Cyclist down

[david k]

Apologies if this has been put on here before, please merge or delete if so

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25816281

Sympathy's to the family.

Not sure how the mini bus driver can claim they weren't responsible?

 

[mr_cellophane]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25816281
How fast was he going for "There was a bang and my wing mirror slammed against the van."
Another driver who doesn't drive slowly when he can't see because of low sun.

 

[Roadrider48]

How can a cyclist look like a signpost?....RIP

 

[Peter Armstrong]

How can the driver say he was "driving slowly" and he believed he was "driving carefully" yet Mr Irving suffered a head injury and his helmet was "smashed to bits".

 

[mr_cellophane]

How fast was he going for "There was a bang and my wing mirror slammed against the van."
Another driver who doesn't drive slowly when he can't see because of low sun.

A year to get to court is also disgusting.

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Dislike

 

[steveindenmark]

It's very sad.

If you are going to hit something with your near side mirror, the chance of seeing what it was in the offside mirror is slim. The driver should have stopped and found out what he had hit.

Steve

 

[mr_cellophane]

Wouldn't you stop, get out and move the mirror back ?
If you were a responsible road user of course

 

[ComedyPilot]

Driver hits something then repeats to themselves Ad Nauseam, "It's not my fault, it's not my fault......."

Don't know about any other 'drivers' on here, but if I can't see the road to be clear in front of me I SLOW DOWN till I can stop my vehicle safely in the distance I can see to be clear in front of me.

It's nowt to do with cyclists vs drivers, it's to do with very dangerous/careless/incompetent drivers excusing their abysmal driving by mewing to a 'sympathetic' responsibility-avoiding motoring public....

 

[oldstrath]

He is the defendant in court, he can say whatever he wants.

Surely if, as in this case, he was plainly lying, the judge could impose some punishment on him? I thought perjury was illegal?

 

[oldstrath]

We would need a massive prison building program to cope.

A massive car crushing and licence removal programme would be a good start.

 

[mr_cellophane]

Surely if, as in this case, he was plainly lying, the judge could impose some punishment on him? I thought perjury was illegal?

That is up to the judge and jury to decide the truth.

 

[oldstrath]

That is up to the judge and jury to decide the truth.

Given that he smashed the cycle helmet and killed a guy I think physics can decide the truth of his claim that he was 'driving slowly' better than any scientifically uneducated judge and sympathetic jury. I know the law claims that a jury of motorists is a reasonable choice to decide on whether a fellow motorist is guilty, but claiming that they decide on the 'truth' seems optimistic.

 

[oldstrath]

You wouldn't want to assume that "smashed the helmet" automatically means high speed impact

Really? Under 10 mph (which is what driving slowly because I can't see properly due to low sun would mean to me)? OK, I don't drive (have a licence, choose not to), but the apparent ease with which motorists evade significant punishment for killing people, and the readiness with which judges and lawyers describe the killers as some version of 'good people' baffle and annoy me.

 

[oldstrath]

Yes, perfectly possible.

So are you claiming helmets offer essentially no protection against anything heavier and faster than an irritable kitten? (You may well be right, I don't possess one, but I thought they were supposed to protect against 12 mph impacts or is this also about the shape of the object striking them)?