A MOTHER whose only child died after being in a crash caused by a driver high on drugs has backed new powers that will see killer motorists face life imprisonment.
Janice Ward, from Tillicoultry in Clackmannanshire, has been calling for more to be done to tackle dangerous driving since 2010 when her daughter Rachael’s car was struck head-on by a speeding motorist, driving on the wrong side of the road and racing another car.
Brian Redfearn was high on amphetamines when he killed the 20-year-old and was handed a seven-year prison sentence.
He served less than five, with Mrs Ward insisting he should have been given the current 14-year maximum.
She has now welcomed proposals to increase sentencing powers against those who kill when behind the wheel.
The UK Government has announced plans to pursue legislation which could see drivers face life imprisonment if they are involved in a serious accident.
The tariffs could be applied to motorists who cause fatal crashes by committing offences such as speeding or using a mobile phone while behind the wheel, and causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs.
Road traffic legislation remains a reserved matter and any new law approved by Westminster will take effect north of the Border.
Mrs Ward said: “This is long overdue. You just have to look at the way some people drive, there are lots that should be taken off the road.
“Police still aren’t carrying drug-testing equipment so how could they even know if a driver was on drugs? They’ve been doing it down south for two years now and have caught a good few people that way.
“The person that killed my daughter, he only served four years and eight months and is going around here now. At the time we thought he should have been given the maximum sentence, which is 14 years. “The only way we even found out he was high on drugs was because he was taken to hospital and tested. If he wasn’t taken there then we might never have found out.”
Mrs Ward admits the loss of Rachael continues to haunt the family. She added: “The justice system is all for the criminal; not for the victims.
“It’s too late to help Rachael; but this might save someone else.
“It’s hard knowing your own did nothing wrong. She was so looking forward to being 21 and it was all taken from her.
“She was deprived of her life, and we were deprived of seeing her growing up. Rachael might have kids of her own by now and it’s hard when I meet some of her friends and see they have kids.”
Justice Minister Dominic Raab said: “We’ve taken a long hard look at driving sentences, and we received 9,000 submissions to our consultation. Based on the seriousness of the worst cases, the anguish of the victims’ families, and maximum penalties for other serious offences such as manslaughter, we intend to introduce life sentences of imprisonment for those who wreck lives by driving dangerously, drunk or high on drugs.”
The move was also backed by Lord Duncan, a minister in the Scotland Office, who said: “Dangerous and careless driving remains a real problem in Scotland. Over the past five years alone there have been 166 convictions for causing death by dangerous driving.
“That is why the UK Government is introducing these tougher sentences which will address these senseless crimes that devastate far too many families each year.”
A Scottish Government spokesman added: “These changes will provide courts in Scotland with additional sentencing options, including for the most serious cases of death by dangerous driving.”
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