A driver has been jailed for killing a pedestrian while unlicensed and uninsured.
David Loosemore died after stepping in front of the car Jason John Williams, 39, from Swansea, was driving.
A judge at Swansea Crown Court said Williams was not being held responsible for 41-year-old Mr Loosemore’s death.
Rather, he was being punished for not holding a driving licence or insurance at the time of Mr Loosemore’s death. Williams was jailed for 36 weeks.
Judge John Diehl said parliament clearly wanted drivers involved in fatal road accidents to be more severely punished.
He said that Williams had never held a licence "or bothered to try and get one".
He also did not have insurance, but he had managed to build a long list of convictions for driving offences.
He stressed that Williams was not being held responsible for the death of Mr Loosemore.
On the contrary, he added, Williams had behaved entirely properly by pulling into a side street, returning to the scene, telephoning the police and trying to help.
"But this offence does not require proof as to the manner or your driving, only that you were driving without a valid licence or insurance.
"The law is seeking to tell you, and other people, that it is against the law to drive without them.
"You had no business driving because you had no insurance against the possible consequences to any unfortunate third party," he said.
Driving test
Williams, a bar manager, was driving his girlfriend home on 10 February 2009, when Mr Loosemore stepped into the path of his car which was overtaking another vehicle.
Mr Loosemore suffered head injuries and died the following day.
John Hipkin, prosecuting, said Williams had owned the BMW for eight weeks and knew he was breaking the law every time he used it.
He said there was no record of Williams ever taking a driving test, without which he could not get valid insurance even if he wanted to.
Williams denied the offence but was convicted by a jury after a trial.
Legal requirements
Judge Diehl told Williams: "There is no suggestion there was any fault with the manner of your driving, or that you were adversely affected by drink or drugs.
"Tragically, Mr Loosemore stepped out into you path. You could not avoid the collision and afterwards you behaved entirely responsibly.
"Your girlfriend, who you cherish, was in the car and she didn’t know you had no insurance.
"This offence is aggravated because you had chosen over a long period of time to ignore the legal requirements to have a valid driving licence and insurance.
"These were you responsibilities as the owner and user of the vehicle."
Williams was also banned from driving for two years.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.