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Justice (Lonpicman, Wikimedia Commons)Driving ban and curfew for driver who killed cyclist
A man who caused the death of a cyclist by careless driving was sentenced to a community order and disqualified from driving for two years at Weymouth Magistrates Court on Friday. Derek Cheney, aged 63, struck Paul Miller from behind near Dorchester on January 8 after failing to see him.
The Dorset Echo reports that Cheney was made the subject of a six-month curfew in which he will have to stay at home between 9pm and 6am and will be required to wear a tag. He will have to take an extended re-test after his driving ban has finished before he will be considered for a new licence. He was also ordered to pay a £145 victim surcharge and court costs.
"Very strong case for change" in way cycling death cases handled says ex-Crown Prosecution head
The court heard that 46-year-old Miller was cycling along the B3147, on his way home from St Andrew's Primary School in Yetminster where he was headteacher, when he was struck from behind by Cheney’s black Fiat.
The incident took place at 6.43pm and Miller was wearing high-vis clothing and had lights on his bike. Despite this, Cheney did not see Miller.
Speaking after the case, PC Craig Redmond, of Dorset Police’s Traffic Unit, said: “Paul was cycling home, wearing high visibility clothing and lights on his bicycle, but sadly Mr Cheney’s lack of awareness for other road users led to this tragic and avoidable collision. I would like to remind all motorists to be aware of other road users and give themselves plenty of time to respond to any obstacles ahead. Had Mr Cheney done this, Paul would still be alive today.”
In a statement, Miller’s wife Andrea said:
"Although it was dark, he was not concerned. He took cycling safety and visibility very seriously, as any of his school students will tell you: he often walked around the school in his high vis jacket, which even had a built in rear light which flashed, as well as always using a rear light on his bike.
"I have driven behind him in the dark on several occasions and he was so highly visible that I had no fears for his safety. The route was one he had ridden many times before without incident. The road where he was killed was straight.
"The police investigation found that there were seven seconds of full visibility of the road ahead, with no oncoming traffic, in which the driver should have seen Paul on his bike and overtaken him safely, preventing tragedy and heartbreak.
"It was Paul's 47th birthday on the following day and we planned to go out for a meal to celebrate. What happened instead was a nightmare that has continued ever since."
Mitigating, Charles Row said Cheney had "genuine remorse" and was "haunted" by the incident.
"This is something that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Nothing that I say can reflect the devastation that must be felt by Mrs Miller and her family and friends. Mr Cheney has done all he can in the circumstances to lessen the impact by simply pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity."
The court was told that Cheney suffers from bipolar disorder and the day after the incident was admitted to a mental health ward for six to eight weeks.
Duncan Dollimore from CTC's Road Justice campaign commented:
"When a driver fails to see a fully illuminated cyclist in front of them for seven seconds, and drives into them, that sounds like driving which is far below the standard of a competent and careful driver. That is the test for dangerous driving. So why was this only a careless driving charge and how are the public protected by the two year disqualification of a driver who was unable to concentrate upon the road ahead, not just momentarily, but for an extended period?"
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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20 comments
Eric D - i know where your coming from with this but my point was when a court hands out a sentence the Police cannot do anything about it.
A few years ago the responsibility on who got charged or not was solely with the Police and a hell of a lot more people went to court and pleaded guilty because of it. Now we have to seek permission from the CPS for a vast majority of charging decisions and the number of times it falls into the "to difficult" or "will we get a guilty plea" box and they dont bother is very very high and the case goes nowhere when previously the offender would have been charged and sent to court.
I could list case after case where the offender was NFA'd due to CPS decision when they should have gone to court.
Even if they are found not guilty by the courts the IP needs to see that we at least tried to get justice for them instead of the usual phone call or visit we have to make to tell them that the CPS wont run the case.
In the end they get the mind set of why bother ? which is echoed time and again on this forum.
Naturally there are cases which we decide not to consult the CPS and bin the case ourselves.
Anyone who suggests that someone with recognised acute mental health issues should kill themselves really needs to wind their dumb neck in.
To give just a 2-year driving ban with an extended re-test, as reported, is not appropriate in this case. The missing 7 seconds suggest an episodic illness or the consequence of an underlying condition.. Combined with the publicly reported illness, any granting of a new licence should have to be supported by thorough medical and medical psychological examinations. Regarding the leniency of the sentence; this will not act a deterrent. That is one of the key roles of an immediate custodial prison sentence. It is not as if death by careless driving of a vulnerable road user is a freak event.
From a couple of days ago. #justice ? #fairness ? You decide...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/12031540/Dash-cam-footage-of-dang...
Seems a reasonable sentence to me, should be accompanied by a lifetime driving ban. Why the killer in the original article doesn't get a sentence is beyond me.
The starting point for drivers who kill, or cause severe life changing injury, must be a lifetime ban. Too harsh I hear motorists cry.
