Car accidents and puniahment

[saoirse13]

Probably not the most comical or uplifting topic, I know, but I'm curious to find out what your opinions and experiences are.

So a little background to why I'm talking about this.
At weekend I was involved in a serious car accident. I was the passenger of a pretty big car. Long story short my partner and I were driving along a main road at about 55-60mph minding our own business when some guy (about 30-40 years old) took a chance and drove right out from a side road infront of us ploughing straight into my side of the car. It was a major accident, (ambulance, paramedics and police involved) me and my partner were rushed to hospital, and were pretty much lucky to be alive and fit to tell the tale even with some serious injuries. The guy that drove into us was fine not even a scratch (luckily) however, he jumped out of his car to shout and scream at my partner while my partner tried to get to me to see how seriously injured I was. He had no concern for the possibility that he may have just killed someone but for the damage done to his car. Both cars were complete wreckage. The authorities that attended the scene made it clear that if it weren't for my partners driving and quick reactions, not only would we be dead but so would the driver of the other car.

Now here's were I'm curious, as many of you I'm sure are road users, what is your views on the actions of the other driver? Do you think he should not be alowd to drive if the driver causes the accident like that, as in drives out infront of someone. Or in any kind of accident when someone is clearly in the wrong and it's not a 50/50 fault.

To be honest, my view has been the same since before the accident if someone causes an accident In such a way like Iwhat happened to me, then they should lose their licence completely for a period of time, and then retake lessons and retake their test.
Do you guys agree or have any other opinions?
Also if you think I'm being harsh then tell me why too.

Also I should say I have never been so grateful for a second chance at life.

 

[Jamieson 90]

Probably not the most comical or uplifting topic, I know, but I'm curious to find out what your opinions and experiences are.

So a little background to why I'm talking about this.
At weekend I was involved in a serious car accident. I was the passenger of a pretty big car. Long story short my partner and I were driving along a main road at about 55-60mph minding our own business when some guy (about 30-40 years old) took a chance and drove right out from a side road infront of us ploughing straight into my side of the car. It was a major accident, (ambulance, paramedics and police involved) me and my partner were rushed to hospital, and were pretty much lucky to be alive and fit to tell the tale even with some serious injuries. The guy that drove into us was fine not even a scratch (luckily) however, he jumped out of his car to shout and scream at my partner while my partner tried to get to me to see how seriously injured I was. He had no concern for the possibility that he may have just killed someone but for the damage done to his car. Both cars were complete wreckage. The authorities that attended the scene made it clear that if it weren't for my partners driving and quick reactions, not only would we be dead but so would the driver of the other car.

Now here's were I'm curious, as many of you I'm sure are road users, what is your views on the actions of the other driver? Do you think he should not be alowd to drive if the driver causes the accident like that, as in drives out infront of someone. Or in any kind of accident when someone is clearly in the wrong and it's not a 50/50 fault.

To be honest, my view has been the same since before the accident if someone causes an accident In such a way like Iwhat happened to me, then they should lose their licence completely for a period of time, and then retake lessons and retake their test.
Do you guys agree or have any other opinions?
Also if you think I'm being harsh then tell me why too.

Also I should say I have never been so grateful for a second chance at life.

First I'm sorry to hear that you were in such a big crash, I went through the same thing in 2008 when our car was hit from behind by a car and a bus; we had to be cut out of the car and rushed to hospital and I think in total about 4 ambulances, 5 fire trucks and 6 police vehicles all attended, so it was a pretty major incident, especially since we were shunted into the car in front so all in all 4 vehicles were involved.

Here's some images to give you an idea of what happened. Our car was the black Vauxhall.

[http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/841/6kk8.jpg/]

I was in the back which was pretty much decimated, in fact the whole car was to be honest, even the radio stack and parts of the dash were destroyed along with the seat columns. I'M VERY-VERY LUCKY TO BE ALIVE. My mother who was driving is lucky to be alive and my father who was in the passenger seat is also lucky he is alive, we were all extremely lucky yet at the same time extremely unlucky that some absolute idiot caused that crash.

So yes I really do think people should be banned if they cause such a serious crash, that or they should be made to retake their test or have to go on mandatory training courses for an extensive period of time. It's not acceptable that you can nearly kill someone (whilst seriously injuring/maiming them), and then be back on the road in a matter of hours.

