I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

This new clause relates to hit-and-run accidents and is another attempt on our part to bear down on the infamous hard core. In 2004, 145 people were killed in 23,714 hit-and-run accidents and in 1997, 119 people were killed in 18,357 similar accidents. That is a 22 per cent. increase in the number of deaths and a 30 per cent. increase in the number of hit-and-run accidents. The number of people injured rose by 31 per cent. from 21,574 in 1997 to 28,397 in 2004. There is a real problem.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) said, another aspect is that at the moment there is a strong incentive for some drivers to get away from the scene of an accident. They may have had a drink or be part of the large number of people—perhaps 1 million—that the Government have announced are driving without insurance. Our intention in the new clause is simple: to impose a strong sanction on those who leave the scene of a crime. We intend the new clause to be used when there has been an injury and other motorists are involved. At the moment, members of the hard core have everything to gain from getting away and getting off scot-free. Our intention is to provide a strong incentive to make them stay on the spot and, if necessary, help an injured person or call the emergency services and wait for them to arrive.

This is a simple provision that would change the offence in section 170(4) of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 from a summary to an indictable one with an increase in the penalty from six months’ imprisonment to 14 years. That would impose a severe sanction on those who attempt to get away in appalling cases when they might have injured a third party.