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The Times Cities Fit For Cycling logoSeven-figure settlement for Mary Bowers, who inspired Times cycle safety campaign
Mary Bowers, the Times journalist who inspired the newspaper’s Cities Fit for Cycling campaign after she was crushed by a lorry as she rode her bike to work in November 2011, has been awarded a seven-figure sum in compensation.
The money will pay for the round-the-clock care that the 31-year-old, who sustained severe injuries in the crash and suffered brain damage while she was in a coma, will need for the rest of her life, reports the Times.
In December 2012, tipper truck driver Petre Beiu was cleared of dangerous driving but convicted of careless driving in connection with the incident, which happened close to the newspaper’s then headquarters in Wapping.
– Driver in Mary Bowers case acquitted of dangerous driving, found guilty of careless driving
The court was told that he had lied to police officers about being on a hands-free phone which had led to him being distracted as he ran over Ms Bowers as he turned left while she waited at a junction.
Beiu, who was banned from driving for eight months and also fined £2,700, had failed to engage the lorry’s handbrake and as a result the vehicle rolled back over Miss Bowers, who suffered severe injuries to her arms, chest, legs and pelvis.
She is now in a care home where she is in a “minimally conscious” state.
The settlement, confirmed at the High Court in London yesterday, will see Allianz, insurers of Lynch Haulage, the company Beiu was driving for, pay a seven-figure sum to meet her care costs.
Her father, Peter Bowers, said: “The impact of her injuries has been devastating. Her career was flourishing and she had her whole life ahead of her.
“I can take consolation from the fact that this award will cover her care needs for the rest of her life ... Safety on the UK’s roads needs to be made a priority.”
In February 2012, the Times launched its Cities Fit for Cycling campaign, highlighting what had happened to Miss Bowers and publishing an eight-point manifesto.
– 'Save Our Cyclists' - The Times launches major cycle safety campaign
The effect was to move the issue of the safety of cyclists into the mainstream, leading to a debate in Parliament, which was followed by the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group’s Get Britain Cycling enquiry.
While a recent survey from Sustrans found overwhelming public support for more money to be spent on cycling, there are fears that the forthcoming spending review will not set aside money for the Cycling & Walking Strategy the government is required to draw up under the Infrastructure Act.
General public backs massive increase in cycling investment
http://road.cc/content/news/169433-general-public-backs-massive-increase...
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.
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9 comments
I believe the culture from manufacturers is slowly changing with further integration of sophisticated monitoring. I have a friend wh o works for a large trucking manufacturer. Their new vehicles come with cameras inside and out the cab and recording telemetry to monitor live what the driver is doing or shouldn't be. Nothing in this case will help this poor woman but we can hope safety is made more of a priority
Can't see that the monitoring will help abnything unless courts, legislators, employers, and insurers are prepared to act seriously on evidence of poor, inattentive or incompetent driving.
Rather than offering up the same excuses every time.
How can the standard of Petre Beiu's driving be anything less than dangerous? And the fucker lied to police. The CPS and courts are a disgrace to downgrade what he did to careless driving.
Feel desperately sad for Mary Bowers and her family that now have to care for her for the rest of their lives. No amount of money can compensate for what they have and continue to suffer.
All politicians of what ever flavour, CPS and courts are soft on drivers who kill or seriously injure inflicting life changing injuries.
Digressing slightly this make me go look at the figures for road fatalities.
In the period 2000- 2013
Percentage decrease in car occupents killed = 52.85% or 880 deaths
Percentage decrease in cyclist killed = 14.17% or 18 deaths
Which equates to a 4788.89% improvement in in car safety over cyclist safety
Whilst there are improvements for other road users. What seems to be evident is that much has been done to make cars much safer for those inside them, but little to improve the safety for those outside them but travelling on the road, in particular cyclist.
Improving cyclist safety does not sell cars...the car buyer is ONLY interested in their own safety
I'm not. My next vehicle which can't arrive quick enough has pedestrian and cyclist detection with active braking in case I don't see them.
Unfortunately true.
However, bear in mind that the bare figures sometimes mask other trends, for example the growth in number of both commuting and recreational cyclists. If you're looking for meaning, patterns or trends it's good to get analysis from the campaign groups like CTC.
I wouldn't look solely at death stats. As in Mary's case and many others, serious injuries resulting from a collision can have long term consequences.
Sunday was World Day of Remembrance for road victims (Graun article). Tweet by Martin Porter QC:
Absolutely!
The mind boggles:
-Lied to Police
-Distracted by hands-free phone
-Didn't engage the handbrake
-Rolled backwards over the victim crushing her legs, arms and pelvis.
Yep, nothing dangerous here
I wish I could say the sentence is shocking but it happens so often it leaves me feeling numb. I can't imagine how Mary's family must feel...
Let's hope The Times and all the others campaigning for safer roads keep the pressure on. Change will come if we push hard enough, even though it seems such an uphill struggle.