P.S don't be surprised if you get nightmares; I had them for months, it's a ***** I know.

 

[dyre]

Yeah, gross disregard for the responsibilities associated with having a driver's license should result in the loss of that license, at the very least until the idiot takes numerous remedial courses. If it were up to me I'd probably have a two strikes policy on the matter (with permanent loss of license after the second strike)

 

[saoirse13]

Probably not the most comical or uplifting topic, I know, but I'm curious to find out what your opinions and experiences are.

So a little background to why I'm talking about this.
At weekend I was involved in a serious car accident. I was the passenger of a pretty big car. Long story short my partner and I were driving along a main road at about 55-60mph minding our own business when some guy (about 30-40 years old) took a chance and drove right out from a side road infront of us ploughing straight into my side of the car. It was a major accident, (ambulance, paramedics and police involved) me and my partner were rushed to hospital, and were pretty much lucky to be alive and fit to tell the tale even with some serious injuries. The guy that drove into us was fine not even a scratch (luckily) however, he jumped out of his car to shout and scream at my partner while my partner tried to get to me to see how seriously injured I was. He had no concern for the possibility that he may have just killed someone but for the damage done to his car. Both cars were complete wreckage. The authorities that attended the scene made it clear that if it weren't for my partners driving and quick reactions, not only would we be dead but so would the driver of the other car.

Now here's were I'm curious, as many of you I'm sure are road users, what is your views on the actions of the other driver? Do you think he should not be alowd to drive if the driver causes the accident like that, as in drives out infront of someone. Or in any kind of accident when someone is clearly in the wrong and it's not a 50/50 fault.

To be honest, my view has been the same since before the accident if someone causes an accident In such a way like Iwhat happened to me, then they should lose their licence completely for a period of time, and then retake lessons and retake their test.
Do you guys agree or have any other opinions?
Also if you think I'm being harsh then tell me why too.

Also I should say I have never been so grateful for a second chance at life.

First I'm sorry to hear that you were in such a big crash, I went through the same thing in 2008 when our car was hit from behind by a car and a bus; we had to be cut out of the car and rushed to hospital and I think in total about 4 ambulances, 5 fire trucks and 6 police vehicles all attended, so it was a pretty major incident, especially since we were shunted into the car in front so all in all 4 vehicles were involved.

Here's some images to give you an idea of what happened. Our car was the black Vauxhall.

[http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/841/6kk8.jpg/]

I was in the back which was pretty much decimated, in fact the whole car was to be honest, even the radio stack and parts of the dash were destroyed along with the seat columns. I'M VERY-VERY LUCKY TO BE ALIVE. My mother who was driving is lucky to be alive and my father who was in the passenger seat is also lucky he is alive, we were all extremely lucky yet at the same time extremely unlucky that some absolute idiot caused that crash.

So yes I really do think people should be banned if they cause such a serious crash, that or they should be made to retake their test or have to go on mandatory training courses for an extensive period of time. It's not acceptable that you can nearly kill someone (whilst seriously injuring/maiming them), and then be back on the road in a matter of hours.

P.S don't be surprised if you get nightmares; I had them for months, it's a ***** I know.

Jesus, that is scary. You were extremely lucky judging by the pictures and your description. It's a horrible ordeal to go through, and I never truly understood the sheer terror you can go through until my own experience. I'm glad to hear that you are all doing well now at least. It is terrifying to think that someone who can cause such major carnage can walk away from it Scott free. I honestly do not envy you. We were lucky the cars in the oncoming lane managed to stop in time without hitting us. It has made me so angry though now In the last few days when I see people making silly stupid mistakes and maneuvers just because they think it will make their journey all of 2 minutes quicker. I think I have developed road rage haha. Yes I get what you mean about the nightmares if been having them all the time now since mainly just the image of the car pulling out right infront of us. Though it doesn't help that the painkillers I'm taking are that strong that they make me hallucinate too. Thank you though for sharing your story it really does put everything into perspective, how lucky you were and myself. Some people should never be allowed to drive again though after something like that especially in your accident.

 

[saoirse13]

Yeah, gross disregard for the responsibilities associated with having a driver's license should result in the loss of that license, at the very least until the idiot takes numerous remedial courses. If it were up to me I'd probably have a two strikes policy on the matter (with permanent loss of license after the second strike)

I think in certain cases I'd even lock them up. It's has made me a very angry person now

 

[WWmelb]

In my opinion, punishment for the intentional breaching of road laws (in Australia anyways) is way to lax.

