cp24.com

Darryl Bowles of Families Fighting Careless Driving poses for a photograph with his sister, Maureen VanRavens. They're both holding a frame with a picture of their father, who was killed by a person charged with careless driving. (CP24/Maurice Cacho)

A group is lobbying the provincial government in hopes of toughening up careless driving charges because people are getting off too easy after fatal collisions, its organiser says.

Families Fighting Careless Drivers founder Darryl Bowles is meeting with the Attorney General later this week to discuss tougher penalties.

Bowles, whose father was killed in a car accident nearly a year ago, says drivers whose actions result in a traffic fatality are just getting a "slap on the wrist."

"There's no difference whether you've hit a tree or killed a human. It's careless driving," he says.

According to his research, Bowles says the average driver convicted of careless driving gets a small fine or licence suspension.

"We realize that it's just not fair," he says.

The driver accused of killing his father has not been convicted, and Bowles says it's been a tough time for his family.

"He was everything to us," he told CP24. "He kept our family together."

Bowles hopes the government will realize that changes to careless driving legislation need to be made, because a fine for taking a life is not sufficient, he says.

After meeting with Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley, Bowles would like to emerge from the meeting with a plan or timeframe on how to toughen up the rules. He'd like new legislation that would see drivers charged with 'careless driving causing death.'

"People keep getting killed on our roads by people who are driving carelessly, and there's something that has to be done."