Anya Blog

1st December 2008
A ‘two strikes and you’re out’ policy, in which excessive speedsters caught twice would lose their licence, is among proposals being considered by the government for strengthening road safety. A detailed analysis of traffic casualties shows that “extreme speeders” are more likely to be involved in an accident and the consequences will be more severe when they are. The evidence also shows that the same drivers speed excessively across all speed limits and the proposal is to introduce a graduated fixed penalty of 6 penalty points for drivers who exceed the speed limit by a very large margin – 20 mph in most speed limits. Get caught twice and you lose your licence.

There were 2946 road users killed in 2007, and nearly 28,000 more seriously injured. Publishing a consultation process designed to reduce this annual toll, Jim Fitzpatrick, the transport minister responsible for road safety, said that it “seeks views on proposals for measures aimed at improving compliance levels with key road safety laws. Transgressions of these laws are the cause of many hundreds of deaths.” The consultation sets out a package of measures aimed at “helping the responsible majority of road users and cracking down on the reckless few.” Apart from speeding, the very detailed package tackles drink driving, the wearing of seat belts, drug driving and careless driving.

In October the minister disappointed safety experts when he stated that the government had decided against reducing the legal limit for alcohol in a driver's blood (see ‘Drink and driving’ blog posted on 27.10.08). Instead he proposes to tighten up the enforcement regime by developing targeted checkpoint enforcement. The introduction of digital breath-testing equipment, at a reported cost of £2m, will remove the necessity for a blood or urine test, reducing police time spent dealing with drunk driving. And a reduction in the legal limit in a driver’s blood is not ruled out at some time in the future.

Drug driving, which is estimated to cause 20% of all road deaths, presents different problems. There is no legislation in place to allow for easy prosecution. The current law requires proof that a driver is impaired by drugs. The procedure is complex and cases are few. The consultation promises to explore whether a new offence needs to be created.

The DoT claim to have achieved a very high overall level of seat belt wearing, but have nevertheless developed a new, hard-hitting THINK! campaign which you have probably seen on TV already. In addition, the Home Office is currently consulting on an increase in the penalty for failing to wear a seat belt from £30 to £60 in 2009. Also proposed is a fixed penalty offence for careless driving, which will enable the police to enforce with a minimum of bureaucracy against careless drivers who admit their fault. The fixed penalty would be £60 and 3 penalty points.

If you want to contribute to the consultation process you have until 27 February 2009.

See: http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/compliance/roadsafetyconsultation.pdf

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19th November 2008
No, this isn’t about the never ending rain. It’s about a consultation exercise on new codes of practices for cats, dogs and horses, announced by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn. The purpose is to offer practical advice on pet ownership and help pet owners to better understand their duties under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Three codes are up for comment, one each for cats, dogs and horses. The content of each code is unremarkable, with sensible advice on environment, diet, behaviour, health and welfare, safety, travel, and so on. So far so good, and they fit in well with any other practical ‘How to look after your pet’ series of guide books.

But there is an edge to these codes. They are not just to be taken or left as pet owners choose. In announcing the consultation exercise, Hilary Benn said “The Animal Welfare Act 2006 has been the most important piece of animal legislation for nearly a century. Animals are now afforded greater protection than ever before. These three new codes of practice will outline the responsibilities of owners under the Act and give practical advice on how to fulfil them. This means no one will be able to claim ignorance as an excuse for mistreating any animal.” The codes warn that “You should not cause any unnecessary suffering to your animal; this could constitute a serious offence under the Act.”

To remove any further doubt, each code has an annex which spells out the relevant sections of the Act:-

Unnecessary suffering
(1) A person commits an offence if -
(a) an act of his, or a failure of his to act, causes an animal to suffer,
(b) he knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the act, or failure to act, would have that effect or be likely to do so,
(c) the animal is a protected animal, and
(d) the suffering is unnecessary.
(2) A person commits an offence if -
(a) he is responsible for an animal,
(b) an act, or failure to act, of another person causes the animal to suffer,
(c) he permitted that to happen or failed to take such steps (whether by way of supervising the other person or otherwise) as were reasonable in all the circumstances to prevent that happening, and
(d) the suffering is unnecessary.

Enabling Provision: s.4 Animal Welfare Act 2006
Triable Status: Summarily only.
Max. Sentence Summary: 51 weeks, or a fine not exceeding £20,000,
or both.
Possible defence: s.58 Animal Welfare Act 2006: Scientific research
(1) Nothing in this Act applies to anything lawfully done under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (c14).

Duty of person responsible for animal to ensure welfare
(1) A person commits an offence if he does not take such steps as are reasonable in all the circumstances to ensure that the needs of an animal for which he is responsible are met to the extent required by good practice.

Enabling Provision: s.9 Animal Welfare Act 2006
Triable Status: Summarily only.
Max. Sentence Summary: 51 weeks, or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both
Possible defence: s.58 Animal Welfare Act 2006: Scientific research
(1) Nothing in this Act applies to anything lawfully done under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (c14)

(See Criminal Offences Handbook (Anya Publishing), pp 18/19 & 30).
You have six weeks left if you want to take part in this consultation exercise. Details of the exercise and the text of the three codes can be found at
http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2008/081104a.htm

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