Any intentional breach, such as excessive speeding over the posted speed limit, drink driving, running stop signs/red lights, should result in immediate loss of license and mandatory driving training, and in most cases, driver should be charged with the highest possible charge. This would basically be Reckless Endangerment in most cases, although the penalties for that if no injury was actually caused are woeful, and maximum penalty seems to be just a fine, up until RE causing GBH (up to 25years), and manslaughter.

Repeat drink drivers especially need to have their licenses unequivocally revoked permanently, as do repeat speeders, and driving with a revoked license should be immediate imprisonment.

I'm absolutely done with the light handed approach to punishing people who are a danger to society, and i believe we need to start taking people off the road aggressively.

Personally, i don't think a drink driver who killed someone is any worse than another drink driver who happened to get home safely. Just one was luckier than the other on this occasion. Both should be dealt with and punished severely.

On the other hand, i think our licensing laws, as in obtaining your license are pretty shit here too.

L Plates (Driving with a licensed driver in the passenger seat) at 16, P plates (limited power to weight ration allowed to be driven, and 0.0 blood alcohol reading) At 18, and fully licensed at 21.

It's a good start but not enough.

We need driver education to start earlier, at around 13 - 14 in schools, mandatory. And start at around the same age with driving a vehicle, however do so in a closed environment, not on the roads. Driver education outside of the plating system is woeful in australia. Victoria in particular.

Ranting.

Disclaimer: Above post may not make sense.

edit: I'm also of the opinion that the BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) Should be 0.0 for all drivers, all the time, as it removes any grey area from peoples judgement.

I can tell you now, after having given up drinking for so long now, if i was .05 (The legal limit here) I would not be safe to drive. Not close. It is also extremely difficult to judge your own BAC from limiting number of drinks, waiting for a period of time etc.

Easiest way is make the law thus: Have you consumed alcohol? Yes? DONT FUCKING DRIVE.

 

[TheIceQueen]

I'm sorry to hear what happened to you and I'm glad that both you and your partner are going to be okay, serious injuries aside.

As for the other driver, he should get his license taken away. And in other cases where the person is completely at fault, they should get their license taken away as well. Driving is a huge responsibility that can differ from other responsibilities in that if you fuck up doing it, you can kill somebody and yourself, but it's mostly the somebody else that I'm worried about.

If you're endangering others like that, you should most certainly get your license taken away so that you can't endanger anyone else. You proved you weren't responsible; you don't deserve the responsibility or privilege.

Also, what an ass, causing a wreck like that and not even being concerned for you guys. I'll rescind my pacifist policy just long enough to say that he deserves a swift kick to the nuts.

 

[EeveeElectro]

Christ, I'm glad you're both okay D:

I agree, they need their licenses revoked subject to eye witnesses or CCTV (and obviously state of the cars involved). Too many drivers in my city are dumb cunts who yell at you because they nearly ran you over. A common one I get is inbred chavs hurtling round a corner while I'm half-way across then screaming at me for daring to cross the road and not have eyes in the back of my head. They don't understand that if a person is walking from one side to the other, you stop your car for a few seconds and don't knock them over.

Hopefully the clown that hit you has to pay you compensation, gets points taken from his licence at the very least and has to go to some re-training course.

If you can't follow basic safety when driving, you should not be driving. This includes people who think everyone else can read their mind and don't need to use indicators.

 

[Jamash]

As Draconian and impractical as it may be, I think in cases like that where someone intentionally drives into another car (even if it's only intentional through negligence), they should be arrested and charged with attempted murder by default, just to highlight the seriousness of their actions.

Start them off on a charge of attempting to kill the people they crashed into, then let them argue their way down from that until they can accept a bargain of gross negligence, vehicular assault, driving without due car, braking traffic laws etc.

If someone willingly drives into traffic without looking, then they should have to fight to prove that it wasn't their intention to cause a crash and hit whatever traffic they would inevitably crash into by performing such a reckless manoeuvre, as how could any sane or responsible person expect a different outcome?

If I was walking along the pavement or in an area where you can reasonably expect people to be, then took out a baseball bat and started swinging it around as hard as I could without looking, then I should be charged with assault and ABH for every person I inevitably struck with the baseball bat, not be charged with "careless use of a sporting equipment" and have my permission to use sporting equipment jeopardised by a few penalty points.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Harsher penalties...well...that seems like the usual knee jerk reaction to the problem, you can't get many people, so increased punishment for the ones you do.

