Monday 3 November 2014

Hit and run, justice and a lack of respect



3 November

How often have we all read or heard of reports about hit and run drivers and the problems they cause? I couldn’t possibly remember how many times it’s been in our local papers. Well, yesterday morning it came to roost with Jan and me. Not long after I posted yesterday’s blog, Jan took a phone call from our son Tom. He had been trying to get in touch with us since Friday evening from Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry.

He had been knocked off his bike by a hit and run driver. He’s got a lot of gravel rash on his face, hands, arms, legs and trunk, along with heavy bruising to his ribs, chest and legs. It was clear he was having a lot of difficulty walking when Jan picked him up to bring him here for some dinner. I asked if the police were involved but he said there were no witnesses and he didn’t get the car reg number, so there was no need to involve them. But I would have thought that the hospital would have called them considering what had happened.

Tom is lucky that even though he is hurting and looks a mess with his cabs and so on, he is at least still with us. So many other have been killed by such incidents. This then brings to the penalties for such motoring offences, and yet again we see such light sentences that it makes me wonder why they bother bringing a case at all. In my view anyone found to be responsible to killing another person while driving a motor vehicle should be charged with manslaughter at the very minimum. The tariff for manslaughter in such cases should also be increased with a minimum of 10 years in custody. Causing injury tariffs should also be increased as well.   

Of course a move like that by any government would be opposed strongly by the bleeding heart liberals and human rights lobby. They always forget the human rights of those victims who have been injured or the families of those who have died. It seems to be always the same, no thought or consideration given to victims but bend over backwards to help the offender.
I’ve just sat and watched the BBC News; a 16 year old lad who killed the teacher in April this year, has been sentenced to a minimum 20 years in prison. Is that enough though? By pleading guilty the offender gets credit for doing so, which means that a lighter sentence is handed down. But 20 years for killing someone? Come on folks, it a joke! No wonder there so little respect for the rule of law in this country!

A photo then … 

St Nics in the sun.

I don’t really feel in a funny mood but I’ll post one anyway …

A wealthy guy was going swimming with his wife. As they got farther from the shore his wife suddenly slipped and fell in the water. Unable to save her the man waved his hands desperately hoping that some lifeguard would notice him. Luckily, there was some lifeguard swimming nearby who was able to help. He caught the drowning lady and saved the guys wife. After they were safely ashore, the man gratefully thanked the lifeguard and offered to pay him any price. The lifeguard thought for a moment and said, “how about the amount you would have offered while your wife was still in the water?”

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