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Speeding lorry driver who killed 71-year-old cyclist jailed for seven months

The motorist, who reportedly “just didn’t see the cyclist”, had experienced a near miss with a van driver minutes before the fatal collision

A lorry driver who struck and killed a 71-year-old cyclist has been jailed for seven months after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving.

Great-grandfather and keen cyclist David Bates was riding his bike on the A515 near Ashbourne in September 2019 when he was hit by 41-year-old Richard Smith, who has also been banned from driving for 27 months, reports the Derbyshire Times.

Derby Crown Court heard that lorry driver Smith was travelling at 45mph in a 40mph zone at the time of the fatal collision. The motorist had also experienced a near miss three minutes before the crash, when he was forced to take evasive action and “move over the white centre line” after driving too closely behind a speeding driver in a Peugeot van.

According to an expert, Smith would have had between four and six seconds to avoid hitting the cyclist, but failed to do so.

The court also heard that the motorist had a previous conviction for driving without due care and attention from December 2016, after crashing into a bridge on the A38 which was too low for the vehicle he was driving.

> 12-month ban for pensioner who didn't see cyclist she killed until he was on her bonnet 

Smith had initially denied causing death by dangerous driving, but in May admitted the lesser charge of causing death by careless driving.

Judge Jonathan Bennett told the driver: “This was not a prolonged case of very bad driving… Was there inappropriate speed? Yes, it’s not excessive speed but you were driving at above the speed limit.

“Unfortunately, the whole issue about this case is that you just did not see him, full stop. You did not realise what happened until you had hit him – you had not got a clue. You just didn’t see him.

“I suggest this was a case of momentary inattention, the visibility on the road on that day was absolutely fine. Another lorry driver some distance ahead saw the cyclist and moved over – you just did not see him.”

He concluded: “It is the responsibility of every driver to be aware of other vehicles – particularly those in front of them.”

> Drivers who ‘didn’t see’ cyclists they killed both escape jail 

Smith’s defence counsel Timothy Pole said that his client was “deeply sorry” for what happened, which he claimed has had a significant impact on his mental health. Since the fatal collision, Smith has attempted an overdose and has been cared for under the Mental Health Act.

Following the sentencing, the judge described Mr Bates, a retired builder and recent great-grandfather as “a very active man and one of the things he loved to do was ride his bike, as he was riding on this occasion.

“This is a tragedy for his family – they miss him dreadfully and had no chance to say farewell. No punishment I can impose is going to alleviate the sadness and tragedy of the loss and premature death of such a loved man.”

Mr Bates’ daughter Margaret Burton described her father as someone who was “young at heart and full of life” who would “think nothing of cycling 50 miles”, and that his tragic death “broke our hearts”.

Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.

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20 comments

Avatar
Muddy Ford | 1 year ago
0 likes

He attempted to commit suicide. I agree he needs help...to do the job properly.

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Flintshire Boy | 1 year ago
1 like

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Needed:

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1. (as has been suggested on R.cc previously), a single, nation-wide police agency for dealing with reports of dangerous driving, and

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2. a single, nation-wide courts agency for dealing with dangerous driving cases.

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In both instances, to be staffed by experienced professionals. This way, we might avoid the bollicks of 'motoring judges', incompetent coppers, and laughable sentences.

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I live in hope.

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brooksby replied to Flintshire Boy | 1 year ago
1 like

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Needed:

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some better

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formatting

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controls.

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 4

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Flintshire Boy | 1 year ago
0 likes

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Oh good, he's 'deeply sorry'.

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So 3 1/2 months in nick for a life - that's alright then.

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NPlus1Bikelights replied to Flintshire Boy | 1 year ago
0 likes

I doubt even that. That's his lawyer directing him. Consistent BS sentences.

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cmedred | 1 year ago
4 likes

"The visibility on the road on that day was absolutely fine,'' and the penalty is seven months in jail? Why not just state the obvious: "Your driving skills are so bad you should never have been licensed, but we really don't much care."

