Police back 'Cassie's Law' campaign over unfit drivers

A woman whose daughter was killed by an 87-year-old motorist in a crash has gained the support of Essex Police in her campaign over unfit drivers.Cassie McCord, 16, was pinned against a wall when Colin Horsfall's car mounted a pavement at speed in Colchester.
Mr Horsfall had been warned three days earlier by police not to drive.Essex Police said it fully supported Jackie McCord's "Cassie's Law" campaign to give officers the power to immediately suspend licences.
Officers had spent two hours trying to persuade Mr Horsfall not to drive his automatic Vauxhall Astra again after he was involved in a minor incident, failed an eye test and had to be driven home.

'Completely frustrated'Police said they were powerless to do anything else, and three days later on 7 February he drove erratically and at speed along Head Street.He mounted the pavement and trapped Cassie between his car and a wall.Cassie, who had been walking to sixth-form college with a friend, died in hospital the next day.Mr Horsfall died of his injuries in May last year.Assistant Chief Constable Sue Harrison said: "We feel as a police force completely frustrated that we didn't have enough power to save that life."More than 15,000 people have signed an online petition, started by Cassie's friend Charlotte Mitchell, but 100,000 signatures are needed before a debate will be held at the House of Commons.Ch Insp Richard Phillibrown said: "What we would like is the ability to suspend a licence, not remove it, pending a review of the facts by a court."I feel passionately that this will improve road safety across the country and I would only advocate that everyone looks at the petition, considers it and signs it."Essex Police said its senior officers had already raised the issue at a national level





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done 

lets hope the 100,000 mark is achieved soon deb                                                                                                                                                                             

job done Deb.                                                                                                                                                                             

Done                                                                                                                                                                              

done..nice to see the Police not just fob this off                                                                                                                                                                             

Yes Steve,... Something needs to be done                                                                                                                                                                              

Done                                                                                                                                                                              

Happy to oblige x                                                                                                                                                                             

  Petition closes on 3rd November 2012   Here's a link to the e-petition, you'll need to add your email address, to receive a confirmation link, before your 'signature' will be accepted onto the petition.    http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/21244   Done                                                                                                                                                                                 

Sighned- bless her xx                                                                                                                                                                             

while i do think this case is very sad and the death could so easily have been avoided....would you really want the police to have the power to suspend licences?                                                                                                                                                                               

done                                                                                                                                                                              

Sorted                                                                                                                                                                             

Done                                                                                                                                                                               

@Kwakgirl... 

If it can save lives and take some dangerous drivers off the road, Im all for them having the power 

This poor girl would still be alive.                                                                                                                                                                              

Think carefully, do you trust the authorities to use this for the intended purpose, like ASBO's, speed cameras etc?

This sounds like Police spin, I'm sure that some law could have been used.to prevent this, in the old days before human rights the coppers would have most probably taken his car home and kept the keys till the old fekker put his glasses on!

im not doubting the merits of this particular case KW while i appreciate this one event could have been avoided i reckon we sign far too many petitions without thinking about the consequences of what we are signing.   when you sign a petition like this you are not signing to somehow undo the hurt and distress brought to this particular family....you are signing something that could possibly affect YOU at some point with yet more erosion of our civil liberty.   All im saying is think about what you are signing and the possible consequences.                                                                                                                                                                              

I shan't be signing it for the reasons outlined in the 2 prior posts.
Can you imagine the thread on here the first time a BMer has their licence suspended coz a copper didn't like the way you rode.
                                                                                                                                                                             

I can see both sides of the argument here and although in this case the girls life could have been saved, what about other situations. I therefore need to consider all the facts.   Ch Insp Richard Phillibrown said: "What we would like is the ability to suspend a licence, not remove it, pending a review of the facts by a court.
This statement  looks pretty reasonable as it is not final, but what if someone was wrongly suspended from driving and had a long wait before a court review. If we rely totally on the police decision to suspend, without any prejudice, then it would be a yes. However we are all human and at times not all people make the right choice. So it is therefore open to the personal interpretation of the officer concerned. Failing an eye test is a definate no no. Would it be better if the person in question was tested by an optician soon after the event. In so doing there will be a proffesional opinion to qualify the police report or not. Obviously there will be other types of incidences and these would have to be considered.   I think on                                                                                                                                                                             

I thought over 70's had to have tests to see if they were still fit to drive every so often ? Am I wrong in thinking this ?