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Emma Way update: She says it was cyclist's fault + videos

Meanwhile #bloodycyclists hashtag continues to be reclaimed with new website

It won't go away, this one: Emma Way has been back on the BBC to tell her side of the story. Meanwhile the cycling community continues to reclaim the #bloodycyclists hashtag with a new website set up in its honour.

Not surprisingly to anyone who's been in a collision with a vehicle that's been taken further, Emma's position (outlined through her solicitor, Simon Nicholls) is that her driving wasn't at fault, and that Toby Hockley, the cyclist, was the one who hit her.

Nicholls said "All the way through, Emma has said, 'it wasn't my driving that was at fault. It was the cyclist who clipped my mirror, not the other way round'."

We don't remember her saying that all the way through, although obviously it's the most sensible position for her to take should the case come to be heard. Effectively here it's the word of one party against the other, although the presence of other cyclists will likely give at least one other credible witness of the incident. Hockley's position, when he spoke to us, that he was descending on a blind corner and keeping to his side of the road. Short of a forensic examination of the tarmac – and we don't think that's very likely – it would boil down to the witness statements.

As for the the failure to stop? "I did stop", Emma says in the interview. "I don't know what the point is that I didn't stop. I stopped, looked in my rear, I assessed the situation and I saw that there was no need to stop. If he'd wobbled and gone to the side there's no way I would have driven off."

The law here is clear, and Emma's actions don't meet its requirements. Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act (1988) states that in any case where injury or damage is caused by a collision, "The driver of the vehicle must stop and, if required to do so by any person having reasonable grounds for so requiring, give his name and address and also the name and address of the owner and the identification marks of the vehicle". Since we know that the cyclist was both injured and his bike damaged (albeit neither seriously), to drive away is to commit an offence unless the driver then reports the incident. So whether Ms Way is guilty of committing the offence of leaving the scene of an accident is largely down to whether she reported the incident or not. It would certainly be ironic if the twitter outcry meant that she did in fact comply, although obviously without it it's likely the incident would never have been reported, since she didn't stop to exchange details.

Ms Way's solicitor was at pains to outline how bad it's been for Emma since her fateful tweet. "For poor old Emma's sake, she spent the first few days knocked from pillar to post by people saying things about her, national newspapers turning up on her doorstep, and the simple and unequivocal fact is that she felt it was about time she started kicking back a bit; not about the tweet which she's always accepted she was completely wrong to have done, but about the suggestion that she was driving badly because she's always said that she wasn't"

"I've had people drive past me and shout 'killer cyclist' [sic] when it's not the case at all", Emma added. "No-one's heard my story until now. People shouldn't just judge me when all they've seen is a stupid tweet that I made and then the other guy's side of the story. The real side of the story just isn't what it's been portrayed as."

She added, "I don't have a negative attitude towards cyclists. I cycle round myself."

As has been consistently the case in media interviews, Ms Way's assertion in her tweet that she has 'right of way' over a cyclist and cyclists 'don't pay road tax' were not touched upon.

The cyclist involved, Toby Hockley, has also been interviewed, by ITV News. "I was very surprised she didn't stop", he said of the incident. "I hit her car fairly hard. As you can see I'm not a not a small guy. If you hit me with a car, you're going to know about it."

"I was just grateful I was okay", he continued. "A lot of cyclists come off an awful lot worse in these situations. Being in one piece, and being able to finish the ride... I just considered myself lucky"

Asked about the tweet, and its aftermath, Hockley said, "Well I'm glad she's remorseful. I would very much liked her to stop after any sort of collision to make sure the person was all right . She claimed she didn't see me; I could have been a child. I could have been a walker - anyone. That's all the more reason to stop and check . I'm sorry she's in trouble with her employers and I feel very bad for her employers that have done a lot of good for sport in Norwich and I hope their image hasn't been tarnished out of all this."

He wouldn't be drawn on what he thought should happen to Ms Way, saying that it was a matter for the Police, the CPS and her employers.

Meanwhile, efforts to reclaim the #bloodycyclists hashtag continue apace, with the creation of www.bloodycyclist.com. "This page has been created in the aftermath and media frenzy created by the recent collision between a Motorist and a cyclist (Toby Hockley) on a small country road in Norfolk on Sunday 19th May", the site begins. "After the collision the motorist made what can only be described as an ill advised tweet almost boasting of the fact that she had knocked down a cyclist and ended the tweet with #bloodycyclists."

"We have lots of plans that we will roll out over the coming days but our main hope is that we can raise some awareness and money for some of the dangers that face cyclists on a daily occurrence."

The site currently features some thoughts from Toby himself (who's been fairly pragmatic about the whole thing throughout), and a quick precis of the 'road tax' situation via www.ipayroadtax.com.

