Intoxicated, drunk behind the wheel of a tractor on a private land a 52 year old man was convicted of causing the death of a young child.
It is said that the tractor driver consumed the equivalent to 13 pints of beer the night before the tragic fatal accident claim.
It is claimed that The Times Newspaper that the tractor driver could not be prosecuted for the boy’s death because the tragic fatal accident happened on private land due to a legal loop hole.
Criminal System Let Down By The Family?
Causing death by dangerous driving or causing death by careless driving or under the influence of drink and drugs on a public road can bring about the maximum sentence of up to 14 years imprisonment. However such a penalty is for motorised propelled vehicles like motorcars, motorbikes, trackers are where the fatal accident claim is on a public road.
Here the unfortunate and tragic fatal accident occurred on private land and thus not covered under the maximum penalty of the criminal legal system.
The criminal legal system would let down families whose loved one has been killed in such tragic circumstances. The law has not been updated for many years. Someone who is killed by a motor vehicle on a public or private road must face the same penalty and the full force of the law.
What about the Civil Courts, will they be of any use to families who have loss a loved one in similar circumstances.
As it stands, it is the view of the fatal accident solicitors that whilst compensation will be payable to the family left behind it is a paltry sum. A parent(s) may be able to obtain a bereavement award and the return of the funeral expenses and the cost of a headstone.
Such awards frankly are an insult. Like the criminal legal system the law has not been changed for many years.
