My Lords, I welcome the support for the government amendment. I know that there is a strong appetite to go even further among noble Lords in reforming road traffic offences. Amendments 63, 64, 65 and 66A are directed to this end. I am pleased that many noble Lords who contributed to this debate were able to discuss these issues with my noble friend Lady Vere, as the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, said.
Amendment 63 seeks to introduce a definition for the term “exceptional hardship”, which applies in the context of a court’s decision on whether to impose a driving ban. I am most grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, for his good analysis of it, and the implications that it might have. We agree that drivers who display poor driving behaviours and reach 12 points should receive an automatic ban to protect themselves and other road users. However, sentencing decisions are properly a matter for our independent courts, based on the facts of the case before them. They have discretion over the length of a driving disqualification to ensure that it is right for the offence and offender before them and, if they are satisfied, they can accept mitigating circumstances justifying a claim of “exceptional hardship”. The noble Lord, Lord Rosser, gave some very good examples of what that might mean to some people.
We do not consider the introduction of a definition of this term to be necessary. The amendment would introduce a narrow definition that would not be able to account for all circumstances presented to the courts, and would remove their freedom to use their experience to reach decisions accordingly.
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I draw noble Lords’ attention to the recent work undertaken by the independent Sentencing Council to update the guidance on totting up disqualifications. It was updated in October last year, following consultation, to provide greater assistance for the courts when considering whether there were grounds to reduce or avoid disqualification due to exceptional hardship. The updated guidance clarifies that the test should be not inconvenience or hardship but exceptional hardship, for which the court must have evidence. The law on the sentencing guidelines makes it clear that if someone is seeking to persuade the court that there are grounds for not disqualifying when 12 or more penalty points have been amassed, the only type of hardship that can be taken into account is exceptional hardship.
The guidance also sets out how such cases are to be approached and includes a number of matters that the court must have regard to when considering such applications, and some matters that the court must not take into account. On the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, I say that sentencing guidelines are a matter for the Sentencing Council, not the Government. The relevant guidelines on disqualification were, as I said, only reviewed in 2020, so it would be right to give them some time to bed in.
Amendment 64 seeks to amend the current offence of failure to stop and report, and to introduce tougher sentencing options for collisions that involve actual or potential serious or fatal injury. I assure noble Lords that the Government are, of course, aware of the traumatic effects of incidents, however rare, related to the death of or serious injury to another person. However, it is not the intention of this offence to punish individuals where there is no evidence to connect their failure to stop with the death or serious harm. It is designed to deal specifically with the behaviour relating to the failure to stop. There are a range of offences where there is evidence that the driver caused harm. These include causing death or serious injury by dangerous or careless driving and, in these cases, the courts can treat the failure to stop as a factor that adds to the overall seriousness of the offending. The law already imposes severe penalties for vehicle offences that lead to death or serious injury but, when doing so, a clear causal link must be proved between the driver’s behaviour and the outcome.
Amendments 65 and 66A place a requirement on the Government to conduct a full review of the road traffic offences. I understand the desire to conduct a review, but we do not think it necessary or appropriate to set this down in legislation. I am not sure that noble Lords were actually suggesting that; I think that they wanted more detail on what was going into the review. My colleagues in the Department for Transport are currently working on a call for evidence on parts of the Road Traffic Act. The Home Office and the Ministry
of Justice, together with the Department of Health and Social Care, will be working with them. Details are still being worked up as to its scope, but I am sure that they are paying close attention to the points raised in this debate. I welcome suggestions on what issues could be tackled. I am sure that my noble friend Lady Vere will want to update noble Lords on the scope and timing of the call for evidence once these are settled. Once the call for evidence is launched, we will recommend submissions from all interested parties, including noble Lords and Members in the other place.
Amendment 66AA relates to railway bridge strikes. I assure the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, that the Government recognise the risk to the travelling public that results from drivers striking and damaging bridges. We view the current offences and penalties with which a driver can be charged in these circumstances as adequate to reflect the seriousness of the offence. These potential offences include dangerous driving, and, where appropriate, drink or drug driving and careless and inconsiderate driving.
Noble Lords will be aware that warning and regulatory signs already exist to indicate low bridges and to ensure that drivers are given information about alternative routes in time to adjust their journeys. That said, a number of noble Lords have talked about insufficient visibility of signage. I will take back that point about prominence. Local authorities are of course responsible for placing traffic signs on their roads, and the DfT provides advice to local authorities on the use of those signs in the Traffic Signs Manual.
I also accept the point about technology. My car beeps away all the time at the different things it sees that I do not. I am sure we are talking about bigger vehicles than my humble car—probably more like lorries—but I will take the point away about technology, because I think it is valid.
Disobeying a regulatory sign indicating a low bridge is already an offence that attracts an endorsable fixed penalty notice and it might lead to the disqualification of the driver. We are satisfied that the existing offences, penalties and routes to claim damages are sufficient, and are not therefore persuaded that it is necessary or appropriate to conduct an inquiry. On the other issues that have been raised, and given the prospect of the DfT-led call for evidence, I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, and the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, will be content not to press their amendments, and to engage in the process and support the Government’s Amendment 58.