r/news Oct 11 '21

Title Not From Article Accountant cleared of drink driving after claiming she guzzled vodka AFTER crash

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/im-not-going-lie-necked-21820359
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u/maiscestmoi Oct 11 '21

That loophole needs to be closed.

45

u/fonedork Oct 11 '21

That loophole in our criminal justice system called reasonable doubt?

9

u/aecarol1 Oct 11 '21

Why not just make the penalty for "running", the same as for drunk driving? i.e. loss of license, higher insurance rates, etc. Possibility of jail time, etc.

You can't prove they drove drunk, but you can prove they ran. "Why" they ran should not matter (see note). If you can't be trusted to handle an accident, you have no business driving.

Note: if they ran because they were "scared" of being attacked by the victim, the positive defense would be they go to the police or other designated places, not home, not to a friends, etc.

3

u/Rooooben Oct 11 '21

That would make prosecution easy since leaving is easily probable. Is there any reason why someone who flees the scene after hitting another car should keep their license?

1

u/[deleted] Oct 11 '21

Only if they were fleeing from some form of violence, i.e. the other driver attacking them, or some hazardous condition like a serious fire at the scene of the accident.