Signs of the times...but unfortunately Lord Ahmed would be too busy texting journalists to inform them how important he is to himself and to the government to read them and pay attention to their message. Unless the messages came up on his mobile phone he would ignore them...
I was sickened to read this headline "Texting peer 'happy' to be free", and cannot help but have sympathy for Martyn Gombar's family and friends, who I am sure will not be sharing Lord Ahmed's happiness.
"Lord Ahmed, 52, was jailed for 12 weeks last month after he admitted sending and receiving text messages while driving on the M1...Lord Ahmed sent and received a series of five text messages while driving in the dark along a 17-mile stretch of the motorway...[Lord Ahmed's] Jaguar hit a stationary car in the outside lane, killing the driver...The appeal court suspended his sentence for 12 months on Thursday because of "exceptional" mitigation relating to his community work".
Incredibly, "Police, the sentencing judge and the Court of Appeal all said his texting was not related to the crash. They agreed there was little he could have done to avoid the crash, which killed Martyn Gombar, 28, from Leigh, Greater Manchester".
I wonder how much the government has spent of taxpayers money on advertising how dangerous it is to use a mobile phone whilst driving?
And, how much it has spent on spin attempting to convince all and sundry that a Labour peer of the realm is not responsible for killing a foreign national?
7 YEARS JAIL FOR TEXTING DRIVERS WHO KILL
New guidelines mean a text behind the wheel could cost you seven years
Drivers who kill while reading or texting could face up to seven years in jail under new guidelines, it has been reported. The Sentencing Guidelines Council, which is chaired by the Lord Chief Justice, has recommended that judges and magistrates hand out the tougher penalties.
There again, and let's be honest here, Lord Ahmed is valued by the government as a tool against Muslim extremists. He is not 007 James Bond with a Licence to Kill!
The Court of Appeal did not reach a reasoned legal decision in killer driver Lord Ahmed's case, rather it arrived at a political decision. By raising ex-prisoner number XP5810 Nazir Ahmed's profile, they have cheapened the cost of Martyn Gombar's life. It is nonsense to claim that there was "exceptional" mitigation relating to Ahmed's community work. Mitigation relates to the offence, for example, if his wife was having a heart attack, and Ahmed used his mobile phone to dial the emergency services, and whilst so doing crashed into another car killing the other driver, it means that his excuse for not paying attention to other road users can be taken into account when being sentenced. Mitigation has nothing whatsoever to do with Ahmed's previous community work, or any community work he intends to do in the future, nor that he did the right thing, after killing Martyn Gombar, by flagging other drivers down to warn them of the carnage he had created by his arrogant attitude that road safety laws are for others to abide by but not for him.
What I find annoying about Lord Ahmed's manslaughter of Martyn Gombar is his refusal to accept guilt for his actions. Instead, he insists in engaging in the following diatribe totally unaware that self praise is no recommendation:
"I am happy to be back with my family and I am delighted that I will be able to go back to my work on Monday morning and start doing all the work that I was doing in the House of Lords and with the communities.
"I help a lot of charities, I work in the House of Lords, I help a lot of people.
"I make representations on their behalf and I'll continue to do so whether it's in this country or internationally".
Pass the sick bag...
Lord Ahmed, you are one sick motherfucker!
Text and the city from the RAC Foundation blog...
"Over two thirds of accidents and almost half of all road deaths occur in our towns and cities*, according to the RAC Foundation, who are today highlighting the dangers of texting whilst driving in urban areas in support of European Road Safety Day** (13)
Recent research by the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory commissioned by the RAC Foundation*** found that the dual task of writing a text message whilst driving significantly impaired driving ability. This has serious consequences for town centre and city driving where there are more pedestrians and cyclists.
Reaction times in the simulator study increased from 1.2 to 1.6 seconds when drivers were texting, and their ability to see hazards decreased. Drivers tended to reduce their speeds but in real city driving situations this type of behaviour would cause difficulties.
96% of pedestrian and 93% of cyclist casualties occur in built up areas and ‘failure to look’ is the single largest contributory factor in accidents, present in 35% of cases*. The Foundation is urging motorists, especially those in London, the North West and West Midlands where urban casualties make up a significant proportion of all road accidents****, to ensure they are not distracted by mobile phones whilst driving.
Elizabeth Dainton, Research Development Manager of the RAC Foundation says:
“The distraction caused by sending or reading text messages whilst driving has serious implications for road safety. Being distracted by a mobile phone significantly reduces a driver’s awareness and reaction times.”
“On fast changing urban roads, where more people are walking or cycling, texting, even whilst stationary in traffic, can result in distraction that leads to an accident. Where driving is concerned- there’s no such thing as safe text”
* Department for Transport (2008) Road Casualty Statistics 2007 Edition
** About European Road Safety Day
The European Union has set itself the target to halve the number of fatalities on our roads - from 54 000 to 27 000 - between 2001 and 2010. In order to raise awareness, to give visibility to best local practices and to offer an opportunity to work together for safer roads in Europe the Commission has established a European Road Safety Day. The second road safety day will be celebrated on 13 October 2008 and will address the subject of “Road Safety in our Cities”. The main event will take place in Paris, at the “Espace Grande Arche”, in the business district of La Défense. For more information please visit: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/roadsafety/road_safety_days/index_2008_en.htm
*** The Effect of Text Messaging on Driver Behaviour, A simulator study, N. Reed and R. Robbins, Transport Research Laboratory, September 2008
**** Proportion of all casualties by region, occurring on built-up roads. Source: Department for Transport (2008) Road Casualty Statistics 2007 Edition.
London: 96%
North West: 77%
West Midlands: 73%
Yorkshire and Humber: 72%
Average for Great Britain: 68%
North East: 65%
South East: 62%
East Midlands: 58%
South West: 56%
East of England: 55%".
1 comment:
One law for them, another for us!
At least when I was a boy, a Lord LOOKED like a lord - now they look like any Tom, Dick, or Harry.
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