Crash drivers who kill while using mobile phone face 14 years in jail

London: Motorists who cause fatal accidents while texting or talking on mobiles could face up to 14 years in prison from on Wednesday.

Drivers involved in death crashes after drinking or taking drugs face similar penalties, as will those who were driving at greatly excessive speed over long distances.

Under new sentencing guidelines sent to the courts yesterday which come into immediate effect, there are to be stiffer penalties for drivers who kill after getting too close to cyclists or who go into cycle lanes.

Sentences of two to five years are recommended for motorists who kill when driving despite knowing that they are tired or have failed to take prescribed medication or are in a vehicle that they know to have a dangerous defect. There will also be longer driving bans for other motoring offences. The new rules, issued today by the Government's Sentencing Guidelines Council, follow anger from victims' families and campaign groups about lenient punishments handed out to some killer drivers, some of whom have escaped with a fine.