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Woolf calls for prison
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• The Lord Chief Justice has issued new guidelines recommending that motorists who cause deaths by dangerous driving should routinely be given jail sentences.
In the most serious cases, he suggests offenders receive a prison sentence of at least six years; in the least serious cases, he recommends a year to 18 months. Aggravating factors, including alcohol, using mobile phones and falling asleep at the wheel, should command a two to three-year sentence, he says.
Lord Woolf told the appeal court that it was vital to "drive home the message that dangerous driving has a potentially horrific impact".
But he warned that mitigating factors, including good driving records and genuine shock or remorse, should also be taken into account by sentencing judges.
Lord Woolf was dealing with four test cases in response to widespread public concern over sentences passed in road death cases. This included truck driver Ian Stride, who was given a 30-month jail term after being convicted of causing death by dangerous driving last September, when he fell asleep at the wheel of his tanker after only 20 minutes driving.
Stride's sentence was cut to 18 months and his driving ban reduced from five years to three after Woolf said he had been traumatised by the accident and was a man of previous good character.
Responding to the ruling, Mary Williams, chief executive for road safety charity Brake, says: "This sends a clear message to drivers that taking such risks on the road is totally unacceptable." However, she demands the government now increase the maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving to 14 years from its current 10 years.
• christopherlindall*rbi.co.uk