Nobody thinks this sort of thing will happen to them, because of their actions, and mostly they are correct. For everyone who does end up causing an accident this way, there are plenty of others who haven't, who haven't been unlucky yet and are convinced this is everyone else's problems.

We need to stop people in general doing this, not just the few that have caused an accident by doing it.

 

[Yopaz]

Harsher penalties...well...that seems like the usual knee jerk reaction to the problem, you can't get many people, so increased punishment for the ones you do.

Nobody thinks this sort of thing will happen to them, because of their actions, and mostly they are correct. For everyone who does end up causing an accident this way, there are plenty of others who haven't, who haven't been unlucky yet and are convinced this is everyone else's problems.

We need to stop people in general doing this, not just the few that have caused an accident by doing it.

Yeah, pretty much this. Harsher punishment has shown little or no proven connection with reduced violations. The answer isn't that simple.

Also I don't like judging these kind of things. We always end up hearing one side of the story and only one point of view. I'll retain my judgement of both you and the other driver.

 

[Caiphus]

As Draconian and impractical as it may be, I think in cases like that where someone intentionally drives into another car (even if it's only intentional through negligence), they should be arrested and charged with attempted murder by default, just to highlight the seriousness of their actions.

Start them off on a charge of attempting to kill the people they crashed into, then let them argue their way down from that until they can accept a bargain of gross negligence, vehicular assault, driving without due car, braking traffic laws etc.

If someone willingly drives into traffic without looking, then they should have to fight to prove that it wasn't their intention to cause a crash and hit whatever traffic they would inevitably crash into by performing such a reckless manoeuvre, as how could any sane or responsible person expect a different outcome?

If I was walking along the pavement or in an area where you can reasonably expect people to be, then took out a baseball bat and started swinging it around as hard as I could without looking, then I should be charged with assault and ABH for every person I inevitably struck with the baseball bat, not be charged with "careless use of a sporting equipment" and have my permission to use sporting equipment jeopardised by a few penalty points.

Dude, no, come on. Attempted murder for negligent driving? For one, the legal jump you would need to make is eye-watering. Second, well you're right, it's draconian and impractical.

You have to prove it wasn't your intention to cause a crash? That flies in the face of innocent until proven guilty, for starters. And the baseball bat analogy is off. It would be more close to a situation where a person swings a baseball bat around while they thought nobody was nearby.

Just, aaaargh.

 

[Thaluikhain]

As Draconian and impractical as it may be, I think in cases like that where someone intentionally drives into another car (even if it's only intentional through negligence),

Intentional through negligence?

How does that work? Surely if it happened due to negligence, then it wasn't intentional?

 

[Jamieson 90]

Probably not the most comical or uplifting topic, I know, but I'm curious to find out what your opinions and experiences are.

So a little background to why I'm talking about this.
At weekend I was involved in a serious car accident. I was the passenger of a pretty big car. Long story short my partner and I were driving along a main road at about 55-60mph minding our own business when some guy (about 30-40 years old) took a chance and drove right out from a side road infront of us ploughing straight into my side of the car. It was a major accident, (ambulance, paramedics and police involved) me and my partner were rushed to hospital, and were pretty much lucky to be alive and fit to tell the tale even with some serious injuries. The guy that drove into us was fine not even a scratch (luckily) however, he jumped out of his car to shout and scream at my partner while my partner tried to get to me to see how seriously injured I was. He had no concern for the possibility that he may have just killed someone but for the damage done to his car. Both cars were complete wreckage. The authorities that attended the scene made it clear that if it weren't for my partners driving and quick reactions, not only would we be dead but so would the driver of the other car.

Now here's were I'm curious, as many of you I'm sure are road users, what is your views on the actions of the other driver? Do you think he should not be alowd to drive if the driver causes the accident like that, as in drives out infront of someone. Or in any kind of accident when someone is clearly in the wrong and it's not a 50/50 fault.

To be honest, my view has been the same since before the accident if someone causes an accident In such a way like Iwhat happened to me, then they should lose their licence completely for a period of time, and then retake lessons and retake their test.
Do you guys agree or have any other opinions?
Also if you think I'm being harsh then tell me why too.