There's lots of other stuff knocking about too. Here's a little skiffle song immortalising the incident, from twitter user @Miskhills:

And here's @VexedVeloist's take on the original interview, with subtitles

Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.

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75 comments

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comm88 | 11 years ago
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Ah, just birch the bitch and have done with it!! She needs a good smacking - simples.  4

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Mr Agreeable | 11 years ago
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Don't know if anyone watched that dire "Barely Legal Drivers" programme on BBC3, but Emma Way would fit right in on it. This whole sorry saga will probably end with someone giving her a free car.

(If anyone's read the above and is tempted to watch it, don't. It'll make you convinced that we're doomed as a species, as I believe all BBC3 programmes are required to by law.)

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Steve_S_T | 11 years ago
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Strikes me that most of the "facts" presented by both parties should be fairly easy to prove - scratches on the cyclist if he went through the hedge, matching dents on brake hoods or bars and car if she did only clip his handlebars, so eventually I hope the truth will out. Trouble is if it turns out that the cyclists were pretty much accurate in the version of events, somebody needs to take a good look at this woman not just as a driver but as a person - to hit another person in your car, to not stop and worse still to almost gloatingly Tweet about it is pretty callous stuff. Throw in lack of remorse, a seeming inability to see anything wrong in her actions and all of a sudden she's ticking boxes contained (amongst MANY others I hasten to add) in the definition of "psycopath". I suppose there's a very faint line dividing someone capable of extreme stupidity from a truly dangerous person, and I suspect she's just the former but I can't quite shake the latter thought either.

Oh, and what sort of solicitor sits next to a client in two interviews and lets them obviously misconstrue the law about stopping after an accident. Perhaps one who is better at publicity than law?

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nemysys | 11 years ago
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This is going to run and run....

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edster99 | 11 years ago
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All I want is the law to be applied. 50/50 I'd say.

The reason no-one's asking her about her other tweets? The lawyer has said he wont let her on if they ask her about them. The BBC are so desperate to interview her, they've agreed.

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BigBear63 | 11 years ago
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 39 Maybe she just took a look at Hockley's face, ears and hair and decided to put him out of his misery  24
Is it possible for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Rick Astley to have a love child?  19

If she did it on purpose she should fess up and stop hiding behind a 'hooray henry' lawyer. Who the hell wears a suit like that in public? Oh yes that's right a Tw@t that hasn't left the 80's. At least I was able to adjust my horizontal hold. And no, that' not some deviant sexual position.  24

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velophilia | 11 years ago
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"Nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself" Wittgenstein. She will start to believe the lies herself.

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Tony | 11 years ago
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So how do you get away with admitting you "knocked down a cyclist" and then claiming you didn't knock them down, they hit you? Can't see that looking very good in Court, if it gets there, but shame on the media for not asking the question.

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Petethepump | 11 years ago
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The bottom line is she didn't give a shit about the person she could have severely injured. I hope the cops throw the book at her and she realises she must take responsibility for her actions. As we all do !!!!

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Michael5 | 11 years ago
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Easy on the vitriol there readers.

Seems to me there's embellishment on both sides here. Tony seems very sanguine for someone who allegedly hit the windscreen and ended up in the bushes. He was also on a Sportive. Anyone who's ridden one will know how some ride as though they're pros on a closed road...

Whilst in no way condoning Ms Way's apparent attitude, reported actions and that ridiculous tweet, just saying both stories have more holes than a Tetley teabag.

Self-righteous indignation and personal attacks remind me of criminals in prison who attack other inmates for committing heinous crimes. As though they themselves are in there for a holiday.

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The _Kaner | 11 years ago
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In the voice of Capt Mainwaring..
'You stupid twitter(er)'

Silly, silly girl!

No doubt she will get away scot free....

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JulesW | 11 years ago
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Perhaps people need to review some of their comments about people which may be libelous - I'd hate her being able to prosecute for defamation and make money out of the incident. Or for her solicitor to buy some more loud jackets either.

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alronald | 11 years ago
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Is this her solicitor's website. Interesting profile.

http://www.belmores.co.uk/

"Simon Nicholls
Simon has specialised in the field of Criminal Defence work for over thirty years and is a director of the Company.
His passion for the law, skill in advocacy and a string of high-profile clients have earned him a reputation in the profession which extends far beyond the boundaries of East Anglia"

"Described quite simply as "the leading firm in Norwich," Belmores remains the most active practice in the area. As one interviewee states: "They're the busiest because they're the best." The team handles a range of private and publicly funded criminal matters.

Simon Nicholls is an "exceptional advocate" who is described as being "head and shoulders above everybody" in the region. He's been one of the busiest practitioners in the area for many years."

