Transport Minister Eddie Noel has approved the law amendment that could give the Royal Court the power to impose maximum sentences of up to five years in prison for the new offence.
It follows the death of Latvian national Dita Paverniece who died after the Lotus Elise sports car she was a passenger in smashed into a granite wall on the St Clement’s Coast Road in February 2011.
The driver was charged with causing death by dangerous driving, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, but the prosecution concluded there was insufficient evidence for a conviction.
Instead he pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of careless driving, which carries a maximum penalty of a £1,000 fine.
He was fined £750 and banned from driving for a year.
The new law is due to be debated in the States in November.
Members will also consider other proposals including introducing a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving and raising the highest possible fine for careless driving where there is no injury from £1,000 to £5,000.
Politicians are also due to discuss the proposed new offence of causing injury by careless driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
This could carry sentence of a fine, four years in prison and a two year ban from driving.
Statistics show that on average there are 50 serious accidents on Jersey roads every year – three of which result in deaths.