Also I should say I have never been so grateful for a second chance at life.

First I'm sorry to hear that you were in such a big crash, I went through the same thing in 2008 when our car was hit from behind by a car and a bus; we had to be cut out of the car and rushed to hospital and I think in total about 4 ambulances, 5 fire trucks and 6 police vehicles all attended, so it was a pretty major incident, especially since we were shunted into the car in front so all in all 4 vehicles were involved.

Here's some images to give you an idea of what happened. Our car was the black Vauxhall.

[http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/841/6kk8.jpg/]

I was in the back which was pretty much decimated, in fact the whole car was to be honest, even the radio stack and parts of the dash were destroyed along with the seat columns. I'M VERY-VERY LUCKY TO BE ALIVE. My mother who was driving is lucky to be alive and my father who was in the passenger seat is also lucky he is alive, we were all extremely lucky yet at the same time extremely unlucky that some absolute idiot caused that crash.

So yes I really do think people should be banned if they cause such a serious crash, that or they should be made to retake their test or have to go on mandatory training courses for an extensive period of time. It's not acceptable that you can nearly kill someone (whilst seriously injuring/maiming them), and then be back on the road in a matter of hours.

P.S don't be surprised if you get nightmares; I had them for months, it's a ***** I know.

Jesus, that is scary. You were extremely lucky judging by the pictures and your description. It's a horrible ordeal to go through, and I never truly understood the sheer terror you can go through until my own experience. I'm glad to hear that you are all doing well now at least. It is terrifying to think that someone who can cause such major carnage can walk away from it Scott free. I honestly do not envy you. We were lucky the cars in the oncoming lane managed to stop in time without hitting us. It has made me so angry though now In the last few days when I see people making silly stupid mistakes and maneuvers just because they think it will make their journey all of 2 minutes quicker. I think I have developed road rage haha. Yes I get what you mean about the nightmares if been having them all the time now since mainly just the image of the car pulling out right infront of us. Though it doesn't help that the painkillers I'm taking are that strong that they make me hallucinate too. Thank you though for sharing your story it really does put everything into perspective, how lucky you were and myself. Some people should never be allowed to drive again though after something like that especially in your accident.

It is scary, very scary, and it makes you realize just how fragile we humans really are. That you can be minding your own business one moment and then the next all hell breaks lose.

And it's very easy for people who haven't been in a situation like this to say it's not a problem. They haven't felt that sheer terror, the confusion, the pain and agony. They haven't been trapped in a car able to hear the engine revving like crazy as smoke rises from under the bonnet, they haven't' had that ice cold feeling when you realize 'I might actually die today,' and that the sort of thoughts and feelings that invokes.

We still talk about it as a family from time to time and we're only a small family really; just me my brother and my mum and dad, and in some ways it was just as chilling for my brother who wasn't in the car. It's a very possible he could have had a knock on the door from a police officer telling him his entire family was dead.

And I know what you mean about reckless drivers; it took me 5 years to get in a car after the crash and when I drive now I really can't believe some of the things people do, especially in rush hour. I know people want to get home but Jesus get home in one piece.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

As we can see by the calibre of people driving vehicles, driving tests are not a good indicator of a safe driver, and furthermore, you can be following good protocol and still have to take risks while driving. Basically I don't think punishment should be very severe at all, because it's basically luck (when not under the influence) that causes accidents. People do things that could cause accidents all the time. Lastly, a more severe punishment does very little to impact someone's decision to break the law because it isn't immediate in their mind, and even less in cases where the act is often accidental.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

I'm confused. I was under the impression that it would go to court anyway, and he could be done for dangerous driving, which means he would use his licence. I was in a crash too a couple of years ago on the M4. I lost control of the car in the middle of the night whilst changing lanes, crashed into the barrier and landed on the hard shoulder. I immediatly got out of the car (a bit dazed and slightly in shock) and whilst climbing over the barrier a lorry had drifted onto the hard shoulder and took my car out again.

There was a police investigation afterwards to see if the initial crash was a car induced accident, or if I had done something dangerous. It came out that it was a suspected tyre blow out based on the evidence availiable (although the most likely tyre that it should have been was completely sgredded by the barrier. I can also honestly say with full integrity that I wasn't doing anything abnormal or erratic... the whole thing happened so randomly!)

Incidentally this was May 11 and I am still getting threats from the lorry driver's insurance company!

