Careless drivers could face jail, not just a fine

Chief Inspector Mark Trimmer, from Sussex Road Policing Unit, said the new offence of causing death by careless driving, punishable by up to five years in jail, should be a stark reminder to motorists to drive carefully.

"We welcome any measures that will hopefully bring home to motorists how important it is to drive carefully," he said.

The former Chichester Inspector added: "Although this punishment is now available to the courts we would urge motorists not to be involved in collisions in the first place and definitely be conscious of what is going on around them."

Until now careless driving has only been punishable by a fine of up to 5,000 and penalty points, whatever the consequences.

But now for the first time who kill due to losing concentration by sending or receiving a text message, fiddling with sat nav systems, eating, drinking, putting on make-up or glancing at a map for example, face jail.

Between April, 2007 and March this year, 64 people were killed and 926 seriously injured on Sussex roads, and since April, 36 have lost their lives and a further 364 have suffered serious injuries.

Alongside careless drivers, the new laws will also penalise uninsured, disqualified and unlicensed motorists who kill.

Road safety minister Jim Fitzpatrick said: "Under the Road Safety Act we have already brought in tougher penalties for drivers who use hand-held mobile phones at the wheel and the introduction of these new offences is the latest step to tackle bad driving and further improve safety on our roads."

Historically, to the distress of many victims' families, fatal crashes caused by careless driving have tended to result in penalties no more severe than a fine.

And only offences where dangerous driving can be applied have carried a possible prison sentence.

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