The Crown Prosecution Service is to take a tougher line on drivers who kill. So will it really mean justice for victims who died because of another's driving error?

Cars are a vital part of many people's lives but they can also become deadly weapons.

Sometimes it is a simple accident or a cruel twist of fate which leaves a loved one dead but sometimes one driver is at fault and all too often their punishment does not reflect the fact they have killed.

Victim's families are often left stunned at the light sentences for death by dangerous driving and wondering why their loved one's life was not worth more than a 12-month ban and a £600 fine.

Across Sussex there have been a number of deaths where the guilty party has escaped with a light sentence:

Alison Bedwell was killed when driver Christopher Tinkler gave another driver "the finger", swerved in front of the car and lost control on the A26 near Eridge in June 2001. Tinkler was jailed for 21 months for causing death by dangerous driving
Eric Raine, 20, of Pound Hill, Crawley, was a passenger in a car being driven by Adam Clayton which spun out of control on a country lane. Clayton was acquitted of causing death by dangerous driving but convicted of careless driving. He was fined £600, banned for 18 months and had 12 points on his licence in June
Former footballer Ashley Jones was cleared of causing death by dangerous driving but convicted of careless driving in July, after he was involved in a head-on collision which killed scaffolding manager David Winder on the A259 at Friston. Jones was fined £1,000, banned for three years and ordered to retake his driving test
Grandmother Margaret Charlotte was killed when lorry driver Barry Jillett swerved on to the wrong side of the road and crashed into an oncoming Rover on the A29 at Hardham in October 2001. He was fined £500, ordered to pay £50 costs and had his licence endorsed with six points after he admitted careless driving.

Alan Tugwell was outraged when Leighton Long was fined just £100 for careless driving after his son Michael, 25, was killed in a car crash on Cowley Drive, Woodingdean, in October 2001.

He has called repeatedly for a change in the law to get the fact a death is involved acknowledged in the charge and sentence.

He welcomes anything that will get other families the justice he feels his family was denied.

He said: "It was an outrage - my son died. It is an insult.

"My daughter-in-law now has to bring up their three children on her own and the driver was not even insured. I am still very upset.

"What I found disturbing was Long was responsible for the death of my son but not once has he had to stand up in court and answer questions.

"There was not enough evidence to support a dangerous driving charge but there was overwhelming evidence for driving without due care and attention.

"Why can't you have a charge of causing death by careless driving or causing death by driving without due care and attention?

"I would like to see cases come to court quicker and I would like to see proper charges laid against people."

Now, the CPS, following a report which examined 164 cases of death by dangerous driving, is planning to take a tougher line and introduce consistency in the level of charge.

Alison Saunders, chief crown prosecutor for Sussex, said: "Unfortunately we get a fair number of these cases but we are slightly ahead of the game as far as the report is concerned.

"It is always very difficult because, although there has been a death, the charge which is the most appropriate may not reflect this.

"We try to speak to victims' families and explain why we prosecute with the charges we do. The other thing we do is to refer cases to the Attorney General if we think the sentences are too lenient."

Presently, death by dangerous driving is dealt with in the Crown Court, where sentencing power is much higher than in a magistrates court.

The maximum sentence is ten years, although the Government has recently announced this is to be increased to 14. Careless driving is a summary offence which can only be dealt with in a magistrates court.

The maximum sentence is six months and or a fine and or penalty points but it is quite rare for a prison sentence to be imposed.

Mrs Saunders said: "We are making sure we are not being overly cautious about charges and that the right charge is being applied.

"If the evidence is there, then it will be death by dangerous driving."

UK charity Roadpeace, which helps families who have lost loved ones in road deaths, cautiously welcomed the report, pointing out there was still a big gulf between the two charges.

Chairwoman Zoe Stow said downgrading to the lower charge effectively allowed the driver to "get away with it" because magistrates courts were unable to treat deaths alongside a careless driving charge with any relevance.

She said: "The difference between the two charges may be one of quality of evidence, not of culpability.

"Earlier contact between police and CPS and specialist prosecutors may help but changes in attitude are needed.

"The improvement in treatment of families is marked but we are still hearing of bereaved families who were not even informed of the date of the court hearing."

Mrs Stow said part of the problem seemed to be prosecution lawyers having too little time to prepare, unlike defence lawyers.

"Cases where the prosecution case is prepared and presented to a standard comparable with the defence should be the norm rather than the exception."