CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
@robert far far worse
Independent witness ... good guy ... led by the defence into ‘dark clothing’ I had a black reflective night vision jacket on so yes dark but totally reflective ’ was the car travelling slowly maybe In first gear ? ‘Yes’ .... he had seen me st the ASLso was still quite far away but totally great guy he had helped me on the ground ... and responded to my request to be a witness
This is dreadful.
What message does this give to other drivers - 'if you hit a cyclist and it's your fault, just say you didn't see them'
Just awful.
That's really awful RagingBike.
We should get someone like Bez / Beyond the Kerb to write up this case, especially if you are now being sued.
Truly awful Ragingbike.
And really worrying. Once again we see the legal system is incapable of holding bad drivers to account.
I really can't understand why didn't see you is a proper defence. You were on the road. The car had lights, you had lights. The streets had lights.
You've got my sympathies Ragingbike. Years ago I went through a court case as 'victim' (not cycle related) and it was a deeply unpleasant experience. It really does shatter your faith in justice to get this outcome in a case a clear as this one.
If you are involved in some kind of civil action and need some assistance with that then I'm sure many of us would contribute what we can.
...far far worse
The insurance company won't pay for a new bike?
Psychologically, Scotland hasn't kicked on much since the middle ages
Just protect the herd, and cast out the heathen outliers
I'm ashamed to live here
Did this happen in Scotland? Would be a Sheriff then, who really should know better.
Justices of the Peace do not need special legal training in order to arrive at their decisions. They are ordinary members of the community who use their own judgement and common sense to assess the facts in relation to each case which comes before them, and to come to a view about the guilt or innocence of the accused, and the correct sentence which should be imposed.
OMG, didn't know Scotland had JPs. From Wikipedia it seems they deal with low level offences. Does careless driving really fit into this low level category?
"Own judgement and common sense"
Clearly this JP has neither.
@Luath
@RagingBike
I would be happy to contribute to a civil action or indeed anything related to your previous case.
Justices of the Peace do not need special legal training
So a jury of one then! aka kangaroo court, although even then there would normally be more than one kangaroo.
My granny was a JP. I always assumed she'd gotten training to do this, but apparently not.
Does careless driving really fit into this low level category?
it does indeed
and as we already know, most dangerous driving routinely gets downgraded to careless driving
and yer average two-bit local busybody JP* who most certainly didn't use active travel to get to the court that day is the local totem decision maker
the JP will lord it up on the big chair with the attitude that defence and prosecution counsel should see fit to "impress them" one way or another
hence diabolical insufficient burden of proof outcomes
*with apologies to frenchy's granny who was undoubtedly the exception to the rule
"Own judgement and common sense"
Clearly this JP has neither.
aye but.. didn't they have both ?
four wheels good, two wheels bad
is it not common sense judgement that some two-wheeled ne'er-do-well in a BLACK jacket is inherently responsible for this mishap ?
its no surprise to me that the car is WHITE
btw i've been cut up in the exact same manner at this very same junction almost every day for years
the cyclist is coming downhill and the uphill facing driver wanting to turn right at the junction is NOT willing to wait
QUEENSFERRY ST / MELVILLE STREET JUNCTION
there have been daylight videos on youtube showing the exact same thing
this is a systemic issue. but no one joins the dots
If it’s any consolation to @Ragingbike every one of the Road Policing officers I showed the video to tonight considered it a stonewall Section 3 offence. I’d question if the JP court is still fit for purpose?
Who is the JP? Can they be named?
@Ragingbike: I would suggest that you seriously consider seeking legal advice as a matter of urgency. Especially so if the driver's insurance company is refusing to cough up, or attempting to pursue you for restitution.
AIUI JP court decisions can be appealed to the High Court of Justiciary, but I believe that would have to be done by the Procurator Fiscal, so I doubt there's much chance of that actually happening, particularly since in this instance the prosecution seems to have put so little effort in to presenting their case, or rebutting the defence's victim blaming strategy.
The JP in this case does seem to have reached a thunderingly stupid conclusion. Apparently there's no way to complain about a JP's decision, only their behaviour (I suspect that "by reaching this decision the JP was behaving like an arse" probably wouldn't cut it, unfortunately.) Given that JP's can judge a case sitting alone, this doesn't seem particularly fair.
@Dom D thanks that helps ! :-)
The JP is I think the same one in the cereal eating case no idea of his name @neddie_h
@ejstubbs The insurance company accepted liability after i tweeted a pic of the car fully repaired 6 weeks after the event (replete with parking ticket) ...it took them another 5 months to pay for the bike... still awaiting compensation... cyclelaw are handling that.
But pursuing the insurance company created a whole new problem for me which i cant discuss here but it has had me need to hire a criminal defence lawyer...because i got knocked down.
also thanks to everyone for the legal fund idea...
IIRC, the cereal-eating offender was charged, but found "not guilty" as well. Hmmm.
CCE thread:
http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11716
This is crazy. If you're charged with careless driving on a lit street "I didn't see him" isn't a defence, it's a confession!
Reminds me of the recent case down south where someone charged with dangerous driving was found not guilty because he was "too close to stop".
@Ragingbike
That is a bitter, bitter draught. I feel your pain.
@Ragiingbike - I am very sorry to hear about this - what a total disgrace. I would very happily contribute to any civil case or otherwise would that be helpful in some way.
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