81 yr old MX5 driver ploughs into cyclists on A-road.

[jefmcg]

Why do you feel the need to be rude to everyone?

I wasn't trying to be rude I was trying to show I had made a good faith effort to understand before asking.

So thank you for clarifying.

 

[Milzy]

I've searched for every mention of Rav4 on this site. Nothing matches this post. Do you really expect us to know what you are talking about?

LOL!!! o_O

 

[jefmcg]

Certainly the Rav4 driver knew she was unfit to drive, else she wouldnt have had written instructions on her dashboard telling her how to operate the vehicle.

I disagree. Someone whose mental state has deteriorated so far as to need such instructions, probability doesn't have the capacity to judge what she is doing is dangerous. If she didn't write that note (and I suspect she didn't), then whoever did is the person I would like to see in court.

Edit:

People who aren't fit to drive, but who carry on doing so regardless, should be seriously punished.

So you'd like to see that old lady seriously punished? To what end? She's not going to do it again. Other old people who are sliding into dementia are not going to learn a lesson. If they were capable of that, they wouldn't need cheat notes to drive.

 

[Milzy]

I disagree. Someone whose mental state has deteriorated so far as to need such instructions, probability doesn't have the capacity to judge what she is doing is dangerous. If she didn't write that note (and I suspect she didn't), then whoever did is the person I would like to see in court.

Totally, the note writer is putting her and others at risk.

 

[classic33]

She got behind the wheel, took control of the vehicle, and then went onto the road. There she had the choice, before entering the vehicle, of using it or not.

Bringing it to a cycling level. What would you say about a person that had to rely on a note on how to ride the bike.

 

[Drago]

I like the idea that in a life or death emergency the driver felt she could take time out to read a note. I'm with Lance O'Classic - she had a choice, and considering the deliberate and predetermined effort she made to pilot a vehicle she did not know how to drive effectively the punishment is liable to be derisory.

 

[jefmcg]

I like the idea that in a life or death emergency the driver felt she could take time out to read a note. I'm with Lance O'Classic - she had a choice, and considering the deliberate and predetermined effort she made to pilot a vehicle she did not know how to drive effectively the punishment is liable to be derisory.

And I hold that it's likely that her prefrontal cortex had deteriorated to the extent that she was no longer capable of making this judgement.

I'd rather go the other way, and take licenses away in some cases without a guilty verdict. Like the woman who ran straight into a well lit cyclist in Regent Street. She never saw him until he hit her bonnet and wondered if he had fallen from the sky. Ok, so the jury accepted it was not criminal, but can't we say as a society that if you can't see a cyclist right in front of you on a street that is lit almost to daylight then you can't drive any more? Take the license away, as we do from people who are losing their sight, or suffer from blackouts No judgement, but you aren't a driver anymore.

 

[classic33]

And I hold that it's likely that her prefrontal cortex had deteriorated to the extent that she was no longer capable of making this judgement.

I'd rather go the other way, and take licenses away in some cases without a guilty verdict. Like the woman who ran straight into a well lit cyclist in Regent Street. She never saw him until he hit her bonnet and wondered if he had fallen from the sky. Ok, so the jury accepted it was not criminal, but can't we say as a society that if you can't see a cyclist right in front of you on a street that is lit almost to daylight then you can't drive any more? Take the license away, as we do from people who are losing their sight, or suffer from blackouts No judgement, but you aren't a driver anymore.

I'm not, due to "blackouts", but I remain a legal road user. One who'll take alternative transport after a "blackout" if I don't feel its safe to cycle.

And I've yet to have one whilst cycling.

 

[mjr]

Bringing it to a cycling level. What would you say about a person that had to rely on a note on how to ride the bike.

"Why are you talking to yourself again?" (I do look at the numbers on the shifter to figure out which way round the gears are on the bike... one of them is the opposite way round to all the rest, pulling towards me to go faster).

 

[Andy in Germany]

The latter. Perhaps every decade, then every 3 years at 70, something of that order.

Japan has 'refresher' driving tests every five years. I can't say it seems to have improved driving, but they have the more relaxed style of driving common in Asia, so it is hard to make a direct comparison.

 

[Andy in Germany]

I'm not, due to "blackouts", but I remain a legal road user. One who'll take alternative transport after a "blackout" if I don't feel its safe to cycle.

And I've yet to have one whilst cycling.

I stopped because of panic attacks. These are nasty because they are already happening before you become aware of them, and one symptom is that you miss details, like red lights.

I don't get them on a bike because I feel more in control and know how to deal with problems.

 

[Drago]

So you'd like to see that old lady seriously punished? To what end?

To deter her from running anyone else over in her 1.7 tonne SUV and knocking them unconscious?

 

[Crankarm]

20 quid victim surcharge, how did they get to that figure?

It doesn't actually go to the victims.

 

[Crankarm]

Holy Trump! Lord only knows how no one was killed. Awful.

It boils my wee wee how the CPS play games with charges for the sake of experience. People were injured, so they should have progressed the 'injury by charge. It's just a numbers game to them.

They are just not up to the job.

 

[Crankarm]

People who aren't fit to drive, but who carry on doing so regardless, should be seriously punished. The consequences if you're caught are so puny there's no incentive to be sensible.

There is a list of medical conditions on the DVLA website that drivers are required by law to notify them of. IIRC failure to do so could mean a fine of up to £1000. I didn't see psychopath on it although there are many psychological conditions in the list which require notification. Anyone ever been fined for failure to notify do you think? Of course a doctor could decide some one is unfit to drive through poor health as well as fairly obvious health conditions, alcohol and or drug dependency, etc.

In this awful case it looks to me like the driver looked toward his mirrors at one point after colliding with one of the cyclists so could have been deliberate which should have meant much more serious charges brought against him. Driving is a lawful activity until done negligently. It is my impression that assaulting some one i.e. committing ABH or GBH is an offence under the Offences Against the Person Act and is never lawful, unless a recognised defence can be established e.g. self defence. The CPS simply aren't up to the job. In any case the sentence was extremely lenient and should be appealed. But I might be wrong.