Father criticises drive-law changes
A father whose teenage daughter died in a car crash thinks that changes in the law on careless driving that came into force on Monday are not tough enough.
Jody Smith (17) died when the car she was travelling in crashed into a tree on the A151 at Whaplode, Lincolnshire, in January 2007.
The driver of the car, Samuel Curson (19) was convicted of careless driving at Lincoln Crown Court and was fined £1,000 and banned from driving for a year.
At the time the maximum sentence was a £2,500 fine, penalty points on a licence or a driving ban.
The change in the law that came into force this week means that drivers who kill someone as a result of careless driving could face up to five years in prison.
Jody’s father, Mr Leigh Smith (49) of Charles Street, Newark, believes that a minimum prison sentence should be imposed on drivers who cause death by careless driving.
He said: “If it is found you are at fault with driving and you take a life you should go to prison for two or three years as a minimum sentence, not a maximum.
“I think judges will be very loathe to give a prison sentence for careless driving because of the over-crowding in prisons at the moment.
“It is a step in the right direction and it might help some families who have been through what we’ve been through, but I do think if you take a life through careless driving you should know you are going to prison.”
Before her death, Jody, a former pupil of The Grove School, Balderton, moved to live in Holbeach with her mother, Mrs Dawn Smith.
Jodie was studying for an NVQ in sports science at Peterborough College.
Mr Smith said: “The boy who killed my daughter had his licence taken away, but he’ll get that back in a year’s time.
“We have a life sentence of not having Jody with us.”
Under the new laws, drivers who cause death by driving while uninsured, unlicensed or disqualified could face a maximum sentence of two years in gaol.
Causing death by dangerous driving carries a maximum sentence of 14 years.
Mr Smith has a petition calling for tougher sentences for drivers who kill through careless driving.
He plans to take it to Westminster.
Copies are available to sign in Newark at the Castle and Falcon, London Road, the Horse and Gears, Portland Street, and Baldertongate Post Office.