F&I Management & Training

15 year old Rebecca Still from Otley, whose brother Jamie Still was run over and killed age 16 by a drink driver, has gathered more than 13,000 signatures calling for justice for families bereaved or injured by drink drivers, supported by Brake, the road safety charity. Jamie was walking back from a local take-away with friends on New Year's Eve 2010 when drink driver Max McRae mounted the pavement and ended Jamie's life. His sister set up The Jamie Still Campaign, calling for tougher laws, longer sentences for drink drivers, and for drivers who kill to not be allowed to continue driving while awaiting trial.

Today Rebecca, alongside mum Karen Strong and granddad Peter Strong, are handing the petition to Downing Street. Their MP Greg Mulholland, who has supported the campaign from the start, will be making a speech on the floor of the House, urging the government to listen to their calls.

Rebecca was just 13 years old when she created the campaign. She had been outraged that her brother's killer was allowed to keep his licence and continue to drive in the eight month run up to his trial.

Rebecca's mother Karen Strong got in touch with local MP Greg Mulholland. Working alongside the family, he asked the Prime Minister to change the law so drivers charged with death by dangerous or careless driving have their driving licence suspended as a bail condition, to which David Cameron responded by agreeing it was an issue for consideration. Greg took Rebecca, Karen and Peter to meet with Justice Minister Crispin Blunt and secured a debate in parliament to persuade the government to include provisions on bail conditions for those charged with dangerous or careless driving. The Minister responded by saying guidance for courts was being reviewed and would be published for consultation later in the year. He said he expected it will recommend a no-drive bail condition if a defendant is considered a danger to other road users.

Meanwhile the Strong family have rallied widespread support for Rebecca's petition, and calling for a range of measures to tackle drink driving and bring justice for those bereaved and injured, attending numerous events and appearing on local and national TV to urge support.

Visit the campaign webpage www.jamiestillcampaign.co.uk. Visit the online version of the petition (many more signatures were collected on paper, bringing the total signatures to 13,000).

Brake has been supporting their calls, while also working to raise awareness of the dangers of driving on any amount of alcohol, and calling for zero tolerance on drink driving, through its ‘not a drop' campaign. Read more about Brake's campaigns on drink driving and justice for road crash victims.

Jamie's mum, Karen Strong, said: "Rebecca's determination has been incredible. We are all so proud of her. She started this campaign by herself, from her bedroom, and we only found out when she told us she was getting so much support on the internet. We knew immediately we had to do everything we could to support her. Jamie's death has been absolutely devastating for all of us. Everyone thinks their child is special, but Jamie really was. He was gentle and kind, and as perfect a son as any mum could hope for. We all miss him terribly, including Rebecca, but we're all determined his death won't be in vain. The campaign doesn't end here. We want to know the government will get tough with drink drivers, because no other family should have to go what we've been through."

DATED: 01.07.13

FEED: HA