Convicted of Dangerous Cycling...

[Malt_Vinegar]

I don’t see how people can be defending him. Surely if he has been convicted then there was sufficient evidence to prove that he was at fault?

If he was a car driver he would probably be in prison.

I am defending the judgement and punishment, not the act itself. I am saying that he is being punished in accordance with the law, and arguing against the people baying for his blood and saying he should be locked up for life/etc.

He might have made a better decision, but i really doubt that anything he was doing was deliberatly aimed at hurting/killing anyone.

The punishment fits the crime in my book.

I agree that in a car, he would be in prison, as the circumstances would make doing what he did MUCH more likely to kill/injure someone, and he would be aware of that.

 

[DreXeL]

I would say I think the girl and her friends have played some part in all this, they shouldn't have been in the road ( if it's as I interpret it ), and if there was a 'gap' for the cyclist, it's not like he 100% intended to hit the girl. It takes two to tango..

Here's a scenario for you:

I'm driving along in my car, I see a group of youths in the road up ahead. It's a wide road, there's a gap in these youths, just room for me to squeeze my car through, but there's also nothing in the other lane and I could safely pull out around them with plenty of room, there is also plenty of time for me to stop.

Instead I chose not to brake or move out around them, I decide to lean out of the window and yell 'move, I'm not going to stop', then procede to aim for the gap between them. On the way through I bounce one of them off my bonnet, killing them.

Would people be saying it's just as much the fault of the youth as mine? No, I would probably be up on a death by dangerous driving charge, or even manslaughter, and quite right too.

The same should apply to this ****, her death was a DIRECT consequence of his decision not to stop or move out to avoid them.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

The same should apply to this ****

I really disagree with this. You have to admit that the very idea of driving a car through a small gap in a group people and doing the same in a bike are VASTLY different in likely consequences?

I am not defending the bloke, he did the wrong thing, but I think the punishment was correct. The fact that the girl died, as terrible as that is, should not affect the decision.. (Unless it was a deliberate act, which we can assume it was not as he was not convicted of a more serious crime)

 

[Dolph]

I really disagree with this. You have to admit that the very idea of driving a car through a small gap in a group people and doing the same in a bike are VASTLY different in likely consequences?

No, the attitude and actions are identical... It's not the consequences that matter, it's the behaviour.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

No, the attitude and actions are identical... It's not the consequences that matter, it's the behaviour.

Well, the court/judge and the Law disagree with you.

How can you say that the possible/probable consequences are not relevant?

 

[DreXeL]

I really disagree with this. You have to admit that the very idea of driving a car through a small gap in a group people and doing the same in a bike are VASTLY different in likely consequences?

The fact that a girl has been killed whilst doing just that on a bike proves that the consequences can be exactly the same, so IMO he should get the same punishment. Potential consequences aside, the fact remains that had he taken the decision to stop or move round them she would still be alive.

The charge should have been manslaughter.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

The fact that a girl has been killed whilst doing just that on a bike proves that the consequences can be exactly the same, ergo he should get the same punishment. The fact remains that had he taken the decision to stop or move round them she would still be alive.

The charge should have been manslaughter.

Had she been knocked down and grazed her knee, would you be calling for an attempted Manslaughter charge?

 

[DreXeL]

Had she been knocked down and grazed her knee, would you be calling for an attempted Manslaughter charge?

To my knowledge there is no 'attempted Manslaughter' charge.

In that scenario ABH would be a fair charge IMO.

 

[ChrisJSY]

"Get out of my way Im not going to stop"

You're cycling along, quite fast.
some girl steps into the road.
What do you shout?

"GET OUT OF THE WAY I'M NOT GOING TO STOP"

Or can't stop.


I think you shouldn't be so quick to assume he meant it in an arrogant way, you can take it both ways and you took the worst, heck that sound like a perfectly plausible thing to shout to warn someone.

Also, nobody knows the truth for sure, pavement/road..whatever, it's too late.

I just hope if someone dives infront of me, I don't get the blame.
But then I don't travel at 17mph on a bike.

 

[badbob]

But then I don't travel at 17mph on a bike.

No I'm at double that speed..17mph on a FS MTB is pretty good, looks like he was going downhill.

 

[DreXeL]

You're cycling along, quite fast.
some girl steps into the road.
What do you shout?

"GET OUT OF THE WAY I'M NOT GOING TO STOP"

Or can't stop.


I think you shouldn't be so quick to assume he meant it in an arrogant way, you can take it both ways and you took the worst, heck that sound like a perfectly plausible thing to shout to warn someone.

Also, nobody knows the truth for sure, pavement/road..whatever, it's too late.

I just hope if someone dives infront of me, I don't get the blame.
But then I don't travel at 17mph on a bike.

Of course he meant it in the arrogant way it comes across. He had plenty of time to stop or move out past them, but chose not to.

 

[badbob]

So those drunken yobs heard him shouting that several hundred yards away? Cobblers.

 

[Ezyryder]

No I'm at double that speed..17mph on a FS MTB is pretty good, looks like he was going downhill.

LOL, you do 34mph on your bike? You should be riding for the Olympics!

I am amazed at people that claim they are doing 23mph on average and all that, you should be going for the olympics!

 

[Werewolf]

I don’t see how people can be defending him. Surely if he has been convicted then there was sufficient evidence to prove that he was at fault?

If he was a car driver he would probably be in prison.

Unfortunately the courts don't have the option for prison for cyclists AFAIK

What I would have liked in this case, given that he's deliberately taken an action that caused someone's death (ridden at them at speed, when the danger is extremely obvious), is that his bike should have been destroyed, if there was any way the courts could have wangled it (they can order the destruction of other items used to commit crimes).
I suspect that would have made him think a bit more than his fine (half the price of the bike...).

I wouldn't be too surprised if the government does look again at the instancing guidelines for cycling related offences if something like this happens again - something i can see being quite possible with what appears to be an increase in people on fast cycles who don't care about other road and pavement users (I suspect the laws haven't been updated for a number of years, probably since long before bikes reached the performance levels they are now).

 

[badbob]

34mph is possible on the flats on a road bike, that's my maximum speed really. Can keep it up for a around 3 miles. 20-22 is usual speed and can do that for 20+ usually tire out so last section is uphill much lower. Find me a 100 mile flat road and average will probably be 22mph.