The firm is described as "Road Traffic Solicitors". Hey maybe Toby could do with some representation too. Nothing about dodgy suits though

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dexradio | 11 years ago
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You can clearly see the Pre-lawyer and Post-lawyer story develop on this one. My fault vs Cyclists fault.

Mind you I do love the way cyclists use Social Media as a community to support and help each other when an event like this takes place. I can't imagine where an event like this would end up without the attention drawn to it from across Twitter for example, and we have a new Hashtag to follow as a result #bloodycyclists

Be interesting to see what "sanction" she gets, if any!

Dex

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Colin Peyresourde | 11 years ago
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LMAO - that look at the end says it all (and the subtitles are perfect).

Her 'apology' means squat though. Not sorry for anything than inconvenience she bought on herself.

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jellysticks | 11 years ago
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More than one person on the various threads here on road.cc regarding Miss Way seem to think the cyclist is called Tony. Now I don't know the bloke personally but there are many reliable sources suggesting he is called Toby. What was that about consistency/accuracy etc. when debating such issues...?!

Edster99, if that's the case surely that's witholding evidence of her being an incredibly dangerous driver?! Lawyers eh...I've always thought (were I somehow to change lives and become a lawyer) that it'd be pretty difficult to to defend someone who is clearly guilty (even if it is only of being a monumental idiot) but I suppose the pay cheques probably help with that.

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betweenbikes | 11 years ago
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could emma way be the new turn of phrase for an accident or near miss?
ie. i just had a right 'emmma way' on the way to work
or
that was close..nearly got 'emma wayed'

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antonio | 11 years ago
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Mrs Bercow's stupid tweet cost her over £100,000, and Emma's is just as stupid, now let'd see justice at work.

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Argos74 | 11 years ago
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waylay (/ˈwāˌlā/)
tr. v. way·laid (-ld), way·lay·ing, way·lays
To have carnal relations with a duckfaced person in a hedge.

Example
"Dude, you're covered in leaves and twigs and your trousers are back to front. What happened?"
"Yeah mate, sorry, I got waylaid on the way here."

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skippy | 11 years ago
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The following , up in the Comments , says it ALL !

" I suppose there's a very faint line dividing someone capable of extreme stupidity from a truly dangerous person"

Agree that with " photo shopping " being available , anyone can make a Telephone photo of 95mph easily !

Would you be impressed by someone claiming to have done 95mph in a 30mph zone , or ANY other zone since the National speed limit is 70 mph ? What sort of people followed her tweets ?

I support " Adaptive Sport ", some of whom are in this catagory , as a result of mindless stupidity behind the wheel and i only have a few followers .

Time that the CPS acted against those that proclaim their " Law Breaking Habits " , rather than find excuses for punishing children for riding on pavements !

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Pitstone Peddler | 11 years ago
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As this is now going to court, I hope she becomes a better person as a result but I doubt it.

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Gkam84 replied to The _Kaner | 11 years ago
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The _Kaner wrote:

In the voice of Capt Mainwaring..
'You stupid twitter(er)'

Silly, silly girl!

No doubt she will get away scot free....

Get away scot free from what??

Tweeting something stupid?

There is NO proof of this accident, nothing was reported to the police at the time. One side would have to push for charges to be made before it can go anywhere....

The police cannot just magic up charges without knowing exactly what happened.

YES she admits that something happened and that the tweet was stupid. But there cyclist's story is as vivid as something your would hear on Jackanory.

Unless you are Emma or Toby, you do not know the exact details of what happened. So NO-ONE on this forum or anywhere is in a place to judge what the crime was or the penalty.

As for her other tweets with the car in front and the 95mph. She would have needed to be caught at the time with the mobile in her hand with the car running and keys in it. You cannot just take photographic evidence like that and make assumptions....  19  19  19

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edster99 replied to jellysticks | 11 years ago
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jellysticks wrote:

More than one person on the various threads here on road.cc regarding Miss Way seem to think the cyclist is called Tony. Now I don't know the bloke personally but there are many reliable sources suggesting he is called Toby. What was that about consistency/accuracy etc. when debating such issues...?!

Edster99, if that's the case surely that's witholding evidence of her being an incredibly dangerous driver?! Lawyers eh...I've always thought (were I somehow to change lives and become a lawyer) that it'd be pretty difficult to to defend someone who is clearly guilty (even if it is only of being a monumental idiot) but I suppose the pay cheques probably help with that.

Not for a media interview - its not a court after all.

