Kent motorist branded "a danger to cyclists" by judge is jailed for 10 months

Of my little peloton here in Bedfordshire, all of us drive/own and like cars, with the majority using them as regular transport, one is employed as a van driver for a supermarket, one (up until recently) had a Suzuki Hayabusa, I have a Yamaha R6 which I try to enjoy to its fullest extent and there's even a copper amongst our ranks - who has yet to display any cyclist hating or fascistic tendencies. As we're all heterosexual white males in the 25-45 age range with varying degrees of disposable income, I guess we fit with the majority of modern cyclists / bicycle riders in the UK, and fit the demographic that the bike companies get some good revenue from.

As a general rumination on this site regarding the more vociferous commenters on it I cannot help but think that it tends to portray road cyclists as a pretty fucking weary bunch of car haters endlessly harping on about how everyone is against them.

I really don't think I belong here.

We all know that 'car drivers', have for some inane reason, lack exactly that REASON. When I drive i find unbeleiveably inane. I amaze' at the comfort and look in admirance at cyclists who 'tough it out' on the roads just like myself and us'.

I view anyone who even thinks negatively towards anyone on a bike as an instant war-crimes subject.

To put it plainly;

Their's a bad attitude in this country amongst people who drive, a VERY BAD attitude, it needs to be addressed and addressed firmly.

The standard of driving is diminishing to astounding levels...to the extent i literally feared for my life even just riding a straight road.

At one point i even considered giving it up after 25 hardcore years and in December had 3 misses that very nearly ended me' !

I've noticed with a small minority of vehicle users that they just dont like us'; be it jealousy, aggression or absent mindedness, this the resultant thoughts via experiences in group rides or chain gangs.

I hope the entry of the 'tour to this land gets and changes some people attitude away from the get, get, get of daily life to consider 2 wheels and realise that we are flesh and bone not glass and metal and soo dearly injure and damage when impacted.

Stay safe out there, all !

To a certain extent I sympathise with him. I was recently down in the Westcountry and two cyclists were taking up the whole of the road by selfishly riding abreast of each other where it would have been much easier to ride in tandem. But even worse they were remonstrating vociferously and aggressively with any motorist who had the temerity to point this out including one severely disabled woman driver.
Now I know you get knobheads on both sides of the debate and nothing excuses deliberately driving at cyclists but there needs to be consideration on both sides. Many mostorists think that we cyclists think we own the road precisely because some act as if we do.

This was a deliberate and dangerous act that deserved a jail sentence.

However there is no excuse to ride two abreast presumably for no other reason than socialising. In failing to make way for faster traffic, cyclists are imposing their speed on others. It is a failure to consider other road users and does cause resentment.

What is particularly silly is the idea that it deters overtake attempts. That would make sense if clad in steel casing but to use one's own body as a block of heavy machinery is something normal people wouldn't even consider as sane. With the added dimension, as in this case, no idea of the ability or mental process of complete strangers.

The right not to be killed or turned into a paraplegic does not mean it wont happen if we continually place ourselves in dangerous places as sadly several top riders have proven.

harman_mogul wrote:

FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:

Its not as if there is a shortage of cops who are poor-to-mediocre drivers!

Do you have any evidence of this, or is it just routine bad-mouthing of the police?

Well I could start by pointing at the number of instances I personally see of police vehicles rolling into ASLs on red.
Then throw in the reported cases where police drivers have killed people through bad driving, or been caught speeding at ludicrous speeds when not on duty.

But how is it 'bad mouthing the police' to point out they are not that different from other drivers? Most of them are drivers, a lot of drivers in general are not that great at it.

The point is (as with racism, say) they are much the same as the population they are drawn from, and have the same biases, not that they are uniquely wicked.

Hell, they could even be better drivers than most, on average, and my original statement would still stand. The only thing is that I'm pretty sure cops are far more likely than the general population to actually be drivers at all and that is likely to influence how they view things.

(Come to think of it, that can probably join race as another issue with the police in inner London differing from the population they are policing).

Which is why I find a cop travelling by means other than a car to be a cheering thing.

I ride with a copper. I keep suggesting he keep his warrant card in his back pocket.

Rule 66 is fine in theory but written in a different era. All the roads I ride on are either narrow or busy - or both.