Why?
Incompetent doctor - struck off.
Intoxicated airline pilot - Licence revoked.
Sexpest teacher - Sex offenders list and banned from exposure to young and vulnerable.
I could go on. In all those cases protests of personal hardship would be considered secondary to the sanctity of ensuring the priority of public safety.
Uniquely, a motorist is treated as a special case and we should be demanding under public enquiry to know what this special arrangement is that allows such violence to be excused and trivialised.
Our MPs should have to explain this should they not? If I can drive for nineteen years with respect for the lives of those around me causing no harm why is it such a big deal for others to do the same and why should the law proactively protect these people?
We should be demanding responses from those who have a duty to protect us, why are they failing us?
The best thing that Cheney can do is kill himself.
What a fucking disgrace of a sentence, in fact all of it from the start, charged with the wrong lesser offence of careless driving and not dangerous driving. The prosecution of this driver was a fucking disgrace. The police and CPS are incompetent. They do NOT give a shit about the safety of cyclists.
This leaves me cold. I was knocked down in a hit and run just like this just over 2 years ago, but fortunately I survived. I too like Andrew Miller was lit up like a Christmas tree riding along a dead straight road with no on coming traffic and a cunt drove straight into the back of me sending me flying into a ditch. They did not stop. The police were fucking useless.
The system is fucked and all it does is to insult those injured or if cyclists are killed the families and close friends of those killed. At present cyclists lives are cheap and sentences absolutely pathetic. Absolutely fucking shameful.
Whilst I totally get your anger about, and agree with your disappointment in, the legal system, that comment is distasteful and truly f-ing appalling.
I find this comment fair less offensive than the killer being ordered to pay a £145 victim surcharge and court costs, and that being considered justice for taking somebody's life.
Is that what a cyclists life is worth, how does that send any kind of message to your average driver.
Who cares about a 2 year driving ban and a curfew which I'll sure will be ignored.
Cheney killed someone, apparently through blindness, incompetence or utter selfish stupidity. He claimed through his liar to be devastated by what he had done. It's not at all clear why he wouldn't want to kill himself if he actually realises the magnitude of what he has done. Perhaps better would be to devote the rest of hix life to telling others how to avoid doing what he did. But just getting on with his life and ignoring what he did - that is truly distasteful.
When will you ever get it into your thick skull its NOT the Police who are to blame here its the judicial system with the sentencing they hand out. We simply put the evidence in and its the CPS who decide what to do with it. But hey ho dont let your biggotted ideas get in the way
Sometimes.
https://www.justgiving.com/justiceformichael/
Although the police did not break any rules when they failed to consult the CPS on the decision not to charge, their action went against charging guidance."
We shouldn't really have to be crowd-funding private prosecutions, but please help ...
http://road.cc/content/news/169760-very-strong-case-change-way-cycling-d...
Sometimes it dosen't even reach the CPS. The quote above should probably be clearer
With a private prosecution pending, there are limits to how much the above case can be discussed, but the outcome could be very interesting.
"The courts have no authority or power in law to order or offer an NDORS course as they are completely within the preserve of the Police."
NDORS = National Driver Offender Retraining/Rehabilitation Scheme
alternative to paying a fine and having penalty points on their licence
... and then there are the delays that cause 'out of time - can not prosecute' in 14 days !
https://beyondthekerb.wordpress.com/2015/09/03/guest-post-nipping-it-in-...
When you don't see someone lit up like Blackpool illuminations for 7 seconds and then hit them with enough force to kill them without apparently applying the brakes then you should be taken off the road for life. The law is a joke right now. Death by dangerous and death by careless offences are not fit for purpose and need scrapping.
We need proper legislation that protects vulnerable road users. We need lifelong driving bans for people that kill from behind a wheel when there is clear reckless or deliberate behaviour. As has been stated many times, driving is a privilege not a god damn right of birth.
If Cheney failed to see someone lit like a christmas tree, what I wonder had his attention? #mobilephone
> Cheney had "genuine remorse" and was "haunted" by the incident
excuse me while I get out me tiny fecking violin
Damn right - perhaps if he was remorseful and haunted in a prison cell it might make some of the other fuckwits think twice about how they drive.
I think that's the problem though. Him going to prison doesn't have any impact on other drivers.
It might have some. A 25 year sentence woukd surely get some people's attention. I really don't understand how he can ever be allowed to drive again.
That's something I would admit I don't actually know - would there be a deterence effect if sentences for these offences were longer?
People aren't necessarily aware they are driving recklessly, and even if they are they probably won't think anything will happen or that they'll be caught. The US has much longer sentences (their cops may even shoot you, apparently) but it doesn't seem to me their drivers behave any better.
On the other hand, that sentences for such crimes involving cars seem to be consistently softer than other kinds of crimes feels like a kind of deliberate insult to everyone not in a car.