Preventing suffering
People who often make a big mistake in traffic must be monitored for a long time to prevent suffering. This appeal is made by the director of the Victim Support Fund. Frequent offenders should not just be able to get back on the road without supervision after a driver’s license has been seized.
Road users who now lose their driver’s license after reckless driving can simply get back on the road when they get their license back as if nothing had happened. That is a thorn in the side of the Victim Support Fund. Director Ineke Sybesma argues in favor of keeping a close eye on frequent offenders when they get back on the road. Sybesma cites an earlier study by the Victim Support Fund, which showed that many serious traffic offenses can be attributed to multiple offenders: “In our research into recklessness, it was striking that in more than a third of the traffic crimes investigated in which people were injured or killed, a perpetrator was involved who already had a lot on his plate. And sometimes even caused the accident without a valid driver’s license because of a previous conviction.”
According to Sybesma, the latter in particular is a sign that something really needs to change: “Manual offenders, especially if they have made victims, should only be allowed to drive a car again if experts have determined that driving a car can really be entrusted to them. they realize that you bear responsibility for others in traffic.” According to Sybesma, lessons can be learned from how it works with suspended prison sentences. “(…)whereby the convicted person must adhere to strict conditions and may rejoin society under supervision. This is to prevent repetition. The law is hardly aware of this phenomenon for traffic offences. In most cases you get a denial of the driver’s license for a maximum of three years. After that you can simply pick up your driver’s license again, after you have shown that you still know how to drive a car.”
Sybesma illustrates the importance of stricter supervision of people who are allowed to go back on the road after recovery by means of a recent tragedy. Earlier this year, two young women were killed in Alblasserdam by someone who had already committed 12 very serious traffic violations. He clearly had no learning capacity. Had he been placed under surveillance, the suffering might have been avoided. Sybesma: “The driving license seems to be a fundamental right, to which there are far too few restrictions and supervision for people who leave a trail of destruction.”
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl