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Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen is supporting a mother’s campaign for lifelong driving bans for drink or drug drivers who claim lives.
Shalorna Warner’s eight-month-old son Zackary Blades and sister Karlene Warner, 30, were killed when speeding drunk driver Darryl Anderson, 38, crashed into the car she was driving on the A1 (M) in County Durham on May 31.
Anderson, from Rotherham, who had a previous conviction for drink driving, was taking a picture of himself driving at more than 140mph. He was jailed for 17 years for causing their deaths by dangerous driving and banned from driving for 21 years - but campaigners say the punishment does not go far enough to protect future road users.
Ms Warner has now launched a petition to change the law so anyone convicted of causing death by dangerous driving in the future will face a mandatory lifelong driving ban. She hopes to secure 100,000 signatures to enable the issue to be discussed in Parliament.
County Durham and Darlington PCC Joy Allen, who is the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) Joint Lead on Road Safety, held a meeting with Ms Warner and her partner Jack Blades. The PCC has promised to do everything possible to support the campaign and raise the issue nationally.
The PCC herself has campaigned rigorously for tougher action on drink and drug driving, recently speaking at a national conference by the British Medical Association (BMA) to urgently lower the drink drive limit.
Commissioner Allen said: “Drink or drug driving is a selfish and inexcusable act. It is vital our justice system sufficiently punishes those who recklessly gamble with people’s lives and cause these devastating tragedies to prevent them from harming other innocent people in the future.
“Ms Warner has suffered the most unimaginable grief and loss. I cannot put into words how courageous and inspirational she is to take this pain and apply it positively to secure vital changes that will prevent others from enduring the same heartache.
“I will be fully supporting her efforts to highlight this issue at the highest level of government. Drug and drink driving are crimes against us all and together we must stand strong and act to avoid further unnecessary deaths.
“These issues are new priorities in my road safety work, and I will be going to great lengths to ensure our forces have the resources and technology they need to police our roads effectively. Equally, I will ensure the criminal justice system treats these appalling cases with the severity they deserve.”
You can support the campaign by signing the petition- Petition · Implement Mandatory Lifelong Driving Bans for Deaths Caused by Dangerous Driving - United Kingdom · Change.org
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