Would A French Court Have Been So Lenient If An English Driver Had Done The Same In Their Country?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2508121/French-driver-freed-fatal-car-accident-forgot-Britain.html

[jackthehat]

Who knows?
Do you?

[FredPuli43]

Yes. Next !

French courts and French law are lenient compared to ours in matters concerning driving. What this man did is astonishingly easy to do. I have witnessed and done it myself when driving a right hand drive car in France, happily without an accident but not without the severe risk of one.

[THECORBYLOON]

ANOTHEOLDGIT, if you think English courts should impose a similar sentence to a French court, are you in favour of pan-European law?

[bazwillrun]

highly unlikely

get caught without the correct kit in the car, hazard triangle and other stuuf youre forced to buy...and see what happens

but anyway at least we now know that ignorance can be used as a defence in an english

[FredPuli43]

baz, ignorance of the law is no defence anywhere. Ignorance of fact may be mitigation anywhere. This case was about mistake, not ignorance.

[anotheoldgit]

FredPuli43

/// baz, ignorance of the law is no defence anywhere. Ignorance of fact may be mitigation anywhere. This case was about mistake, not
ignorance. ///

Let's just say he made an ignorant mistake.

[FredPuli43]

He can't have been ignorant of the rule of the road here. But in a moment of inattention he absent -mindedly reverted to his old habit, to drive on the right. When I did the opposite manoeuvre in France, I wasn't ignorant of the French practice.

[Graham-W]

I have driven on the wrong side of the road in France after doing a three point turn in the road. Luckily two highly amused children on the back seat soon put me right before any incident. It's very easily done.

[baza]

If we all drove on the left it would not be a problem.