- 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
- Tubeless valves
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
Statue of Justice, Old Bailey (licensed CC BY 2.0 on Flickr by Ronnie Macdonald).jpgVan driver who crushed bike with toddler still in child seat receives community order
A van driver in Bristol who fled the scene of a collision with a cyclist, driving over and crushing the bicycle which still had a toddler strapped into the child seat, has been handed a community order and banned from driving for nine months.
Robin Tippett, aged 22 and from Pucklechurch, pleaded guilty yesterday to failing to stop after an accident, failing to report an accident and driving without due care and attention in relation to the incident, which happened last September, reports the Bristol Post.
at Bristol Magistrates’ Court heard that Paul Squires had been waiting at a junction on Cossham Street, Mangotsfield with his two-and-a-half-year-old son Daniel when they were pushed forward by Tippett’s flatbed van, knocking them over.
In a statement read out to the court, Mr Squires said: “We fell to the right.
“The white van was alongside and the driver’s window was open. I saw a male and I made eye contact.
“I shouted: ‘What are you doing, what are you doing? I’ve got my son!’”
However, Tippett revved his engine and drove off, turning right and crushing the bicycle.
Fortunately, neither Mr Squires nor his son were hurt in the incident, although both their cycle helmets were damaged.
Police subsequently traced and arrested Tippett, who works for a scaffolding firm.
“The incident left me very angry. Hitting someone off their bike, then driving off,” Mr Squires continued.
“It was only good luck the equipment protected (my son), even though that is what it is designed for.
“I cannot forgive that, it is unacceptable. It is a thought I cannot get out of my head.”
He revealed that the episode had made him think about swapping a bike for a car as his means of getting around, saying: “I’m considering purchasing a second car due to his reckless inattention.”
In mitigation, solicitor advocate Mike Wynter said that Tippett is blind in his left eye but acknowledged that Mr Squires and his child were to his right.
“He knew the cyclist was there and he drove away, knowing he hit the cyclist.”
The court heard that Tippett had told a probation officer that he did not know there was a child on the bike and he had driven off because he was worried about losing his job if he was late.
Sentencing him, District Judge Lynne Matthews imposed a 12-month community order under which he will be required to perfortm 300 hours of unpaid work.
He was also banned him from driving for nine months, fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £85 and an £85 victim surcharge
The judge told him: “You may lose your job. So be it. You are not safe driving.
“There would be a public outcry if your licence was not taken away from you.
“You were inches away from a death by dangerous driving.”
She added: “I sentence you for what happened, but I look at the risk that you pose.”
Mr Squires gave more details of the incident in a comment on the Bristol Post’s report of the case.
He wrote: “I was stationary at a T junction, looking to turn right.
“I had waited for 10-15 seconds for a vehicle coming from the right to pass, when the van struck me from behind, pushing us forward into the road.
“I assume he was not looking forward, or was looking left approaching a junction.
“I was not overtaking anybody. He then turned right at the T junction to escape and his rear right wheel drove over the bike and my son's car seat.
“There were four independent witnesses, he was stopped two minutes after the incident and told to return to the scene of the crime, and didn't.
“I also understand he failed to attend his first six requests for interview, and didn't turn up to his original hearing last week, after which a warrant for his immediate arrest was issued.”
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
- brooksby 9 min 42 sec ago
In all fairness, it almost certainly NEVER happened…
- bobbypuk 18 min 19 sec ago
But it does grate a bit seeing trainers and flat pedals on a Colnago...
- mitsky 29 min 43 sec ago
1) I'd love to see anyone tell an EV driver that they shouldn't be on the road or move out of the way because they pay less VED....
- Another_MAMIL 39 min 57 sec ago
Considering the holes in the saddle, how do you keep them clean?
- Secret_squirrel 43 min 52 sec ago
And then you ahve the UCI explicitly increasing danger by trying to restrict race radio's, rather - than as per F1 - taking steps to restrict whats...
- chrisonabike 1 hour 9 min ago
You could always just let Halfords do all the maintenance for you... *runs for cover*
- wtjs 4 hours 39 min ago
Many of my fellow Tories sincerely hate bike schemes, and our friends sincerely hate these schemes, and road changes create enormous noise on...
- quiff 3 hours 58 min ago
Just had a look on the built sections of this cycle track on Streetview, and I'm impressed. The road where they're protesting (Clifford Bridge Road...
- anotherflat 6 hours 18 min ago
Clearly a design fail for them to make these 3D printed sections too stiff....
- wtjs 6 hours 57 min ago
Norfolk Police said the woman has since been reported for driving without due care and attention. Motorists charged with the offence face a fine of...
