Angela Dublin can count herself lucky that she received only a two-year jail term.

Her guilty plea to causing the deaths of four people in the horrific crash on the Oxford Eastern Bypass last May probably saved her from a much longer sentence.

We should give her credit for accepting her responsibility and sparing the long-suffering families of her victims the ordeal of a drawn-out trial.

But it is difficult to find any other mitigating circumstances in this incident, which has devastated the lives of so many.

To have caused the deaths of four people in one accident is bad enough, but the consequences of her fatal decision to drive that night are more widespread.

Some of those who were injured are still carrying mental and physical scars and will probably do so for many years.

And then there are the families whose lives are now empty following the loss of loved ones. That pain will probably never disappear.

What possessed Mrs Dublin to pack so many children into her car will be beyond most people's comprehension. If she was the only driver available, why did she not make two trips?

To allow children to ride without seatbelts and in the boot of a car, then to drive them at 70mph, is not only irresponsible but downright wicked.

Any motorist with an ounce of sense would have realised that once the overloaded car became unstable, an accident of multiple proportions was inevitable.

Oxfordshire County Council has put in a barrier and a 50mph speed limit to stop a similar accident at this spot.

But whatever measures it takes, it cannot legislate for the stupidity of drivers. It is up to all of us, when behind the wheel, to behave sensibly and responsibly on our roads at all times.

Mrs Dublin will have plenty of time to reflect in jail on the night when her utter recklessness destroyed her life and the lives of many others forever.