On Monday July 17, 2023, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne announced the reclassification of ” manslaughter » from driver to « traffic homicide “. A symbolic name change, at the request of the victims’ family members, to clear the term ” involuntary » of the legal lexicon surrounding these cases.
What is manslaughter by driver?
Today, article 221-6-1 of the penal code establishes that ” when clumsiness, imprudence, carelessness, negligence or breach of a legislative or regulatory obligation ‘of prudence or safety’ […] is committed by the driver of a motorized land vehicle, manslaughter is punished with five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros “.
Matignon does not intend to create a new crime, but to modify the penal code, so that it becomes road homicide ” all manslaughter committed by the driver of a land vehicle with or without aggravating circumstances “, as reported by our colleagues from FM TV.
They will also be reclassified as ” road accidents “.
Is there any data on the subject?
Today, 84% of those responsible or presumed responsible for fatal driving accidents are men, according to the latest data on road safety. And when drunkenness has something to do with it, the percentage rises dramatically: 93% of drunk drivers involved in an accident are… men.
How to explain it? In question, a certain vision of virility that instills the automotive world, which struggles to clearly face its gender biases, the consequences of which are however devastating: “ These stereotypes help to perpetuate the idea that men, unlike women, have some form of natural aptitude for driving, resulting ironically in turning excessive speeds, dangerous overtaking or the certainty of “holding the alcohol” into signs of a all-male skill reads the Road Safety press release, published last February.
Does this name change have an impact on the sanctions incurred?
Matignon assures that the penalties will remain unchanged: motorists still risk up to five years in prison, or 7 in the case of aggravating circumstances, or even 10 if there are two or more aggravating circumstances.
These aggravating circumstances include, but are not limited to, blood alcohol level, drug use, driving without a license, speeding, and hit and run.
However, some experts warn of a potential semantic shift that would open breaches in the law. This is the case of Me Jérôme Gavaudan, president of the Conseil National des Barreaux, questioned by our colleagues from French radio : “ In law it is necessary to distinguish what one wanted to do, what one wanted to commit as facts and what one did not want to commit. This shift is contrary to the general principles of criminal law: the intention counts, therefore it must be sanctioned differently from the situation in which, even if there has been a multiplication of guilt, the intention to kill did not exist. “.
Why is this announcement coming now?
As remembered 20 minutes, this request has been made for ten years by the families of the victims. A recently revived claim” from the partnership created by the starred chef Yannick Alléno after the death in May 2022 of his son Antoine, run over by a driver. The cook has been asking for the vehicular homicide to be a separate crime for several months “.
The debate was considerably reignited last winter, when actor Pierre Palmade caused a serious car accident while driving against the road, under the influence of psychiatric drugs. This was then announced by Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin JDD work on measures for the evaluation of legislation. The name change is one of them.
What do the associations and families of the victims think?
Associations and families of the victims have declared themselves conflicting in the face of this announcement, which has not been followed by decisive measures. For example, chef Yannick Alléno told us about it FM TV : “ This is verbatim, this is a semantic change in the law, we will always be under the heading of manslaughter “. Asks, like other families, the creation of a ” autonomous crime, distinct from manslaughter “.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
