Is 18 Months Really A Suitable Punishment For The Reckless Driving Of This BMW Driver?

21/11/2020

In the early hours of 22 December 2019 a BMW driver, Ben Cooke, was caught on CCTV driving extremely aggressively on the M6. Whilst his speed was not accurately recorded, he was clearly driving well in excess of the speed limit, switching lanes, undertaking and using the hard shoulder as a driving lane when the overhead gantry showed it was to be used for emergency use only.

Cooke had just overtaken an ambulance that was on its way to a separate incident and was travelling at 84mph, before he switched from the main carriageway to the hard shoulder, undertaking other cars. He then crashed his car into the back of a Ford Focus that was parked on the hard shoulder of the motorway, with its hazard warning lights flashing. The driver of the car had just pulled over and got out of the car when the impact happened.

As a result of the collision, the driver of the Focus was thrown into lane one of the motorway and was laid motionless in the path of oncoming vehicles, which swerved to miss him.

Rather than go to the aid of the victim of his dangerous driving, Cooke walked away, got into a taxi that had pulled up near to the scene, and checked into a hotel in Castle Bromwich. Even the following day, Cooke failed to take responsibility for his actions.

Cooke was arrested on the same day after police responded to reports of him rowing with his girlfriend in a pub.

The case came to its conclusion this week, with Cooke being jailed for 18 months and banned from driving for four years and nine months.

Judge Peter Carr stated that: "It was extremely lucky as far as the victim was concerned his injuries were not life-threatening or life-changing."

I'm pretty sure that the victim would consider the injuries he suffered to be 'life-changing'. It's been almost a year since the incident and the victim, who was a taxi driver heading home after his last fare, has been unable to work since. He suffered a spinal fracture and multiple broken ribs as well as cuts, grazes and bruises. And, if it wasn't for the quick thinking ambulance crew who parked their vehicle in a position that protected the victim from being hit by other cars, he may well have lost his life.

It has been over 11 months since the crash and there is little doubt that the victim's life has not returned to normal.

18 months in prison seems like a completely inadequate sentence for what Cooke did.