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Justice (Lonpicman, Wikimedia Commons)“They are always in the way" says farmer who did close pass in tractor before throwing cyclist and bike to grass verge
A Cumbria farmer has been found guilty of common assault for a road rage attack on a cyclist. “They are always in the way; always annoying like that. They’re always there,” said Kallum Hunt, 23.
The News and Star reports that on July 18 2018 Brett Preston was cycling between Hutton-in-the-Forrest and Carlisle when he heard a tractor approaching from behind.
Prosecutor Rachel Parker said: “The tractor started to overtake Mr Preston and at this point he believed the tractor was too close to him. Mr Preston was terrified and shouted at the driver, the defendant.”
Preston said the tractor took a while to get past and as it became visible in his peripheral vision, he started to panic.
“I could hear the tread of the tyres on the road and there was some sort of machinery on the back. It took what seemed like an age to get past... I saw those spikes [on the back of the tractor] which were rattling.”
Once he had passed, Hunt did an emergency stop, forcing Preston to stop near the spikes on the machinery behind.
Hunt then got out and confronted Preston, accusing him of having sped up as he tried to overtake.
Preston said Hunt thumped him in the chest, then threw the bike onto the verge, “and then put his hands on my lapels and threw me. I ended up on my back, basically.”
Hunt admitted damaging the bike, but denied common assault.
“I was angry,” he said. “They [cyclists] are always in the way; always annoying like that. They’re always there.”
“I’m satisfied you did strike Mr Preston to the chest,” said District Judge Gerald Chalk. “It’s what’s called road rage.”
Hunt was handed a 12-month community order and asked to pay £200 compensation plus £800 in court costs.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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20 comments
Kallum Hunt, sounds like a ...
So as a relatively new driver, he should be able to remember his test when presumably this idea that cyclists "always get in the way" was dealt with by his instructor? He should be made to retake his test at the very least.
And tractors are never in the way are they?
Don't pay road tax, use red diesel, get subsidies to sit on their arses blah blah blah
Good that he was found guilty, but the sentence is a joke. Should have a driving ban as minimum.
Is it even possible for a court to give a driving ban for a non-driving offence?
He wasn't charged with a close pass, careless or dangerous driving, but with assault for getting out of the vehicle and attacking the cyclist.
Yes. There is a provision to give a driving ban for any conviction whatsoever in crown court. Can't remember the relevant legislation off-hand but it can be applied to absolutely anything. Rarely is though.
The problem is this attitude seem so endemic at the moment. I know social media perhaps brings out the worst attitudes, but it scares me what people are willing to say in public. The Kent Traffic and Travel group on Facebook is shocking. A bit a run on a cyclist was deemed ok by some as he was well a cyclist and shouldn't have been on a road he was legally entitled to. Comments stating the Speeding doesn't cause accidents and that it is slow vulnerable road users are to blame as they frustrate them, causing them to take risks. Using the hard shoulder on a motorway is fair game to avoid queing. Yet cyclist deserve all they get because they break the law. You could make the stuff up.
So he still has a driving licence, despite his defence being an admission of poor temprement and an intolerance of vulnerable road users
A 12-month community order and a thousand quid fine? For being an irretrievable bogan? Makes one long for the "good old days" of transportation to the colonies.
Yes, shit judges have no place in our green and pleasant land, send them packing.
Mr K Hunt sounds like a bit of a twat.
When I saw your post in the recent comments, I thought you had amended the Farmer's name !
We all know what Hunt is, but what is twat rhyming slang for?
"Hunt was handed a 12-month community order and asked to pay £200 compensation plus £800 in court costs."
ASKED!? That's an exceptionally polite district judge.
It's not as if anyone has ever been held up or inconvenienced by the piles of mud left by a tractor on the public highway.
According to a country based relative of mine, there's supposed to clear it up. Used to commute on lanes and the mud in autumn/winter that got dredged out of fields onto the lanes was horrendous.
[/quote]
I've had some close passes that left me 'brown around the bottom bracket'!
It's a frequent occurrence here in the Shire, my bike can require a thorough wash almost every day sometimes. It is exacerbated by car drivers, who love to churn up the verge instead of stopping in a passing place.
Police warnings are posted annually (and publicised by the Council) but go unheeded; farmers churn up the fields and drag it onto the roads knowing the chance of a visit by someone from the Council is very slim.
The use of the word 'majority' here is a sop to the farmers as IME only a very small minority make any effort to reduce the amount of mud, topsoil & sh*t end up on the road.
It's a legal obligation (often ignored):
www.wrighthassall.co.uk/knowledge/legal-articles/2012/12/18/whos-liable-...
Thats really interesting to know. OK, it never happens (Probably. I mean, c'mon - has anyone on here ever *ever* seen anyone out with a hose or something cleaning up the road by a farm entrance?), but its good to know.