Put it this way, an assault in the street whereby someone sustained a broken wrist and and a dislocated collar bone would never get a 10 month sentence for a first time offender, which the bloke here seems to be.

May I be the first of the commentators on here to say THANK YOU to Judge Charles Macdonald QC to see through the obvious BS excuses of the defence and probably the first (hopefully of many) to say enough is enough and start to ramp up the sentences on drivers involved in collisions with cyclists.

Some people are saying sentence not harsh enough and I agree, but it is a damn sight better than some of the woefully inadequate sentences of late.

Perhaps just perhaps the wind is changing.

Those who mention the lack of education have a point. Until cycling becomes a major feature of the traffic landscape, scores of drivers will remain convinced that the roads are "theirs" and cyclists have no place on them.

Only "heavy" investments in cycling infrastructure (including public transport) to make cycling safer and more convenient - the cheap and easy bit - paired with massive media campaigns - the expensive and difficult bit - will produce the necessary mind change. It has been done before and is well worth the effort given the potential for substantial increases in well being, impressive decreases in public health cost and better spending of taxpayer money.

Timid tweaks will only yield insignificant improvements. What is needed is a bold leap forward. Make it happen!

Metal Box Syndrome at its worst. The Government really needs to look at a proper and concerted effort to educate the motorist on what to do when you meet cyclists on the road. I wonder if this idiot would have done the same had it been two motor cyclists, i highly doubt it.

Quote:

Speaking in mitigation on behalf of Hook, defence barrister Ian Henderson said he had been in business difficulties since the recession and that his client had been frustrated by what he believed was a lack of regard among cyclists for other road users.

That is not mitigation. I have stress at work, and get frustrated by traffic on the road. That doesn't mean I can drive in a fashion that endangers others.

If he's deemed a 'risk to cyclists', he should not be allowed back on the road ever, never mind three years.

I even had one on the opposite side of an otherwise empty country road gesticulating for me and a mate to ride single file.

It's the same as the road tax thing and could be fixed with a little bit of education.

If you use your car as a weapon, you should be banned from driving for life.

Mind you, could be interesting to hear what his insurance quote will be when he reapplies for his license.

I think its relevant about driving instruction.
a) you are right about the lack of training about how to interact with cyclists e.g. 2 abreast is OK.
b) thinking about my own experience of driving, when I took my test there was no such thing as an ASL (or if there was, we weren't told about it).
It made me think, what should we be doing about informing / retesting drivers on changes to driving law / driving regulations / new requirements? I understand cyclists get unhappy about car drivers jumping into ASLs, with good reason. But we should be aware that many people have no idea what they are. They have never received instruction on them, and there's no obvious way of being updated about it. So it makes me think there is a massive hole in the way drivers are instructed, and particularly being kept up to date. Not sure how we can improve that...

Had one of these "Single File" twerps screaming and honking and close-passing us on a group ride today. It would save a whole lot of bother if the two abreast thing was promoted a bit more. Maybe mentioned by driving instructors perhaps?

Trying to hurt and frighten people isn't on under any circumstances, but it's ignorance of the facts that carries these simpletons into these situations.

I wonder how many of us have been dealing with struggling businesses since the recession but have managed to not drive deliberately at other human beings? Stressful? If it had slowed his journey by 2 mins I would have been surprised. One moment of anger from an honest, hard working man? The judge did the right thing, this wasn't a driving mistake, we all make errors, this was pure anger which could have resulted in serious injury or worse. You break someone's wrist on the street, a GBH conviction is coming your way. The mere fact that you did it with a vehicle makes no odds. Hopefully this will be publicised as a warning to any other angry drivers out there. It's all been said before of course...

If the judge believes that this person "remains a danger to cyclists", who's to say how long that danger will persist after he gets his licence back, or indeed whether the likelyhood of aggressive behaviour has increased as a result of his incarceration. Who knows what goes on in the minds of drivers like this one.

The sensible thing, surely, is to hand out lifetime bans for anyone who displays agression like this behind the wheel.

What a c*nt.

And a motorcyclist too, a vulnerable road user who really ought to know better.

Yet another whom I hope is plagued by piles the size of Poland for the rest of his days.

Same happened to a group I was riding in.
The police were reluctant to do anything despite four written statements.
Eventually (12 month later)the driver was charged with driving without care and attention 3 points and. £30 quid fine.