http://road.cc/content/news/127690-driver-who-killed-cyclist-escapes-jail-sentence Whilst I appreciate there are limits to sentences for careless driving and the offender was given an appropriate sentence to fit the offence. Someone died as a result of ineptitude,and a lack of attention. People are charged with culpable homicide for causing death by not paying attention so why does it not apply to drivers? That said more worryingly the defence implied that the cyclist was in part to blame because he was not wearing hi-viz. Ergo before you get on a bike ensure that you wear everything that you are perceived to be mandated to wear to give you immunity from drivers who think they own the road, think speed limits are a target, and generally drive with total disregard for others, or that they are driving a potentially lethal weapon. Derisory sentence, wrong charge. I am beginning to think that no amount of campaigning is going to achieve justice for cyclists when the sentence or charge does not fit the crime. My sincerest condolences to his family.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News
Another travesty...
(5 posts)-
Posted 9 years ago #
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@Claggy Cog. In the road.cc article though, it says that the prosecutor "..told jurors that if they thought Mr Dudgeon had contributed in some way to his death by not wearing a high-visibility jacket, that was not something that absolved Sneddon. He said what mattered was that the driver should have seen Dudgeon well before the collision and taken steps to avoid him."
That seems quite good to me.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Hard to know what to say. It's a road I know well and for that reason would never go near it on a bike. I've cycled from Limekilns, through Valleyfield to the Kincardine Bridge plenty of times but never at night and always on the low coastal road, which at 2am is probably quieter but more dangerous if you do come across a car. It's very twisty and you'd never expect a cyclist at that time. So, on balance the A985, even though it's a 60mph single carriageway trunk road, is probably safer. It at least has a little 12" margin between the edge of the tarmac and the white line.
The really damning bit is "She said he was careless in failing to allow sufficient space to overtake the cyclist." He saw him but just didn't move. That road has two lanes for at least half of its length. If he'd said he just hadn't seen him or hadn't registered the flashing light as a bike (there's flashing lights on the Longannet chimney, on the bridge and on nearby pylons and I would never expect a cyclist on that road. There's a cycle path parallel to it) you could maybe have understood, even if it still doesn't absolve driver. But to see and just not move enough. Nah.
Posted 9 years ago # -
For once the CPS actually went after a dangerous driving conviction, but the jury dumbed it down seemingly. AT least he didn't walk free completely which would likely have been the case if he'd completely denied everything.
Posted 9 years ago # -
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@SpokesLothian: Petition re death by dangerous driving [tho' lifetime ban also needed]
@Cyclelaw1 @CyclingSurgeon @CyclingEdin
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Posted 9 years ago #
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