Stupid Lienent Sentences For Drivers Hitting Cyclist.

Zorba

Here's two news items involving motorist hitting cyclist, one only gets a 2 yr sentence will be out after 1 yr for leaving a cyclist in a wheelchair and brain damaged and i'm wondering what will the driver of the van get for killing someone on a bike, maybe just a little fine and asked nicely not to do it again !!

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/driver-jailed-for-hitting-coach-doughty-14044?CPN=RSS&SOURCE=BRGENNEWS

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/scottish-time-trial-ace-killed--14005?CPN=RSS&SOURCE=BRGENNEWS

Planet X

Yeah, the second is Jason McIntyre as mentioned below. British 10 mile TT record holder.

Zorba

Thought this would've got more replies from cyclist about the dangers we face on the roads, guess i was wrong...

TouchingVirus

You guys do face a lot of dangers out there, just like motorcyclists (I've been involved in a few motorcycle crashes). However there are a lot of uneducated (or downright dumb) cyclists who are a danger to themselves (I've hit one of them in my car too - thankfully he wasn't badly injured)

markpb

In Ireland there seems to be a general agreement that car crashes are accidents rather than manslaughter. This isn't a legal thing, IMHO it's a society thing. No-one accuses a drink driver of murdering a pedestrian or other driver, everyone calls it a terrible accident. This allowes drivers to think they are somehow less responsible and the courts to sentence the way they do. Until this changes and people realise the huge undertaking driving should be, we'll be seeing more silly sentences like this.

niceonetom

markpb wrote: »

In Ireland there seems to be a general agreement that car crashes are accidents rather than manslaughter. This isn't a legal thing, IMHO it's a society thing. No-one accuses a drink driver of murdering a pedestrian or other driver, everyone calls it a terrible accident. This allowes drivers to think they are somehow less responsible and the courts to sentence the way they do. Until this changes and people realise the huge undertaking driving should be, we'll be seeing more silly sentences like this.

hmmm, i think the is a shift in thinking on this one as regards drink-driving. i think most would consider killing someone while drunk at the wheel to be equivalent to manslaughter (though legally i don't know where the two meet, if at all). we don't consider it an accident in the way we used to, or in the way we would still consider a case where a pedestrian/cyclist is killed by someone sober. that's an accident, though i think punishments should be very severe for both cases.

i think part of the low response to this thread is that it sickens most cyclists to read these kind of articles. it certainly sickens me.

and we're superstitious.

Bicyclegadabout

After reading the Naked Street thread, I was hopping from page to page in Wikipedia. Somewhere amongst it all, it talks about road laws in the UK – and by extension Ireland – as compared to road laws in Europe.
As with many things, we in the top left corner of Europe we have things pretty backward.

here it is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_space

in contrast to most English speaking countries, where a fault liability system operates to decide who pays compensation for losses due to road traffic collisions, some Northern European countries, including the Netherlands, use a risk liability system where a conflict occurs between a motor vehicle and a vulnerable road user. Thus there is a legal assumption in some of these countries that motorists are automatically considered liable, to some extent, regardless of fault, for injuries and property damage suffered by cyclists or pedestrians.

Zorba

TouchingVirus wrote: »

You guys do face a lot of dangers out there, just like motorcyclists (I've been involved in a few motorcycle crashes). However there are a lot of uneducated (or downright dumb) cyclists who are a danger to themselves (I've hit one of them in my car too - thankfully he wasn't badly injured)

Yes i know and your right there are some that are dangers to themselves. What i was more concern about was cyclist out on their own obeying the rules of the road but yet there's manic drivers who will do anything just to get by. When i read about these deaths i was thinking twice about going out on the bike that day after me looking forward to going out but i went out anyway. While i was out i lost count of the amount of cars that overtook me with oncoming traffic causing the traffic to slow down. A school bus overtook me causing the oncoming car to stop to avoid the accident and the bus had to swerve in to avoid the car.....don't worry about defenseless me !! Up the road a bit the bus pulls in to let someone off, i've my chance to get by when i do i look around at the driver and call him well it was something to do with male genitals and his head !!

niceonetom wrote: »

hmmm, i think the is a shift in thinking on this one as regards drink-driving. i think most would consider killing someone while drunk at the wheel to be equivalent to manslaughter (though legally i don't know where the two meet, if at all). we don't consider it an accident in the way we used to, or in the way we would still consider a case where a pedestrian/cyclist is killed by someone sober. that's an accident, though i think punishments should be very severe for both cases.

i think part of the low response to this thread is that it sickens most cyclists to read these kind of articles. it certainly sickens me.

and we're superstitious.

yes i can see your superstitious point and as i said i thought twice about going out after reading about these deaths but the deaths weren't due to drink drivers as bad as they are it's about sober drivers who should know better.

Maybe i should've named this thread drivers who are a danger to cyclist or something. In one way i'm lucky where i live cos i don't have to go far to find quiet country roads where i won't meet many cars, heard too many horror stories from ppl in dub getting hit by cars.

I'll end with the best quote i ever heard from a motorist telling me i shouldn't be on the road cos i don't pay any road tax.....was such a stupid statement i was too stunned to think of a quick or well any answer !!

randomname2005

Zorba wrote: »

I'll end with the best quote i ever heard from a motorist telling me i shouldn't be on the road cos i don't pay any road tax.....was such a stupid statement i was too stunned to think of a quick or well any answer !!

This really gets to me. NOBODY pays road tax. Its called MOTORTAX, and that is why the website you pay it through is called motortax.ie, not roadtax.ie.

SerialComplaint

Zorba wrote: »

I'll end with the best quote i ever heard from a motorist telling me i shouldn't be on the road cos i don't pay any road tax.....was such a stupid statement i was too stunned to think of a quick or well any answer !!

One very effective answer (though I know it does give some credibility to the myth that you need to pay road tax to be treated in a civil fashion) is to tell them that I actually pay more road tax than they do, but I choose to leave my jeep at home and cycle for fitness/fun/fashion/whatever. I then ask 'now, does that mean I can treat you like sh1te?'

Zorba

SerialComplaint wrote: »

One very effective answer (though I know it does give some credibility to the myth that you need to pay road tax to be treated in a civil fashion) is to tell them that I actually pay more road tax than they do, but I choose to leave my jeep at home and cycle for fitness/fun/fashion/whatever. I then ask 'now, does that mean I can treat you like sh1te?'

Yes well thinking about it afterwards i thought i should've said i drive a 2 litre diesel car (which i actually do) and therefore i pay more "road" tax than u, but alas it was too late !