On Tuesday (10 December 2013) Rehman held a debate in Parliament on improving road safety and asked the Government to review measures to reduce tragedy and injury on our roads.
Rehman said that the Government should consider introducing alcolocks and tougher sentences for persistent offenders to tackle the increases in deaths from drink driving.
He also called for a tougher new stance on banned drivers. Rehman wants courts to be given extra powers to lock up motorists who cause death whilst disqualified for up to 14 years, instead of the current maximum of two years.
The local MP also wants repeat offenders, who drive despite being disqualified, to face up to two years in prison, instead of the current six months.
The latest Government figures show that there are still more than 195,000 reported casualties on the roads.
They also show that drink driving deaths have increased 17% and now account for 16% of all road deaths in Great Britain.
Rehman said that the contribution of existing measures in reducing drink driving has decreased because there is a hard core of persistent offenders and new ways need to be considered.
He highlighted the success of alcohol ignition interlocks – widely known as alcolocks - in other countries, which have been found to reduce repeat offenders.
The debate also considered the evidence on driver distractions, such as mobile phones, which is a major cause of death and serious injury on the road.
Rehman said:
"Whilst our roads may be among the safest in the world, there are still more than 195,000 reported casualties each year. Every death is a tragedy and every injury a suffering which could have been prevented and more can and should be done to increase road safety and this is why I have called for this debate.
"With deaths from drink driving increasing, new measures such as alcolocks and tougher sentences are needed to target the hardcore and persistent offenders, who risk their and other people’s safety by ignoring the law.
"It is also an astonishing anomaly that banned drivers face lenient sentences. These are people who have already been convicted for an offence but willfully chose to ignore the law. We need measures that will act as a real deterrent and stop motorists putting innocent lives at risk."