Overview

• Onward think-tank data shows that last year just 1% of drivers convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and 0.5% of those causing serious injury received lifetime disqualifications.
• Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp argued that current sentencing rules allow killers to resume driving after as little as five years and called for automatic lifetime bans for the worst offenders.
• Conservative calls spotlight cases like Cain Byrne, who received an 11-year, six-month sentence and a 17-year, eight-month driving ban after killing an 81-year-old cyclist, and Alan Moult’s three-year ban for a road rage injury.
• Sentencing Council guidelines mandate minimum driving disqualifications of five years for fatal dangerous driving and two years for serious injury, with prison terms ranging from two to 18 years.
• Despite renewed pressure, there have been no formal changes to Sentencing Council guidance or legislation following Conservative demands.