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Justice (Lonpicman, Wikimedia Commons)Driver fined for driving into back of cyclist at junction
A Shropshire man has been found guilty of driving without due care and attention after driving into the back of a cyclist at a junction reports The Shropshire Star. He was cleared of failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident after magistrates concluded that he was unaware of the collision.
Telford Magistrates Court heard that the BMW driven by 72-year-old Anthony Berry ‘almost clipped’ one of a group of cyclists as he overtook them while approaching the brow of a hill on the A495 on November 30, 2014. Two of the cyclists then went on ahead and caught up to Berry at the junction with the A528.
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Thomas Brazier, appearing as a prosecution witness, said that he pulled in front of the car and was about to dismount when he was hit from behind. “It hit the rear wheel of the bike. The rear wheel was entirely broken and I was thrown up into the air and landed to the left of the vehicle at the junction in the middle of the road.”
John Dove, prosecuting, read statements by three other cyclists who said that Berry then drove off. Brazier was left with scratches and bruising and said the bike’s repair bill had come to £900.
Berry, who was not represented, said the cyclists should not have been riding two abreast as the road was narrow. He said a cyclist had come up each side of his car at the junction and that he had spoken to the one on the driver’s side.
Asked where he thought Brazier had gone, he said: “I don’t know. There’s a little car park. I assumed he’d turned left and gone down there.”
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Berry described the junction as “difficult”, saying that drivers were forced to repeatedly look left and right before pulling out. “If Mr Brazier was there, I would have seen him,” he said.
Berry denied the charges, but magistrates found him guilty of driving without due care and attention, fining him £250 and ordering him to pay £235 court costs. He also received four points on his driving licence. The bench accepted that an accident had occurred, but felt that Berry had not been aware of it and so cleared him of failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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32 comments
WTF! These Telford magistrates are just as incompetent as the driver that was before them. The driver got off extremely lightly. Disgraceful.
"Berry described the junction as “difficult”, saying that drivers were forced to repeatedly look left and right before pulling out."
This statement on its own really defies belief doesn't it? And then to use it as a justification for hitting someone with your car?!
There are bad junctions though. There's one on a route I use regularly. I have to draw forward really slowly and carefully.
agreed, and we can all look at this particular junction on Google Maps, coming from the direction of Welshampton on the A495 to the junction with the A528, you can see to the right there might be reasonable sight lines (allowing for the fact google cam is higher than a driver sits), but the layout suggests people coming from that direction might indicate late/or not at all and could turn on to the A495 at unabated speed. Then to the left theres enough of a hill/incline, cars travelling at NSL speeds are likely to pop over the crest so it feels like there could always be a risk pulling out of that junction as from a standing start by the time youve pulled out there could easily be something doing 60mph very close to you, I suspect the near miss count there is quite high, cant be many collisions as else theyd have dropped the speed and traffic calmed it.
but just because the driver talked a load of rubbish for the rest of it,and the court believed him, doesnt mean he doesnt have a point thats not a great junction.
I did also note that the A495 from that junction all the way to Welshampton which is at least 3-4kms is continous double white lines which suggests overtaking is very positively discouraged, even if the road is still NSL
It's pretty difficult to break a wheel, you'd have to drive into it pretty hard; if he genuinely didn't notice then he should have had his driving licence turned into confetti, never to be returned to him.
This bit has flumoxed me.
"He was cleared of failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident after magistrates concluded that he was unaware of the collision."
So, ignorance is now a perfectly reasonable excuse for commiting a crime?! (or two)
The motorist's competence is clearly questionable - this should be a mandatory re-test to establish that he is fit to be on the roads.
So:
1. He doesn't know the highway code x2 (overtaking too close and that cyclists can ride two abreast)
2. He overtakes in a potentially dangerous place.
3. He finds junctions that you have too look both ways difficult.
4. He doesn't notice the fact that he has knocked a cyclist off his bike.
Yeah, fuck it, no reason why he shouldn't be allowed to drive home from court...
There's so much wrong with this story that I'm just going to smash my head into my desk rather than starting to pick it apart.
You have to laugh at how ludicrous this statement is:
If it was narrow, then it wouldn't have been safe to pass even if they were riding single breast but in secondary position.
We are at a point where people are living longer so there are going to be more drivers on the road who frankly shouldn't be, and they will just be fined, rather than have their licenses permanently revoked.
