I understand the emotive issues with drink driving and, arguably, there is simply no excuse for getting in a car after having even one drink. However, I would feel happier if some objective test of your fitness to drive could be established rather than a simple blood alcohol level as I believe peoples bodies/faculties must react in greater or lesser degrees.
I think there have been tests (eg 5th Gear) which show that tiredness has a much greater effect on your driving ability than a moderate amount of alcohol. Should we jail all drivers who haven't had at least 8hrs sleep in the last 24?
BTW, just to be clear - I do not condone drink driving at all.
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It would be nice to know why these drivers are being locked up, rather than just getting a blanket "we have to many motorists in jail" wine from the prison services.
If they are all drink drivers who have killed someone then the place they deserve to be is prison (in my opinion). However if we are locking up old ladies for driving 3 miles over the speed limit then I could see their point.
of the arguments posed so far (by the prison/probation/police etc) I have no way of knowing which is true.
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We used to have a more direct test of driving ability - walking the line. It won't be as real a test as a simulator, but it must be more valid than the breathalyzer in allowing for individual tolerances. But I suppose it doesn't really measure impaired judgment.
And the prison question - aren't they running out of space?
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Hk, At a guess, I would say that most of the jailed offenders are persistent offenders.
It might make headline news that a 'motorist' is jailed for having no insurance etc. But the headlines don't reveal that the same person might have quite a few similar offences recorded against them , and probably owe unpaid fines as well. Apart from jail, what can be done with them?
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Personally I do not believe the issue of how offfenders should be dealt lies within the remit of Mr Narey. His role at present is simply to receive prisoners from the courts and administer the rules as laid down by Parliament. He is likely to be wearing two hats in the future when the Prison and Probation services are merged. Not quite sure how this will work as conflicts of opinion between these services can occur.
However anyone who has suffered through accidents caused by criminals driving cars would hardly describe them as minor.
Sentencing them to community service or probation is giving the wrong signals to these people.
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I heard this on the news at midnight on radio 2, and they only mentioned speeding drivers, which is why i have posted in the speeding thread. doh! trust the bbc to not give the full story, again, as they did last week by saying that speeding drivers would face a £5 levy, without mentioning the non-speeding offences that would also attract a £5 fine.
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No. Jail more!
How many times have we seen chases on the TV were someone has stolen a car driven recklessly etc only to crash into someone else be found to be drunk and recieve a 6 month sentance (and be out on parole in 3). We may feel that sometimes the 'normal' driver is penalised too much but I for one feel that the 'bad' driver is not punished enough.
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Well I'm sure there are many in positions of power who'd like to see fewer motorists jailed if only because if they're in jail they won't be generating any more fines.
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I would think that those in jail wouldn't pay a fine anyway.
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