 

[Jamash]

As Draconian and impractical as it may be, I think in cases like that where someone intentionally drives into another car (even if it's only intentional through negligence),

Intentional through negligence?

How does that work? Surely if it happened due to negligence, then it wasn't intentional?

If someone pulls out into a stream of traffic and neglects to check whether there are any cars coming, then the inevitable crash they cause is intentional, as no one could sensibly expect any other outcome.

Spoiler: snip

As Draconian and impractical as it may be, I think in cases like that where someone intentionally drives into another car (even if it's only intentional through negligence), they should be arrested and charged with attempted murder by default, just to highlight the seriousness of their actions.

Start them off on a charge of attempting to kill the people they crashed into, then let them argue their way down from that until they can accept a bargain of gross negligence, vehicular assault, driving without due car, braking traffic laws etc.

If someone willingly drives into traffic without looking, then they should have to fight to prove that it wasn't their intention to cause a crash and hit whatever traffic they would inevitably crash into by performing such a reckless manoeuvre, as how could any sane or responsible person expect a different outcome?

If I was walking along the pavement or in an area where you can reasonably expect people to be, then took out a baseball bat and started swinging it around as hard as I could without looking, then I should be charged with assault and ABH for every person I inevitably struck with the baseball bat, not be charged with "careless use of a sporting equipment" and have my permission to use sporting equipment jeopardised by a few penalty points.

Dude, no, come on. Attempted murder for negligent driving? For one, the legal jump you would need to make is eye-watering. Second, well you're right, it's draconian and impractical.

You have to prove it wasn't your intention to cause a crash? That flies in the face of innocent until proven guilty, for starters. And the baseball bat analogy is off. It would be more close to a situation where a person swings a baseball bat around while they thought nobody was nearby.

Just, aaaargh.

I admit my rant on the matter is illogical, impractical, contrary to established laws and completely governed by momentary emotions.

It was how I felt at the time after reading the account of the OP's accident, which brought back memories of an accident I was involved in where someone in a large 4x4 performed a P.I.T. manoeuvre on our small car at 70mph on the motorway.

I don't know whether they intended to send us spinning off the motorway at great speed through an calculated P.I.T. manoeuvre, whether they changed lanes without looking, or whether they changed lanes without caring that they would hit us, but the outcome was the same and the driver never stopped after the accident, nor could the police do anything about it apparently (because despite the eyewitnesses, the driver of the 4x4 didn't stop and was untraceable).

Near death experiences and the memories of such events do evoke illogical and emotional responses, and I guess that my train of thought was that if the the penalties for such dangerous actions with vehicles were much harsher by default, then people would take more care and the police would be more inclined to pursue the offenders and bring them to justice.

It may not be logical or practical, but it's how I felt at the time of writing.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

dude, I don't even dare get behind the wheel for just this reason. >.>
I don't really care how badly I get injured, If my careless driving would kill someone, I'd hang myself.

 

[b3nn3tt]

I'm confused. I was under the impression that it would go to court anyway, and he could be done for dangerous driving, which means he would use his licence.

I thought this as well. If an accident is that extreme, then there's usually an investigation into it. Then the person can be charged with dangerous driving, and if found guilty they can face imprisonment, a fine, and they lose their licence. So in cases like the one described in the original post, the driver would lose their licence if they were found to have been driving dangerously.

Further to that, I think that having that law is very good, as it allows room for a full investigation and a trial. People make questionable judgements all the time when driving, and in some cases they can lead to very real and very serious consequences for themselves and others. There should definitely be a system in place where people can be punished for that.

 

[Jamieson 90]

I'm confused. I was under the impression that it would go to court anyway, and he could be done for dangerous driving, which means he would use his licence.

I thought this as well. If an accident is that extreme, then there's usually an investigation into it. Then the person can be charged with dangerous driving, and if found guilty they can face imprisonment, a fine, and they lose their licence. So in cases like the one described in the original post, the driver would lose their licence if they were found to have been driving dangerously.

Further to that, I think that having that law is very good, as it allows room for a full investigation and a trial. People make questionable judgements all the time when driving, and in some cases they can lead to very real and very serious consequences for themselves and others. There should definitely be a system in place where people can be punished for that.

You'd think so but in my case listed above there wasn't any criminal proceedings and as far as I'm aware the worst that happened was the bus driver lost his job and that's about it.