- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
road.cc newsCyclist hits out at driver awareness course but no charges for motorist who knocked him down… on bike path
A Dorset cyclist who needed to be treated in hospital after suffering cuts and bruises when he was knocked off his bike by a car while riding on an off-road shared use path has expressed his frustration after learning that the only action taken against the motorist involved was to offer her a place on a driver awareness course.
Mike Anwyll, aged 51, whose bike was written off in the incident, told the Bournemouth Echo that he couldn't understand Dorset Police's decision.
He told the newspaper: “It felt like a bomb had gone off under the bike – I didn’t realise what had happened at first.
“My issue is not really with the driver. It’s with the police over the lack of consistency in these things.
“For instance, my father-in-law was fined and got penalty points for doing 36mph at 4am on his way to the airport.
“On the other hand, I get knocked over by someone who loses control, mounts the pavement and crosses a grass verge on to the designated cycle path. This doesn’t make sense.”
A look at Gravel Hill in Poole on Google Street View shows that a shared use path runs alongside the road in several stretches, separated form the main carriageway by a grass verge that is at least one metre wide and in some places much wider.
The cyclist complained to Dorset Police and received a reply in which a representative of the force stated: “I have concluded that the driver was sufficiently blameworthy to justify further police action.
“In view of the poor driving judgement shown, I intend to make an offer of attendance on a driver awareness course.
“While there is sufficient evidence to justify a prosecution, there is no provision in law for a magistrate to order such retraining and the imposition of a fine and penalty points will not do anything to correct poor driving habits.”
However, Mr Anwyll, who commutes by bike to his work each day as an electrician and now has 21 days to reply to the police’s letter, said: “I find that a really strange admission to make, that fines and points don’t have any effect as far as driving habits are concerned.”
He added that the motorist had said that the incident had been caused by an issue with her vehicle’s steering, although if a mechanical problem is to blame, that doesn’t seem to tally with the police’s decision to offer her a place on a driver awareness course.
A spokesman for Dorset Police told the Bournemouth Echo that they were unable to comment on individual cases but added: “Every case is different and all the evidence will have been looked at.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- IanMK 1 sec ago
Personally, before posting negatively on the pet story I would want to know how many pets are killed or hurt in cars because they weren't properly...
- LordSandwich 2 hours 9 min ago
As someone who drives a diesel, I was looking at that and thinking "that's been the normal price for ages!" 😭
- ErnieC 2 hours 16 min ago
Glad I got mine before that change in ownership.
- quadtodd 7 hours 43 min ago
And 3 of the 'workers' are just leaning!
- yellowjack 8 hours 14 min ago
Same sketch everywhere, or so it seems. Take Whitelegg Way in Bournemouth. Wide cycle lanes put in both sides of a (formerly very wide) two lane...
- yellowjack 8 hours 31 min ago
Sounds cool. I haven't taken an "unnecessary flight" since 1992. Flown many times since then for work, but you can't patrol the Iraqi desert, or...
- NOtotheEU 8 hours 54 min ago
My first thought on reading the headline was "ooh, has Clevedon put in covered bike parking now?".
- TheBillder 9 hours 50 min ago
I rented a car a few weeks ago, a Skoda Octavia (needed a big car for a weekend), and the ride was astonishingly good compared to my own 10 year...
Add new comment
42 comments
Deliberate speeding isn't the same as (supposedly) suffering a mechanical failure.
Failing to react correctly after losing control is something better treated with training than points, so I think the police made the right decision on this one.
I had a good idea for red-light jumping cyclists too: custard pies or eggs thrown by pedestrians. Or maybe that stringy spray from cans.
I hope this has been sent to the driver's employers? They should know better than to employ violent thugs.
You do realise that the considerate construction scheme is just a bullshit sham don't you? Nobody in this business gives a flying fuck what their drivers do, so long as they get from a-b as fast as possible.
Having been snapped at 36 on a dual-carriageway A-road at 7am on a Sunday (no excuse of course) I opted for the awareness course.
Half a day of quite sensible re-education and picking up a few tips, including one that I'm 100% certain saved a head-on smash a week later (the 'thicker lines = more hazard' one).
BUT - and this is the biggie - had I opted for the points instead of paying £80 for the course, next year's insurance premium would have been nearly triple the £500 it is now.
No-one ever mentions that in this debate - points are bloody expensive a year later, and I think insurance firms take them into account for quite a few years afterward.
Hmmm. Going back to the original issue; the police thought re-education over any penalty because the driver claimed the steering on her car went. Surely this could be proven easily by a mechanical assessment. This should be the first cause of action in a case of attempted murder/manslaughter. What else is it when someone aims 2 tons of steel at an innocent bystander? Anyway a call to one of those terribly keen lawyers should see him right with damages etc.
Couple of points i've picked up on. The main story was about how the Police did nothing yet there are numerous comments stating it's a good course etc etc, so in reality the Police took the correct action.
Secondly, md6, have you read the previous comments about what the Police did ? obviously not because if they had not done anything then what do you call the driver awareness course ??????? and all the positive comments about it.
Finally, if you dont declare points how does your premium go up ? I believe, and someone please correct me if i'm wrong here, there are only certain offences where you have to declare the points and i dont think speeding is one. Insurance companies dont have access to the DVLA computers for data protection purposes.
I think I would have difficulty in not head butting the ignorant lorry driving twat, he was mm away from committing manslaughter
Every motor insurer requires full disclosure of every accident, claim and driving offence ever committed.
Whether they then choose to rate your premium on them is up to them. Many choose to ignore a single fixed penalty speeding offence as so many people have them and they're not that indicative of poor driving (ie, bad risk).
Failure to disclose ANYTHING will invalidate the policy. They'll certainly check everything if you ever claim or are claimed against.
[32 years cycling. 23 years in insurance]
Few employers care about how their employees drive, or even care about their welfare, the people I work for expect their employees to eat their lunch while driving between sites.
racyrich, the problem there is the insurance companies dont have access to dvla records and the dvla wont disclose anything to them. They have to apply through a data protection request which costs them money so they wont do it.
In my line of work we speak to Insurance companies on a regular basis and to be honest they dont care about speeding points on licence's or other minor infringements and when asked if it invalidates a policy they say NO because they would rather have their money coming in than not.
I'm sure there will be instances when the insurance company does submit a data protection request, usually when its a multiple times claimant.
[[[[ "Driver's head on a stake"? No, but I wonder was the driver's mouth on an excess-alchohol breathalyser? And was this not "driving without due care and attention"? One could almost imagine an anti-cyclist bias here.....truly mind-boggling.
P.R.
Pages