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Met_Police_Response_CarCompany director, 69, convicted of dangerous driving and assault after knocking teenage cyclist off bike with car then punching him in the face
A company director has been convicted of dangerous driving and common assault after he used his Jeep to knock a 17-year old cyclist off his mountain bike before punching him in the face and smashing his own wing-mirror.
According to The Manchester Evening News, Michael Hanley, 69, was seen ''bumper hugging'' the back tyre of the bicycle after the traffic lights he was waiting at turned green and the teenager pulled in front of him.
He repeatedly beeped his horn at the young cyclist and flashed his lights.
The teenager tried to swerve off down a dirt track only for the Jeep to clip his shin as it tried to get past.
As the injured teenager lay on the floor, Hanley got out of his car on the dirt track and said: ''Little sh*t - you’ve done this,'' before saying to another motorist who had pulled over to help: ''did you see what he was doing? He was weaving all over the road.”
Still enraged, he grabbed the teenager's shirt, punched him in the face and then ripped off his own wing mirror before driving away.
The youth - whose six-month-old, £2,500 mountain bike was written off in the incident - was given a lift home by the other motorist and was treated for bruising to his left shin and left cheek plus a swollen right kneecap.
Giving evidence via video link the boy said: ''I was knocked off my bike and I landed on the road but the defendant stopped his vehicle and came towards me shouting and swearing 'Little sh*t you’ve done this, you’ve done that'. I thought 'You’ve just hit me'.
''Mr Hanley went round to his left hand wing mirror and then ripped it off himself. I was on the floor but got up whilst he was shouting at me and was being very aggressive.
“He grabbed hold of my shirt and tried to drag me towards his car. I got free of him and ran towards my bike but he grabbed my shirt and turned me round and punched me.
Hanley then got back in his car, did a three-point turn and drove off.
The victim was upset that his top-end mountain bike had been so badly damaged: ''The bike is irreparable. I went round several bike shops and they said it’s worth practically nothing now.
“The incident has affected me quite badly and I wasn’t fully myself for weeks following it. I lost my confidence and from now on I’ll feel more cautious on the roads if I get another bike.''
Hanley who attended a police station after the incident denied wrongdoing claiming his car's braking mechanism would have prevented him getting too close to the bike.
''He must have gone into a pothole and came off his bike. I couldn’t use my vehicle as a weapon because the braking mechanism would stop it.
“All I was doing was trying to stop him and get the police involved because of the damage he’s done to my wing mirror. I’ve driven for 50 years without an accident.”
''I’ve overtaken thousands of cyclists in my time and never seen anything like it. I have no problem with cyclists - there should be more cyclists on the road. I used to be a cyclist. But if we all stayed behind cyclists and never overtook the whole world would come to a standstill.''
The incident occurred at 1.45pm on October 15 last year after father-of-two Hanley was waiting at a set of temporary traffic lights near roadworks in Summerseat, Bury.
At Manchester Magistrates' Court, Hanley, of Greenmount, Bury - a director of an estates management company - was found guilty of dangerous driving and common assault following a trial.
Hanley will be sentenced later this month. He was granted bail.
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21 comments
Just did a quick check of Collision Avoidance Systems on Jeeps and came across this page.
https://blog.cardash.com/forward-collision-warning-jeep-test-98a5d1445c41
Looks like it is barely working during those tests so even if I had some "sympathy" for his story, it is the equivalent of " I drove into that lake because the Sat-Nav told me to!". ie putting too much faith in Technology rather then just concentrating on driving.
Lots of modern cars have low speed auto braking now but they will work at various levels of effectiveness and whether a bike would have set it off or not is also a question to ask. However his whole defence is shown as lies as the cyclist and witness both seemed to state he broke his own mirror to "blame it" on the cyclist, yet his defence is stating the cyclist broke the mirror still.
"I’ve driven for 50 years without an accident.”
And you still have that accolade. What you have not managed to do is drive for 50 years without using your vehicle as a weapon to assualt someone who annoyed you.
What was all that horlicks about "I couldn't use my car as a weapon because the brakes won't let me "?
Am I missing something about car mechanics?
Anyhoo, at least a witness did the decent thing and supported the kid - it looks like Mr Angry was relying on nobody helping "because everyone hates cyclists "...
I know some cars have some sort of front laser that regulates the gap, but I thought that was to do with cruise control.
What he seems to be suggesting is something akin to how the highest level autonomous car should work.
Err, not quite. He probably means Emergency Brake Assist which my Merc has. The car brakes if it senses you are going to hit something in front of you. It warns you first with a beep sound as the system calculates closure rate etc. Not sure of statistically how fallible it is, I’ve never had the guts to try to find out!
PP
That's collision avoidance system.
Anyhow, which ever way you cut it, it's all bollocks, as if he had such a system, how did it let him get so close? It should have braked and steered before he got too close to the cyclist.
Ok! I'll go for
250 hours community service
6 months suspended
£200 victim surcharge
5 points on licence
No licence revocation (Hardship, essential for his business, sick mother/aunt/cat - you know, the usual bollocks)
Prick!
Well, I'm guessing he will not be driving for a little while at least, well not legally anyway.
He will probably explode in rage.
According to the MEN " before smashing his own wing mirror in a temper tantrum", in front of a witness and tried to blame it on the cyclist.
I hope the lad gets his confidence back with his new bike and enjoys riding it.
One day he will run over and punch the wrong person. Then he will get full on Miguel Angel Lopezed
Great that he's been found guilty of relatively serious crimes, but what will the sentence be?
I'm going for a fine of £300, six month suspended sentence and six points on the licence. And doubtless the pos would appeal that. What I would hope for is £10,000 fine, six months gaol, and a lifetime driving ban. Anyone interested in a small wager about which prediction is right?
In addition, if you search for Michael Hanley on the internet, you may find an article featuring a Michael Hanley of Tame Estates ( now TE Lettings) who operate near Manchester and who have featured in a number of news articles about slum landlords, ripping off tenants and local councils, and being thoroughly despicable.
i hope he gets locked up for good.
That's not he same guy. His DoB is 1965 which makes him too young.
Try https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/5QD6qhC8-WbUGxYIcNlMpDOz8NE/...
He isn't really a director as the co is domant. Just a sad bitter OAP who hoepfully will be sleeping in a cell for a while.
He deserves a jail sentence - anyone who deliberately uses a motor vehicle in order to attack a pedestrian, cyclist, horse and rider or any other unequally vulnerable user of the highway warrants a spell inside. The potential for serious injury or death is significant and the cost to the state in the event of any such assault is far more than any fine will cover.
Sadly, for some citizens, age does not bring wisdom, nor does it bring a softening of ego. But, Butty, had he been sixty-four or forty-four, would that have made any difference to the actual incident? Less of the OAP rubbish, please. Age doesn't define a person's character - you might turn into a "sad bitter OAP" if you allow such '-ist' attitudes to govern your responses.
ah, so we have discovered 2 Michael Hanley’s who appear in newspapers from the area about being not nice people. What a time to be alive.
I'm puzzled - why don't these incidents figure in the TV news programs?
Is the headline picture of the "Action" police car the new picture for legal stuff? Or just the ones that seem to be going in the right direction.
And Will, that's a fine head shot there, so serious.
“I used to be a cyclist”
What a pathetic defence. Obviously that makes the man think he is innocent despite knocking the cyclist off his bike in a peak of rage and getting out of his car and hitting the cyclist.
He deserves everything he gets, possibly more.
PP
I am a current cyclist. If I get in my car, how many other cyclists am I allowed to drive over before that defence ceases to work?
What a thoroughly charming gentleman.