Impatient white van man jailed for killing 74 year old cyclist

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. 

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

"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?