Car insurance news -
07/08/2009
Cheap cover threatened by drunk and unlicensed drivers
The cost of accidents caused by drunk and unlicensed drivers is one of the reasons it can be hard to find cheap car insurance deals and many road safety campaigners believe penalties should be harsher for those who refuse to obey the rules.
However, a drunk driver in China recently received the ultimate punishment and was sentenced to death after killing four people and seriously injuring one other in a car accident in December 2008. After the accident, where he drove his Buick into oncoming traffic, he was found to have 135.8 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres in his blood - the legal limit in China is 80mg.
He was also found to have been driving without a licence.
The Chengdu Intermediate People's Court found the 30-year-old man guilty of "endangering public safety" and sentenced him to death because it was deemed that his dangerous driving behaviour had been intentional.
The China Daily reported that the driver intended to appeal against the sentence.
A spokesperson for duck2water, suppliers of cheap car insurance online, said, "This is a staggering sentence by western standards and one which will trigger much debate on the effectiveness of UK penalties on drivers who cause death by dangerous driving and those who persistently flout the law by driving while banned or without car insurance."