Drink driver Beth Mackie only gets 5 years

[classic33]

So you've shopped him?

More than once. And more than once he's just laughed at the sentence handed to him by the court.

 

[oldstrath]

I suppose it really comes down to whether you believe that loss of liberty should be a punishment or a safety measure to protect society. In the cases of violence or the threat of violence I can see the need for prison. Beyond that I can only really see a desire for revenge with some very weak claims around rehabilitation draped over the top.

Deterrence?

 

[oldstrath]

I suppose it really comes down to whether you believe that loss of liberty should be a punishment or a safety measure to protect society. In the cases of violence or the threat of violence I can see the need for prison. Beyond that I can only really see a desire for revenge with some very weak claims around rehabilitation draped over the top.

Deterrence?

 

[MacB]

Deterrence?

a lifetime driving ban, community service and fines can act as a deterrent to others in as much as a deterrent would ever influence a young, silly and drunk person in the heat of the moment.

As a society we spend an awful lot of money processing and 'deterring' offenders only for the next generation to make the same sort of errors.

 

[Turbo Rider]

a lifetime driving ban, community service and fines can act as a deterrent to others in as much as a deterrent would ever influence a young, silly and drunk person in the heat of the moment.

As a society we spend an awful lot of money processing and 'deterring' offenders only for the next generation to make the same sort of errors.

As a society, we also encourage everyone to get as drunk as they can, so the messages are mixed up all over the place. IMO, the voice of society sounds something like:

"Don't drink and drive. If you do drive and then drink then don't drive, but only if you've had more than a certain amount of mg of alcohol and if you've had nearly that amount already (which you probably don't know) then you should have a tiny bit more, just so you hit the mark and if you go over the limit, but only slightly, and you happen to be going my way then drop us off, would you? Seriously, you'll be fine...I wouldn't let you drive if I thought (hic) you'd get in trouble (hic)."

Even garages...places that you usually drive to...sell alcohol...umm.

 

[oldstrath]

a lifetime driving ban, community service and fines can act as a deterrent to others in as much as a deterrent would ever influence a young, silly and drunk person in the heat of the moment.

As a society we spend an awful lot of money processing and 'deterring' offenders only for the next generation to make the same sort of errors.

Lifetime driving licence revocation appears to be unenforceable, fines are only enforced if the offender is wealthy enough, and community service appears to be treated as a joke. I'll freely admit to believing that the issue of driving after alcohol can and should be fixed by technology, but calling her behaviour an error understates how serious it was, IMO. To be blunt, I cannot understand how anyone without serious mental health issues can do what she did - getting drunk is one thing, but then driving? How can anyone not know this is dangerous?

Edit: I've just spotted this
http://www.theguardian.com/politics...-drive-laws-saved-lives-msps-vote-legal-limit
heap of shite from the assistant editor of the Guardian. Apparently being a brainless toerag about alcohol and driving is not confined to 18 year olds.

 

[glenn forger]

What an utterly stupid article, as many commentators point out.

 

[LinchPin]

How many do you get before what?

Has anyone on here actually never made a bad judgement, sober or drunk? This young woman made a series of very poor decisions and she killed someone. She should at least never be allowed to drive a car again. The prison sentence I'm not so sure about.

You make it sound like a freak event as if it's the first time this woman had drunk and driven. ... and No I can't prove she has before.

 

[LinchPin]

It might sound like that to you, but I didn't say that. Does it matter?

I think it's fair to have the attitude of "There but for the grace of God go I" and if it was one momentary lapse of judgement then maybe 'cut her some slack' but it would seem that she made a series of momentary lapses.

 

[LinchPin]

I don't

In general or in this particular case ?

 

[StuartG]

I look forward to Michael White's next article calling for the unchaining of our airline pilots who suffer an even more draconian limit than the Scots even under the Holyrood jackboot. How could any reasonable passenger begrudge their captain three glasses of wine before take-off? Indeed wouldn't a Guinness or two extra make them even more relaxed? It's not as though they have to look out for other planes with all those air traffic controllers and proximity warning radars. Driving can be more demanding of one's concentration so if Michael says its all right it must be so - mustn't it?

Cretin.

 

[ufkacbln]

Its the 5 years thats I am disturbed with.

Sadly alcohol, good crowd, great fun leads to impaired judgement. Sadly she must had idiots as friends as I know that the mob I am with will not allow a mate to drive off in this manner.

A salutary tale of a guy in the Navy who had a few beers the night before his release, and the session extended. His mates then took his car keys and put him in a taxi to HMS Nelson

He however stopped the taxi once out of sight, came back, got his spare car keys and drove off, driving into a wall a few miles later

Breathalysed and found guilty he was disciplined by the Royal Navy by being broken back to the "Able Rate"

Effectively that cut his retirement settlement and pension by about 30%

It does however show that even when friends have the best intentions the "need to drive" often outweighs this common sense

 

[Wobblers]

How many do you get before what?

Has anyone on here actually never made a bad judgement, sober or drunk? This young woman made a series of very poor decisions and she killed someone. She should at least never be allowed to drive a car again. The prison sentence I'm not so sure about.

Yes, I doubt there will be a single person reading this who hasn't made a bad judgement. I think it also fair to say that it's good odds that no one reading this will have killed someone as a result of a bad decision. But for me it's not the poor judgement of driving whilst pissed. It's that she drove away leaving her vixtim to die in the road without even bothering to check. That's not "bad judgement". That's the actions of scum (the swear filter won't let me say what I really think). She deserves every single day of that sentence, and more.

At the moment, leaving the scene of an accident appears to have few bad consequences. The eventual punishment is rarely significantly increased. Yet the culprit may not be caught, or at worst it will no longer be possible to prove that they were over the limit. So it's possible to do what could be termed as "punishment arbitrage" - reduce your chances of getting caught or convicted for drink driving with no meaningful downside. The only way to prevent that is to make sure all hit and run crimes carry harsh penalties - if the penalties for leaving the scene were greater than for causing the "accident", then we might see fewer hit and runs.

 

[ufkacbln]

Don't forget that judicial penalties are not only about punishing the individual, but also a deterrent for others

 

[Firestorm]

I hope the "mate" who persuaded her to give him a lift is now looking for a new group of friends too. What twunt asks someone, who has already decided not to drive , to give them a lift ? I know she should not have driven and she deserves all she get, but for a mate to be that feckin selfish....jeez