Race drivers jailed as four die

[MadPict]

Two men who took part in a car race that resulted in the deaths of four teenage girls have each been jailed for eight years at Hull Crown Court.

David Rogerson, 22, and Robert McCartney, 24, raced at over 70mph on a busy Hull street before crashing.

In Rogerson's car were Kimberley Brown, 17, Rachel Thomas, 17, Laura Hill, 16, and his fiancee, Karen Bunting, 18. They were all killed.

Both men earlier admitted four counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/4873508.stm

Jailing the pair, Judge Michael Mettyear said: "This is truly a terrible case.

It is yet another example of young men driving too fast and dangerously.

This is an offence committed almost exclusively by young men."

[Gleber2]

[quote=MadPict]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/4873508.stm

Jailing the pair, Judge Michael Mettyear said: "This is truly a terrible case.

It is yet another example of young men driving too fast and dangerously.



Post about a dead elephant and you get 21 replies. Post about four dead people and you get none. Have we too many people and not enough elephants?

[teuchter]

I know we are now a society of animal lovers but your right, this is getting rediculous. Or does it just show that the people that have been on just dont want to take things to seriously after a wet Monday.

[Gleber2]

I know we are now a society of animal lovers but your right, this is getting rediculous. Or does it just show that the people that have been on just dont want to take things to seriously after a wet Monday.

I never take things too seriously,Tuech, if I didn't laugh about it all, I would probably start crying.

[erli]

Hopefully people that think speeding is 'just harmless fun' will take note.
I have been affected by dangerous driving and lost a member of my family. It was quite a few years now but it is annoying when you get people bragging about the speed they were doing. You never know what could happen when you are going 100mph, what if your tyre burst or an animal ran in front of you or you just lost control. Would that be an excuse for someone loosing their life.
It's just sad. Thanks for posting this Madpict.

[Whitewater]

All the road safety campaigns tell us that speed kills, but do we pay attention???? It is very sad about all the deaths. At least the drivers did get a reasonable jail sentence, not like the hit and run driver who just got 18 months for mowing down a young student and catapulting her 30 yds along the road. (see tonights news)

The trouble with motoring offences that kill, is that there is no specific death related charge for causing death by careless or drunken driving. It seems to be entirely up to the mood of the particular judge who was sitting at the time.

[angela5]

Hopefully people that think speeding is 'just harmless fun' will take note.
I have been affected by dangerous driving and lost a member of my family. It was quite a few years now but it is annoying when you get people bragging about the speed they were doing. You never know what could happen when you are going 100mph, what if your tyre burst or an animal ran in front of you or you just lost control. Would that be an excuse for someone loosing their life.
It's just sad. Thanks for posting this Madpict.

I agree erli it's annoying when people brag about the speed they are doing..only today there was a young guy speeding up henrietta st..makes my blood boil so many young lives are lost through dangerous driving.

[2little2late]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/4873508.stm

Jailing the pair, Judge Michael Mettyear said: "This is truly a terrible case.

It is yet another example of young men driving too fast and dangerously.

This is an offence committed almost exclusively by young men."

I know this stretch of road in Hull very well. It is one of the main routes into Hull and some dual carriageway. A very fast road. More should be done to discourage these morons racing cars and endagering lives. Anyone who causes death or serious injury by reckless driving should be banned from driving for life.

[marion]

The trouble with motoring offences that kill, is that there is no specific death related charge for causing death by careless or drunken driving. It seems to be entirely up to the mood of the particular judge who was sitting at the time.

Speed and alcohol usually go together - it is tragic.

[MadPict]

At least the drivers did get a reasonable jail sentence, not like the hit and run driver who just got 18 months for mowing down a young student and catapulting her 30 yds along the road. (see tonights news)

8 years for killing 4 teenage girls - 2 years per life? And no doubt they will be out in 4 years or less with good behaviour. Then how long until they are driving again? Hopefully the urge to show off will have been 'supressed' by then.

When you get behind the wheel of a car and drive recklessly or under the influence of drink or drugs (as big a problem now) you are in control of a deadly weapon.......

[lassieinfife]

Sad when lives are needlessly lost............ though not so long ago on caithness.org there were posts saying where speed cameras were placed so that drivers doing over the limit would know where to slow down,........ 70mph for a good reason?, personally I think 60mph fast enough given the state of some of Scotland's roads, no matter what the speed limit some drivers seam to think it only applys to other drivers and not them,wonder how they will feel when they knock some poor child down doing 40mph in a 20mph zone?

[fred]

Sad when lives are needlessly lost............ though not so long ago on caithness.org there were posts saying where speed cameras were placed so that drivers doing over the limit would know where to slow down,........ 70mph for a good reason?, personally I think 60mph fast enough given the state of some of Scotland's roads, no matter what the speed limit some drivers seam to think it only applys to other drivers and not them,wonder how they will feel when they knock some poor child down doing 40mph in a 20mph zone?

This was a case of a group of young people who had been out on the town, came out of a nightclub in the early hours of the morning, got into a car even though the driver was over the legal limit and then proceeded to race with another car, for fun presumably. I don't think speed cameras even come into the equation.

Everyone who drives a car has broken the speed limit, everyone does it at one time or another many every day, the MPs who make the laws the police who enforce the laws judges who fine people for speeding even nuns break the speed limit sometimes. The reason people break the speed limit is because, unlike the teenagers in Hull who were speeding specificaly for the thrill and adrenalin rush the obvious danger brought them, they don't consider they are at risk. If someone is late for an appointment and lets face it in todays world most people are late for something most of the time they will not even consider a one in a million chance of killing someone or even a one in a thousand chance of being caught by a hidden speed camera they will only consider the certainty that if they don't drive faster they will be late.

Nothing will prevent young people thrill seeking from risking theirs and others lives, hidden speed cameras will never prevent someone in a hurry driving too fast. Speed cameras which are not hidden placed at accident black spots and obviously dangerous places, such as a nice new straight tempting piece of road leading to a very busy built up area with a junction, roadworks and construction site access concealed just around a corner will save lives. People will weigh the certainty of being caught against the certainty of being late and choose to be late.

The speed camera in the layby on the road to Wick is there to be seen, it is there to protect the workers putting utilities under the road for the new industrial estate among others, they should have a full page advertisement in the Groat.