THE IRISH ROADS Victim’s Association (IRVA) has called for road traffic deaths to be “treated like other homicides and investigated accordingly unless and until the contrary is proven”.

The Association added that “road crime should be treated like real crime” and that “far too lenient sentences are being handed down by the courts”.

The IRVA provides information and support to those bereaved or injured by road traffic collisions, and works to reduce dangers on Irish roads.

The Association also offers free legal guidance and can in some cases cover the cost of bereavement counselling for those affected by road traffic collisions. 

Currently, there is a maximum two-year prison sentence for causing death or serious bodily harm by careless driving.

An additional fine of up to €10,000 is also possible for those convicted.

Last month, a man was sentenced to 18 months in jail for causing the death of a seven-year-old boy by careless driving. 

34-year-old Carl Scully, of Glenhill Road, Finglas, also had a prior conviction for careless driving causing death.

The judge said that in cases such as this, the measure of a sentence was not a measure of the value of a deceased person’s life but of the accused person’s culpability in the circumstances of the case.

She added that sentencing was not an exercise in vengeance or retaliation by the victim.

A spokesperson for the Irish Road Victim’s Association (IRVA) told The Journal: “With a maximum sentence of 2 years, this ties the hands of the judiciary who must then allow for any mitigating circumstances and reduce this accordingly.

“What we are therefore seeing are far too lenient sentences being handed down by the courts, which don’t reflect the fact that a death or serious life altering injury has been caused.

“Justice is not therefore being seen to be served.”

Dangerous driving charges

Speaking more generally about the issue, the IRVA also said too few cases end in a charge for dangerous driving.

While there is a maximum two year prison sentence or fine of up to €10,000 for those convicted of careless driving causing death or serious bodily harm, the penalty for dangerous driving causing death or serious bodily harm is a fine of up to €20,000 and imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.

“Too often sadly, we are not seeing any prosecutions at all following fatal and serious injury collisions, with very few resulting in a charge of dangerous driving causing death, the only equivalent homicide charge.

“Instead, we see charges being taken for careless driving causing death, or simply careless driving – with no mention of the fact that a death may have been caused.”

Justice Minister Helen McEntee last month said a “body of work has already been done” around the issue of sentencing.

However, speaking to The Journal last week, Minister McEntee said sentencing around deaths caused by dangerous driving is “not part of any review at the moment”.

McEntee added: “But I think when it comes to any issue, be it road safety or otherwise, we need to make sure that our laws are as strong as they can be, but also that they act as a deterrent.

“So I would say that nothing is off the table when it comes to all of us working collectively to achieve that target of zero road deaths by 2050.”

In its statement to The Journal, the IRVA said “it’s vital all road deaths are thoroughly investigated, and prosecuted where necessary”.

It added that there “we must have regular reports on the outcomes of police investigations, something sadly lacking at the moment”.

The IRVA said the current situation is “leaving bereaved families devastated, and indeed retraumatised, by their dealings with the justice system”.

“What message is being sent out to dangerous drivers? Even when the worst happens and you kill or seriously injure somebody, there isn’t an effective deterrent.

“This must change if we are serious about saving lives and preventing needless injury on our roads.

“The lack of effective deterrents, rigorous enforcement, and sentencing to fit the crime committed of taking a life, or affecting the quality of a life, is sadly evident in the ever-rising road death statistics.”

As of yesterday morning, 172 people had died on Irish roads to date, the most recent being a woman in her 80s who died following a single vehicle collision in Co Longford on Monday.

The number of fatalities on Irish roads so far this year is considerably higher than on the same day last year, when 142 people had died in road traffic collisions to date.

This year’s figure to date is higher still than pre-pandemic figures in 2019, when there were 126 fatalities on Irish roads in the year to 5 December.

-With additional reporting from Christina Finn