Punishments mean nothing for drivers who don't give a stuff

Jail time may be only way to keep repeat offenders off our roads

FOR many of us, the threat of ending up in the court system, with a fine, potentially publicly shamed and without a licence is enough of a deterrent to stop us from doing the wrong thing behind the wheel.

But from the number of court stories that come across my desk about drivers who are doing the wrong thing, that just isn't the case for a worryingly high number of people.

Take our page 7 story today.

Here we have a person who has gotten behind the wheel despite being disqualified.

He has already gone before the court system and been given a punishment for previous driving-related crimes. That punishment has been ignored.

He could very well have gone to jail after being caught on his latest offences. Surely this is something that must have been pointed out to him during his last trip to the court room.

So you have to wonder just how effective the threat of jail really is.

I hope it's the wake-up call he needs and others in similar positions need.

Originally published as Punishments mean nothing for drivers who don't give a stuff