Stop Making Victims Out Of Deadly Joyriders. Episode 874

In this episode, Niall Boylan is joined by journalist Laura Perrins to debate whether the law is tough enough on young drivers who deliberately put innocent lives at risk.

The discussion comes after a horrifying series of wrong way crashes in Ireland and Britain. Two weeks ago, eight teenagers travelling in a stolen car drove the wrong way onto the M50 before crashing head on into another vehicle, leaving an innocent motorist seriously injured.

Days later, tragedy struck again on the M9 when five teenagers were killed after their car was driven the wrong way down the motorway and collided head on with a family travelling to Dublin Airport. Three women and a seven year old boy were seriously injured.

Then, on Saturday in Britain, five young men travelling the wrong way on the A66 crashed into a police vehicle. All five occupants of the car were killed, along with two police officers.

Niall argues that deliberately driving the wrong way on a motorway is not simply reckless driving. When someone knowingly sends a vehicle towards oncoming traffic at motorway speeds, innocent motorists have nowhere to go and no way of knowing what is coming towards them.

He has called for emergency legislation that could see anyone who deliberately drives in this manner, putting innocent lives at extreme risk, facing a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, regardless of their age.

Critics say 20 years would be completely disproportionate, particularly when young offenders are involved, and argue that sentencing must still take account of age, maturity, intent and the circumstances of each individual case.

But Niall asks where society should draw the line. If somebody deliberately turns a car into what is effectively a lethal weapon and plays Russian roulette with the lives of innocent families, should being 15, 16 or 17 substantially protect them from the consequences?

Laura Perrins joins Niall to discuss punishment, personal responsibility, youth justice and whether the threat of much tougher sentences would actually deter this kind of behaviour.

How many more innocent people have to be killed or seriously injured before the law gets tougher? Is 20 years an appropriate punishment for deliberately putting motorists’ lives at risk, or would it be an excessive response to an appalling problem?