 

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wtjs | 1 year ago
7 likes

I haven't heard of this 'pretending to make a suicide attempt ' dodge before, but the shyster lawyers making the offender into the victim because worrying about killing the cyclist 'has affected his mental health' is an old one: 'he will be traumatised by this for the rest of his life, and this is punishment enough!'.
The problem for us is that the dodge keeps working

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steaders1 | 1 year ago
4 likes

7 months is that all, when will the courts start handing out proper sentences?

Until they do this is not a severe enough deterrent. Motorists need to pay attention at all times and to admit that he didn't see the poor cyclist should have added even more to a sentence.

Ridiculous decision, barely a slap on the wrist

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IanMSpencer | 1 year ago
4 likes

What is the process for a review of sentencing? Indeed, is the judge fit to assess driving cases?

There would appear to be genuine public interest in reassessing the sustained poor driving being slotted into the momentary lapse loophole, simply the idea that a lorry driver doesn't really have to take responsibility for observing other road users is an appalling assessment by the judge.

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Cycloid | 1 year ago
3 likes

I just want to scream.

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Cycloid | 1 year ago
3 likes

I just want to scream.

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Flintshire Boy replied to Cycloid | 1 year ago
0 likes

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And keep screaming, it seems.

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NOtotheEU | 1 year ago
15 likes

Judge Jonathan Bennett told the driver: . . . . . 

“I suggest this was a case of momentary inattention"

When the Judge is making the case for the defence what chance do we have of getting justice?

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LeadenSkies replied to NOtotheEU | 1 year ago
2 likes

Two incidents of "momentary inattention" in just 3 minutes no less. You might have thought that the first incident with the van may just have jolted him back to paying attention for more than 180 seconds?

At least 7 seconds inattention in the unfortunately fatal failure to see the cyclist. So 7 out of 180 seconds. Even after a jolt back to reality from a near miss, he still only pays attention for 97% of the next 3 minutes. Some unscientific but fag packet maths using a 3% inattention rate, a 40 hour week and an average of 30mph suggests he drives twice the length of the UK every year while not paying attention. That's no momentary inattention and imho the judge in this case needs to get real.

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chrisonabike | 1 year ago
6 likes

Alas as mentioned elsewhere the Judge delivered an almost complete bingo card of "common knowledge" misunderstandings and contraditory statements excusing the driver here. That - and lack of longer driving ban / restrictions on future driving employment - are the most concerning. Though not surprising.

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JimM777 | 1 year ago
11 likes

So a persistent driver offender gets only 7 months jail for an offence causing death yet Grant Schapps thinks that a cyclist should get more for a first offence causing death. You couldn't make it up.

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don simon fbpe | 1 year ago
13 likes

I had the pleasure of witnessing the behaviour of these professional drivers while they were racing to the ferry lastnight, including breaking a 50mph limit while overtaking a vehicle, tailgating and sticking main beam on to intimidate a car that was sticking to a 30mph speed limit. A licence is a privilege and not a right.

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zideriup replied to don simon fbpe | 1 year ago
5 likes

That bit of A40 with the dropped limit because of carriageway works near Fishguard? Had the exact same thing from 'professional' drivers when I came through that way a couple of months ago.

Got my gf to photograph a DPD van being aggressively driven right up my arse, like the-driver-could-have-smelt-what-I-had-for-breakfast kind of close. Quite scary to be honest. Reported but haven't heard a jot, maybe I should have done that passive-aggressive Twitter thing: 'Hey/hi/howdy @DPD :), can you tell me why it's acceptable for your driver to drive like a bollocks? :)/is this the standard you condone? :)/I'm NEVER ordering ANYTHING that will be delivered by YOU again, vile shocking disgusting, etc.  1 Thanks :)'

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Secret_squirrel | 1 year ago
11 likes

A doubly distracted lorry driver a so called professional get massive benefit of the doubt from the judge in spite of it being his second incident.   Beggars belief. no

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Secret_squirrel | 1 year ago
4 likes

And as I mentioned when this was in the blog yesterday, the Judge decided it wasn't prolonged bad driving even though he almost crashed into another car a few minutes earlier when speeding. Definitely a "driver" judge.

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