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Lane71 (not verified) | 11 years ago
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Like i said,if the future is in the hands of these fuckers weaned on fucking Twatter and Fuckbook and free for all pornography,be-headings and justin fucking bieber-

Not only are we up shit creek without a paddle

we are up shit creek without the FUCKING BOAT

Jesus thank god i'll be dead and gone in 30 odd years

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Critchio | 11 years ago
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Dont forget the smartphone photo and tweet of her car at 95mph. It wouldn't surprise me if that was on an "A" road too.... Then we have the smartphone photo and tweet of a car holding her up, done while she was driving. You have two motoring offences there. A third with failing to stop. I bet she even tweeted that while she was driving too....

This girl is a menace on the road and a serious accident waiting to happen. Her displays of arrogance and ignorance over recent days is utterly dreadful despite her age. I've seen enough of her mug in the media now. She needs prosecuting, fining and banning for 5 years for all those offences she's committed. Then she needs to go away and ponder her attitude because right now she's worm and a despicable creature.

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RussFar66 | 11 years ago
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I just hope she is dealt with according to the law, it's worrying that people like her are behind the wheel  14 She is just trying to dig herself out of the very large hole she has dug!She needs to grow up and face up to what she has done and also stop filming herself doing 95mph is a good start.

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Cycle_Jim | 11 years ago
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I'm waiting for her to come out with "I wasn't even driving, I was on a bike and I wasn't even on that road...In fact it wasn't even me who tweeted it"

Changes every time! Girl is only sorry it turned into a media frenzy, not that she has an obvious lack of responsibility behind the wheel! She would be better of taking full responsibility, owning up to her actions and then volunteering to take some sort of driving proficiency and accepting the charges that would calm things down and possibly even save her job though it seems her lawyer needs a lesson in PR.

The one time I have nearly been knocked off the woman stopped ahead of me and talked to me, offered to ring anyone or take me home and she didn't even hit me. If someone had hit my wing mirror I'd have got out and checked if everyone was okay, I definitely wouldn't have published it online, then again I'm not foolish enough to think that a public broadcasting network is private

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Fran The Man replied to Cycle_Jim | 11 years ago
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Excellent points here, Cycle_Jim. I found Ms Way's tweet almost unbelievable when I first saw it on road.cc. Then I learned that she'd been using a mobile phone while driving, and that she was probably over the white line when the "accident" occurred. If she gets off without being charged, well, there's summat up is all I can say. As you say, she needs some driving lessons and ought to attend a course in how to use social media. As for her solicitor, I think he needs a new tailor.

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Colin Peyresourde | 11 years ago
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Her story is full of holes. One minute it is 'Definitely hit a cyclist, it's my right of way'. The next (when she has something to lose), "he hit me", "I did stop", "I checked and I didn't have to stop and so carried on".

I did feel some sense of sympathy for her, but it all dried up after seeing her interview. Silly girl is not remorseful. She's just pissed off she's been caught up in this by her own foolish comments. Did anyone notice how she had toned down both the hair and make-up for the BBC.

I thought Tony Hockley was more harshly grilled by the journalists when they repeatedly demanded him how she should be punished. He was very measured and said it was up to the police and employers (which I think he is right about). But ultimately she doesn't seem to understand her irresponsible actions have created this.

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drk2aps | 11 years ago
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Ms Way is clearly a complete fool, an aggressive and dangerous driver, unapologetic for the incident on the road and just feeling sorry for herself.

I find it more than a little frustrating that the media interviews haven't picked up on the road tax issue, the right of way issues or the previous tweeted pictures of her dangerous and aggressive driving but suspect her lawyer told the BBC and ITV that she wouldn't give an interview if they tackled these issues and unfortunately no coiffured, smiling news anchor wants to make a pretty doe-eyed blonde blubb on national telly (feed her to Paxman for that).

Sadly I suspect that it is the case that she has been threatened in the street and made to feel intimidated. While some people may think this is justified for the moment thankfully we live in a nation governed by laws decided by people we elect and enforced by judges rather than mob rule. It does the cycling community no favours if we start to look like a bunch of baying snarling wolves taunting bambi!

I suspect that she will loose her training contract as a result of this and she won't have grounds for unfair dismissal as the tweet not the incident brought her company into disrepute. There is no doubt over her sending or the impact of the tweet this alone will see her loose her job. The reality is that this will probably be the sum total of the punishment because the stories about the collision on both sides have been inconsistent: I'm sure that she did have a collision with Toby Hockley and that she did not stop but Mr Hockley is clearly a much better bike handler than I am as the idea of being able to be hit by a car go up over the bonnet and windscreen and come down on two wheels and go for 20 metres through hedging and still be on your bike is pretty remarkable!

Rule 1: If you're on a bike and have an incident ALWAYS report the facts and don't embellish it.
Rule 2: If you're a driver in the middle of media s**t-storm don't keep constructing lies to get out of it.

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