Add new comment
62 comments
And whilst it's extremely unpleasant an MP used the word 'cunt' today when describing the hate messages she's been getting and mysogeny is going to be classified as a hate crime but as yet no-one has being seriuously injured or killed because of words
Meanwhile people on bikes are suffering hate crimes every single day, threats of harm and are just fair game to be driven at with killing machines even when there's a small child involved and the powers that be just sit by and say 'yup, here's a dangerous cycling law, how'd you like them apples you two wheeled freaks!'
The cycling organisations should get together, get a top lawyer and take the government to the highest court and get them to act to change how things are because at the moment they are complicit in the harm we as a group are being subjected to with next to zero protection.
I agree. Hate crimes. Cyclists are hated & targeted. Every day. Vanishingly small protection in law.
A presumed liability law is the only thing which will persuade these 4-wheeled supremacists to take a modicum of care around vulnerable road users & pedestrians.
How do you get a magistrate taken of the bench? Sounds like the ones dealing with this case are total <choose your own expletive>!!!
Absolutely ridiculous. Guy should lose his licence permanently.
Put me down for a tenner on the just giving page to have this shit stain of humanity removed from society. Permanently.
I'd join you, but I'm afraid that would be in breach of just giving's rules. We'd have to try something like gofundme.
This isnt internet tough guy talk, it really isnt, but if that had been me and one of my kids the bystanders would have had to peel me off his corpse, if I could have caught him.
All cycling advocacy and «us against them» aside - you just dont fuck around like that when there are kids involved.
Science Fact.
I would hope that this isn't the case, I would hope that your first instict would be to check and take care of your child! I know that would be my first instinct, after they are safe however.........
You don't fuck around like that when there are humans around whatever size they are.
There's even two morons on the Bristol Post website defending this wanker, stating they shouldn't be risking the child by cycling on the road.
Seriously makes one think you'd like to go into full vigilante mode and rid us of these oxygen wasting pieces of excrement.
One utter wankpuffin called:
Complete rubbish. He did not feel any impact and was completely unaware of the accident but had as it was his word against the witness was advised to plead guilty.
Who is unable to read seems the main protagonist. And who the hell has that as a user name ?
One utter wankpuffin called:
Complete rubbish. He did not feel any impact and was completely unaware of the accident but had as it was his word against the witness was advised to plead guilty.
Who is unable to read seems the main protagonist. And who the hell has that as a user name ?
[/quote]
Having completely ruined my mood by reading the comments of this completely unapologetic idiot, and that's being polite, I'm pretty convinced that he is the driver. Seems like a nice guy.
Heartening that the majority of the comments on the Post site support the cyclist.
FFS what does it take to get a prison sentence, he almost killed a child, but hey-ho have your license back in 9 months, cough up £500, write a letter (probably on crayon) and couple of days litter picking!!
He can write?
"Words cannot express the deep personal grief I experienced when your wife/husband/son/daughter was killed/injured/scared/shat himself as a result of our unfortunate incident"
I see; you need to be carrying a child around as a human shield to get any kind of ban enforced. This is actually one of the strongest punishments I've seen, normally it is just a suspended ban and community work or some other BS. This might actually have an impact on the driver for 5 minutes.
Can’t make this shit up!! Thankfully the new law against furious and wanton cycling will put an end to all this idiocy
And the national outcry...is where???
Once again. Cunts. Lot of them.
lols. What a farce
Once again it's Bristol. Is it one of Dante's levels of hell for cyclists?
No. It's a reflection of how many cyclists there are.
Although it must be said that the Centre is still a *Special Hell*
There are some seriously stupid people out there behind steering wheels- Your life in their hands - proper serious shit.
Usual bullshit from what surely must be either a corrupt or broken system of law because I'm fucked if that is justice.
9 months driving ban only??
Word on the street is that the bastard who killed Frank Cubis got a 12 month ban and 120 hours of community service. Hasn't hit the news sites yet.
For those that didn't know him, Frank was a timekeeper, a cycle instructor and an all-round fantastic bloke.
Confirmed. And it was another flat bed van.
Andy KPRC.
I find that Flatbed scaffolding lorries tend to be driven by some of the most psychopathic arseholes on the road.
You are so right. There's one local to me that has nearly had me off on a number of occasions. Having made eye contact with the guy more than once, he seems to be a bit psycho.
Most of them are just scaffolders who happen to hold the 7.5t category license, a lot through grandfather's rights. It's a bit of a grey area with regards to using tachos and ongoing CPC qualifications, I've learned to give most of them a wide berth.
I was told to give them plenty of room regardless of the mode of transport I'm using.
Lots of them drive without securing the poles down properly so if they suddenly stopped then they could fall out and impale you.
Pages