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news
Police tape (CC licensed by freefotouk on Flickr)Impatient white van man jailed for killing 74 year old cyclist
An Essex white van man has been jailed for eight months for killing a 74-year-old cyclist in a narrow country lane.
The driver, Paul Brinkman, from Romford, was initially up for a charge of causing death by dangerous driving at Cambridge Crown Court.
But having pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of death by careless driving before the trial, this was accepted by the prosecution instead.
Brinkman was handed eight months in prison, and was disqualified from driving for two years and four months for his part in the tragic incident at 5.55am on November 24, 2015.
Ronald Bousted, 74, was said to have been wearing lots of hi-visibility clothing a the time, and was taking advice from his doctor to do plenty of regular exercise.
Emma Nash, prosecuting, said: "Mr Bousted was in the habit of going for half an hour of exercise each morning.
"It was a drizzly day and the defendant was travelling to work in a white van. He was driving behind a motorist in a car who had used that route for 21 years."
About four miles before the collision took place in Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire, the other driver noticed Brinkman driving "unnecessarily close" behind him.
According to Essex Live, Miss Nash added: "The driver in front said he remembers thinking 'don't overtake now' as he was, at this point, a few metres away from the cyclist.
"The defendant clearly hadn't seen the victim, because he was too close behind the other driver and his vision was obscured."
A passing HGV driver and off-duty doctor, as well as paramedics, tried in vain to save Mr Bousted’s life.
Brinkman took eight months away from work after the crash, suffered from depression and found any driving “traumatic”, according to a report made for probation.
Adam Morgan, mitigating, said: "There is no doubt to the extent of loss that Mr Bousted's wife feels, having seen her husband off on his regular morning bike ride.
"This was a single, momentary catastrophic error of judgement.
"The defendant did everything he could at the scene, even phoning 999.
"It's clear he is genuinely remorseful. This is something he is going to have to live with for the rest of his life; he told me he wakes up thinking of this every morning.
"He appreciates the impact of this crash on his victim's wife and knows this largely dwarfs the impact it has had on him.
"References from family and friends describe the defendant as a gentle giant, a man who is caring, dependable and who possesses a strong moral compass."
Sentencing, Judge David Farrell said: "No sentence given by this court could ever reflect the loss of someone's life and no-one can ever turn the clocks back.
"Had you have been more patient, this matter could have been averted."
Mr Bousted was described by his cycling club, Bedfordshire Road Cycling Club, as "a stalwart member of the club".
On the club's website, a statement said: "Tragically, Ron was killed whilst out cycling on his bike, early on the morning of 24 November 2015, aged 74, on his way home from the pool. Swimming was his passion, and he swam every day."
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13 comments
Other than the length of sentence, and subsequent ban, this driver will still have the stain, guilt and expense with him for the rest his life.
In no way does this mitigate the devastation to the family of the cyclist.
We, vulnerable road users are just going to have hope one day not too far in the future legislation will change making the idea of injury to a cyclist will have huge ramifications that drivers are more wary. We can hope
The problem with carless driving vs dangerous driving is that it has never been enforced properly.
Knocking a wingmirror off a parked car because you were changing radio station on a clear road and veered slightly is careless, but tailgating in poor weather conditions and making a dodgy overtake is clearly dangerous.
I know its easy to stereotype van drivers, taxis etc. but I genuinely find them to tailgate, cut in without indicating and be on mobile phones, and I'm not surprised that they are killing cyclists.
Despite being a petrolhead and loving a good backroad blast, I would happily give it all up, if every motor vehicle was autonomous and we could use normal cars on trackdays. Heck, I'm even considering a Volvo because of safety and semi-autonomy (as an assist to skilled driving rather than autopilot!)
Eight months for manslaughter..if you're gonna kill someone use a motor vehicle is the lesson here.
'About four miles before the collision took place in Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire, the other driver noticed Brinkman driving "unnecessarily close" behind him.'
So the mitigation offered by the defence was bollocks.
Was it taken into account when sentencing?
As already pointed out, it seems unlikely that this was just a momentary lapse, and it appears that the driver had become impatient and was already taking un-necessary risks, so this seems like a classic case of dangerous driving, not careless.
There are other threads about the difference, and Cycling UK is trying to get the government to change the law, but if this isn't dangerous driving, nothing is. If it's dangerous enough to kill someone, it's dangerous driving.
I don't blame the cps in these circumstances, it's nearly impossible to get a conviction for dangerous driving out of a jury of motorists.
Anyway, white van driver, from Essex, gentle giant, yeah I bet he's lovely, a stereotype is a thing for a reason.
yes. That reason is "can't be bothered to think for myself so I'll let my prejudices do my talking".
Too bloody late being sorry AFTERWARDS!!!!!!!
When will some of these dull people learn.
Selfish, reckless, careless, dangerous, useless, incompetent, uneducated, self-pitying CUNT
Making decisions such as those you deride is extremely difficult, you may never have had to make such a choice. If you believe the sentence is unduly lenient do something about it but of course pontificating is a whole lot easier. Talk's cheap if you really want to improve the CPS go and work for them. The problem is that people just don't want to convict their fellow drivers of offences of this nature; decisions such as to whether to put the victims family through a trial when the outcome is uncertain is a heavy burden. If you're not willing to share it you should temper your criticism of those that do
I work in the CJS and I am well aware of the financial and other pressures brought to bear on charging decisions as well decisions like the one the Cps made here. Perhaps the Cps spoke with the family and asked their view before accepting the plea but that will be about presentation and a realistic assessment of the options and not one driven by cost. I am constantly surprised by Cps decisions to charge lesser offences or accept lesser pleas and it is clear that cost is a huge consideration in the decision making process. 4 miles of what seems to be tailgating in adverse weather conditions and a fellow driver offering a negative opinion about the dangerousness of the manouver , indeed the decision to overtake suggest this is one of those that should have been prosecuted for dangerous driving.
"The defendant did everything he could at the scene, even phoning 999." Well f#ck me, that's good of him...
4 miles of tailgating doesn't sound like "a single, momentary catastrophic error of judgment" but more like a sustained period of impatience and recklessness.
So this was a conviction for careless driving instead of for dangerous driving because it made the CPS's life easier and lightened their workload: they didn't have to bother with arguing for the prosecution... So this guy's driving didn't fall far below the expected standard? Is the CPS quite sure of that?