With the usual caveats of: Wasn't there, second hand report of the incident, don't know what evidence presented to the bench, always 2 sides to the argument etc etc.
But seriously? WTF!
And some people still question the use of helmet cams.
I really don't understand why they don't make people retake (or take) the driving theory test when sentenced for driving offences or indeed anytime points are put on licenses.
That way they might have at least read the highway code and noted the bit about riding 2 abreast and riding primary or even overtaking properly.
Must remember that not bothering to pay due care and attention is actually a defence against certain prosecutions now!
Have you read the highway code yourself? It's no cycling bible.
The "the bit about riding 2 abreast" is this:
"You should never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends".
So the driver was correct. Well done him!
As for "riding primary", the best you'll get from the Highway Code is
Rule 163
Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. You should give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car.
See that word? "Should". Should is not Must.
There's no mention of "Primary Position", "Riding Primary" or any of that jargon that motorists never comprehend. Which is just one of the reasons they think we're arrogant arseholes when we do it.
Again, I'm not saying the motorist was correct, he's obviously a blind, lying idiot.
Just educate yourself on the highway code before you try to throw it at people. At best it's vague and fluffy.
.
Claimed to be read by everyone but generally ignored, sounds quite like a bible. But my point was the motorist was wrong.
Nope - if he could overtake it wasn't narrow albeit I suspect neither of us know the road in question so just a difference of opinion.
as for the rest of your comment thanks but
Oh, and yes you are right, you do come across as an arrogant arsehole.
Stop making excuses for the driver. It sounds like you drive like him.
I'm aware if an acorn lands on my bonnet, the sound resonates because - ITS MADE OF METAL - so how in the hell could you not notice hitting an object like a bike and a person. Utter bull. Crap judge, crap jury.
When it comes to cyclists the BMW driver seems to be yet another of those uneducated motorists who think cyclists have no right to to occupy the road by riding two abreast. He probably thinks we should all ride in the gutter. And, overtaking on the brow of a hill? He obviously had no concern for the safety of others.
How on earth did the magistrates come to the conclusion that the driver was not aware of a collision that hit a bike with sufficient force to throw the rider up into the air?
So wait. The cyclist gets hit by a car, ends up with bruises and paying £900 for repairs and the driver gets £250 fine? Hopefully the cyclist got the money from drivers insurance company as this is bullshit. It's like hitting somebody with a baseball bat and braking their new iphone6s, oh and getting a £50 fine for misbehaving. Feels like we are in loose/loose situation when riding. If we get killed on the road there is big chance that the driver will only get a fine and some points. If we survive we end up with a wrecked bike and body...
This is the area that boils my piss and there is a clear need to tighten things up.
As opposed to a tight/tight situation?
Lies. Complaining that drivers have to look?
Just more whiny, motorist crap.
72 years old; and the average age of the bench? That'll be 72!
Hard for them not to accept that the accident had occurred although cleared on all the charges where discretion could be applied. I'd be interested to know the profile of the bench, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a bit of commonality there with the defendant.
Does Road CC have to pay image royalties for using a gavel and or RCJ statue?
Can we have some other headline image please
BMW driver
I am glad he was punished, I am just a little confused how you can be unware of a collision that broke the wheel?
The other point, almost clipped when overtaking approaching the brow of a hill. so rather than wait until over the hill and sight lines allowed a safe overtake...
I get the feeling the driver is incompetent, like far to many.
Half arsed verdict.
That's really a really scary bit of rationalisation... surely if he wasn't aware he'd hit someone it's a sign he needs re-testing?
And did they correct him on the point about riders being two-abreast? Again, there's an ignorance on the driver's behalf that needs correcting. His subjective view is not in line with cycling best practice... how long until he hits someone again because in his ill-informed opinion they shouldn't be there?
>And did they correct him on the point about riders being two-abreast?
They don't need to correct him, since technically (assuming he's right about the width of the road) he's right.
The pertinent part of rule 66 of the highway code:
"You should never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends".
For the record, I'm not saying the driver was in anyway right to do what he did, but the highway code is vague in a lot of places, this is just one of them, and that doesn't help anyone.
My interpretation of that, and it is just my interpretation, is to allow for the possibility of oncoming vehicles, not to allow space for someone to overtake blind.
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