The ripple effect of fatal car accidents

Reporting on court proceedings relating to fatal accidents is among the toughest part of his jobs, says Birmingham Mail court reporter CARL JACKSON. Here, he explains why...

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AS I spend my days writing about criminal defendants stabbing, shooting and killing people in Birmingham, I try to comfort myself with one thought: If you don’t go looking for trouble, it makes it less likely to find you.

But there is one part of the city where even that notion won't protect you. The roads.

As the Birmingham Mail’s court reporter I've covered far too many cases about completely innocent people being killed or having their lives wrecked just by going about their daily business.

Why? Because they had the misfortune to encounter a selfish driver. A driver who was speeding, racing or was too intoxicated to be behind the wheel in the first place.

Birmingham was once celebrated as ‘motor city; but now it has a much darker relationship with cars.

This is why the Birmingham Mail is standing beside families of blameless victims, charities and road safety campaigners to press the Government to ban reckless killer drivers from driving the rest of their lives.

Since the start of 2022, we have covered more than 50 cases of dangerous drivers causing death or serious injury in the region.