Road Safety Bill [HL]

The noble Baroness makes an important point when she refers to a case of such seriousness. The courts have ruled that the seriousness of injuries as a consequence of accidents may be taken into account when sentencing. Therefore, by definition, that places the judgments beyond the magistrates’ court. I can assure the noble Earl, Lord Dundee, that we share with him entirely the anxiety he has expressed and the public concern about the question of penalties for careless driving which leads to serious injury or fatalities. We intend to act. The noble Earl indicated, and the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, reinforced the point, that we are involved in a consultation paper. We indicated that there may be a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment for the offence and invited comments. The consultation period has only just finished. We are looking at the results of the consultation and we intend to act. I can assure the noble Earl that the case he has put today is accepted by the Government and that we shall give serious consideration to this issue. We recognise that the public are greatly exercised about it. We intend to act and we will be acting shortly.