Bentley's Law

Dis86

Dis86

Dis86

Caporegime
Joined
23 Dec 2011
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Location
Northern England
This is something which is starting to pass various state legislature in the US and quite frankly I think it's brilliant.

If you, as a drunk driver, kill the parent(s) of a child you are required to pay child support until they're 18/21. Shame we don't have progressive justice like that over here really. I'd obviously extend it to various crimes such as drug driving, dangerous/careless and possibly non-driving related offences. What are peeps thoughts?
 
I'm not opposed to it but I think they've probably got some far more effective changes they could make to avoid so many getting to that point in the first place.

It shouldn't take killing someone before there's finally some robust action taken, they have some people with a shocking number of tickets for dangerous driving and DUIs etc.. and for them it's only a matter of time. It's probably better that they are more ready to impose driving bans and take cars away from people/seriously punish breach of those bans.

For example:
www.nytimes.com

A Way to Slow Down ‘Super-Speeders’ Who Keep Breaking the Law

City and state officials want speed-limiting devices installed in the cars of drivers who get more than 16 speeding tickets in a year, in hopes of preventing injuries and deaths.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
Ms. Thebault and her son were violently knocked to the ground, video of the incident showed. Both survived, but she is suing the driver, Inson Dubois Wood, charging that he was negligent and repeatedly drove recklessly.
Mr. Wood had more than 180 speeding, red light and other traffic violations at the time, for which he had paid $20,000 in fines. But he continued to rack up traffic tickets even after the crash, according to the complaint and a review of his license plate.
For colliding with Ms. Thebault, he was penalized with a maximum $250 ticket for “failure to yield,” according to a police filing. Mr. Wood did not respond to requests for comment.
Click to expand...

So the suggestion in that article is to fit speed limited devices in the cars of drivers who rack up more than 16 speeding tickets in a year... that's the mentality they're dealing with on their roads, getting caught for 16 speeding offences in a year is an insane number but clearly there are people out there who aren't otherwise deterred.
 
adidan said:
Sounds like a good idea, although I'm trying to understand how practically it would work if the offender doesn't have savings and is in prison so isn't earning.
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Its paid from 1 year after release.
 
As touched on the problem is enforcement.

Several incidents around where I live have been caused by people without a valid license or driving while banned, etc.
 
Dis86 said:
Its paid from 1 year after release.
Click to expand...
Ah ha. Wonder what employment opportunities are out there for newly released drunk drive killers.

Presumably much of the childhood the offender will be locked up. Not sure what it's like over there but you can get life here, which is only right.
 
Dis86 said:
This is something which is starting to pass various state legislature in the US and quite frankly I think it's brilliant.

If you, as a drunk driver, kill the parent(s) of a child you are required to pay child support until they're 18/21. Shame we don't have progressive justice like that over here really. I'd obviously extend it to various crimes such as drug driving, dangerous/careless and possibly non-driving related offences. What are peeps thoughts?
Click to expand...

I think it's an absolute no brainer. I guess the tension will be how much they offer for child support.
 
adidan said:
Ah ha. Wonder what employment opportunities are out there for newly released drunk drive killers.

Presumably much of the childhood the offender will be locked up. Not sure what it's like over there but you can get life here, which is only right.
Click to expand...

Sentences are pathetic. There was a guy where I used to live killed 2 and was out of prison in a year.

 
Dis86 said:
Sentences are pathetic. There was a guy where I used to live killed 2 and was out of prison in a year.

Click to expand...
I do wonder at how they come to the length served for various cases. Some seem to harsh and some seem pathetic for like, as you linked, two years for killing two.

AFAIK they are looking at increasing sentences for dangerous driving, perhaps death by dangerous driving should come with a high minimum unless there are extreme mitigating circumstances.
 
concentrate on prevention. - start a lower/zero alcohol law for driving, along with these sedative low alcohol spirits, plus, up the fines. -
(but the hospitality industry lobbying is strong)
 
Would have helped my dad massively after his dad was killed by a drunk driver. As it was back in the 1970`s UK the driver mostly got away with it
 
jpaul said:
concentrate on prevention. - start a lower/zero alcohol law for driving, along with these sedative low alcohol spirits, plus, up the fines. -
(but the hospitality industry lobbying is strong)
Click to expand...
Personally, if I'm driving I don't touch a drop. That's just my choice.

It's also something many don't think about, that they may go to bed and wake up but if they had a big night out they could still be over the limit.
 
IMO rather than it being a lottery on the finances of the person who kills the parents we should just load all criminals payments into victims of crime a smidge more
The victim of crime payments exist in this scenario but its a bit pitiful, £2k a year and its not guaranteed.

Of course the kids may inherit an estate from the parents and may be very well off financially on turning 18
Nothing can replace the parents of course but the may end up financially better off than they would have been
 
Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
IMO rather than it being a lottery on the finances of the person who kills the parents we should just load all criminals payments into victims of crime a smidge more
The victim of crime payments exist in this scenario but its a bit pitiful, £2k a year and its not guaranteed.

Of course the kids may inherit an estate from the parents and may be very well off financially on turning 18
Nothing can replace the parents of course but the may end up financially better off than they would have been
Click to expand...

Thats one wild second paragraph. Ey kid, I know its a little sad your parents are dead but look at the bright side, in 12 years time you'll get a bit of coin!
 
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