Killer drivers are being sentenced to just over five years in jail on average – with many set to walk free after serving just half their term.
In another indictment of ‘soft justice’ Britain, analysis of Ministry of Justice data shows the average sentence last year for causing death by dangerous driving was five years and three months – against almost nine years for manslaughter.
Just over half of convicted drivers were sentenced to less than five years in jail.
The government is now facing growing pressure to honour a promise it made almost two years ago to introduce life sentences for the offence to bring it in line with manslaughter.
This has been spearheaded by Glenn and Rebecca Youens, the parents of a four-year-old Violet-Grace, who was mowed down by a hit-and-run driver.
In another indictment of ‘soft justice’ Britain, analysis of Ministry of Justice data shows the average sentence last year for causing death by dangerous driving was five years and three months – against almost nine years for manslaughter (file image)
Their petition, signed by more than 166,000 people so far, sparked a debate in Parliament this week during which MPs made impassioned pleas to change the law as quickly as possible.
The government has said it still intends to do so but has been hamstrung by the Parliamentary timetable which has been dominated by Brexit.
But Mr Youens, who said he and his wife Becca are haunted by the prospect of the driver who killed his daughter serving less time in jail than his daughter lived, told the Mail: ‘This is no excuse. There needs to be proper deterrent to stop more people from being killed.
‘It’s true there is Brexit going on but this is no excuse for not changing the law.’
Last night the AA’s president Edmund King also accused the government of ‘dragging its heels’ and said causing death by dangerous driving ‘is as serious as it gets’.
He said it was wrong that dangerous drivers are routinely being given ‘softer sentences’ than those guilty of manslaughter.
Mr King added: ‘Those who kill innocent people while behind the wheel should feel the strength of the law in full. In October 2017, the Government rightly said that the maximum sentence should be raised to life imprisonment, but it has dragged its heels and blamed a lack of parliamentary time for its inaction so far.’
Just three out of 155 people convicted last year for causing death by dangerous driving were sentenced to ten years in jail or more, while 79 were jailed for less than five years, and nine received a suspended sentence.
The average sentence for those convicted of robbery is just a year shorter, at a little over four years.
Typically criminals serve half their sentence meaning those convicted of causing death by dangerous driving can on average expect to be out of jail in well under three years.
Drivers who plead guilty and demonstrate good behaviour in prison can be released even sooner.
The government vowed in October 2017 to increase the maximum jail sentence for the offence from 14 years to life.
It also said it would do the same for the separate offence of causing death by careless driving under the influence of drink or drugs.
AA chief Edmund King accused the Government of ‘dragging its heels’ and added: ‘Those who kill innocent people while at the wheel should feel the full strength of the law’
The former prisons minister Rory Stewart described causing death by dangerous driving as ‘indistinguishable in effect from manslaughter’, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
But the two crimes are dealt with very differently in the courts.
Of the 179 people convicted of manslaughter last year, just one received a suspended sentence.
No life sentences were handed out but 50 people were given a term of more than ten years.
The pressure on government to change the law is now being spearheaded by Mr and Mrs Youens. Their petition is calling for the offence of causing death by dangerous driving to carry a maximum life sentence – and a minimum of 15 years.
Their daughter Violet-Grace was killed by a stolen car travelling at 83mph in a 30mph zone in St Helens, Merseyside.
The car had false number plates and had also ran through two red lights.
Violet’s grandmother Angela French, who was carrying her across the road, has been consigned to a wheelchair since the crash in March 2017.
The driver, Aidan McAteer, 23, fled the scene – leaving his two victims lying in the road.
He caught a flight to Amsterdam, later telling the court he wanted to ‘clear his head and smoke some weed’. He returned six days later to be arrested and was jailed for nine years and four months.
His passenger Dean Brennan, who also fled, was sentenced to six years and eight months.
Both men’s sentences were increased when they were caught posting bragging messages on social media using mobile phones that had been smuggled into prison.
Mr Youens, 32, said: ‘Nothing will ever bring Violet back or make us feel better. But two years after our daughter was killed we have to think about the man who killed her walking out of prison. We should be concentrating on rebuilding our shattered lives.
‘Our second born son Oliver is now almost the same age as Violet was when she died. How are we meant to teach him about right and wrong when you can kill someone by driving dangerously and just serve a few years in jail?’
During a Parliamentary debate earlier this week, several MPs highlighted tragic cases where constituents had been killed by drivers who had escaped with short jail terms.
Colleen Fletcher, Labour MP for Coventry North East said: ‘While it is true that no sentence can alleviate the anguish caused by the loss of a loved one in such horrendous circumstances, a lenient one can and does add to the family’s pain.’
