Petition · past parliament

Driver receives maximum sentence of 14 years per person that has been killed.

Closed 102,170 signatures

Government response · 5 September 2014

As this e-petition has received more than 10 000 signatures, the relevant Government department have provided the following response:

The Government offers its sincere condolences to the family of Mr Kris Jarvis and Mr John Morland and is committed to keeping our roads safe.

Sentencing in individual cases is always a matter for the courts, which are independent from government. When deciding what sentence to impose the courts take into account all the circumstances of the offence and any mitigating and aggravating factors, in line with statute and the sentencing guidelines. The court is required by statute to take previous convictions, where relevant, into account. Where there is more than one victim, this will be taken into account and will clearly aggravate the seriousness of the offence.

We want to ensure that maximum penalties for driving offences reflect the seriousness and culpability of offending behaviour. We recognise that there are a number of issues relating to driving that are of concern to the public; this is why a review of driving offences and penalties has been announced to ensure that the options available to the courts are proportionate and reflect the seriousness of the offences committed.

This e-petition remains open to signatures and will be considered for debate by the Backbench Business Committee should it pass the 100 000 signature threshold

Timeline

24 Jul 2014 Petition opened for signatures
5 Aug 2014 Passed 10,000 signatures, requiring a government response
5 Sep 2014 Government responded
23 Nov 2014 Passed 100,000 signatures, qualifying for a parliamentary debate
30 Mar 2015 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 102,170
Status Closed
Opened 24 Jul 2014
Closed 30 Mar 2015
Response 5 Sep 2014

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.