Changes to blood test law after fatal collisions ‘being considered’
Commons Leader Lucy Powell said the Government is ‘considering some possible changes to motoring offences’.
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Your support makes all the difference.Changes to the law over a driver’s blood being tested without consent after a fatal road traffic collision could be brought forward by the Government, Commons Leader Lucy Powell has suggested.
It comes as a Labour MP raised the case of six-year-old Sharlotte-Sky Naglis who died after being struck by a drunk driver as she walked along the pavement with her father near their home in Norton Green, near Stoke, in 2021.
The driver, John Owen, spent 11 weeks in a coma following the accident and due to current legislation his blood could not be tested for evidence by police without his consent.
We are currently considering some possible changes to motoring offences to cover situations like this, and I will ensure that any such changes are brought to this House for an announcement first
Sharlotte’s mother Claire is calling for section 7A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to be amended so that blood can be tested without consent, when deaths occur.
In the collision that killed Sharlotte, Owen was two times over the drink-drive limit, had Class A drugs in his system and was also using his phone. He received a sentence of six years and four months, serving two-and-a-half years in prison.
In the Commons, Ms Powell told Stoke-on-Trent North MP David Williams that the Government is “considering some possible changes to motoring offences to cover situations like this”.
On Thursday, Mr Williams said: “In 2021, in my constituency, a six-year-old girl Sharlotte-Sky Naglis was killed after being hit a speeding driver who was on drugs and was drunk.
“The driver spent 11 weeks in a coma, and whilst the police had taken a blood sample, they were unable to test it without his consent.
“Ever since, Sharlotte’s mother Claire has been campaigning tirelessly to amend section 7A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to allow blood samples to be tested without consent in cases where dangerous driving has led to a loss of life.
“Would the Leader of the House please make time to debate this important matter in the House?”
Ms Powell replied: “Well, what a tragic case he raises and many cases like this are raised consistently in the chamber.
“And we are currently considering some possible changes to motoring offences to cover situations like this, and I will ensure that any such changes are brought to this House for an announcement first.”
Former Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis previously presented a Bill referred to as “Sharlotte’s law” in attempt to amend section 7A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, as part of a 10-minute rule motion in the Commons.