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Julie Dinsdale (Keith Bontrager).JPGCyclist who lost leg ‘hugely disappointed’ by driver’s £625 fine
Julie Dinsdale, who lost a leg when she was crushed under the wheels of a Tesco lorry in Central London last year, has said she is hugely disappointed by the penalty handed out to the driver responsible. 23-year-old Florin Oprea was fined £625 and given five points on his licence after pleading guilty to driving without due care and attention.
Dinsdale was riding her bike on Old Street in the London Borough of Islington with her partner – mountain bike industry pioneer, Keith Bontrager – when the incident took place on the afternoon of Sunday October 4.
The NHS midwife was crushed under the wheels of the lorry as it turned left, across her path, into Central Street from Old Street. Her leg was immediately amputated by the front nearside wheel.
Blackfriars Crown Court heard that Oprea had been driving in the UK for four months before starting work for Tesco on October 1, just four days before the incident. He had held an HGV licence for 18 months but had mainly been working in Italy prior to his arrival in the UK.
The collision took place on Oprea’s first day working alone. Just days before, an assessor had recommended that he use his nearside mirrors more when driving.
It was also alleged that Oprea was not following the route provided by Tesco. Oprea argued he had been following his satellite navigation system through Central London.
In a victim impact statement, Dinsdale said she had previously participated in marathons and cycling events, including completing the Three Peaks Cyclocross event for the sixth time in the week before the collision.
“I am hugely disappointed by the decision of the Court which finds that despite the evidence that I was visible to the driver, he should not be handed a more substantial sentence given the impact his actions have had on my life.
“Every aspect of my life remains difficult and my inability to return to work or pursue my sporting and active lifestyle is an immense loss to me and causes me great distress.
“What is of greatest concern to me is that the driver continues to drive HGVs and it was said during the recent Court hearing that he was now working for Stobart. What has happened to me is devastating and I would hate for someone else to go through the same.”
Dinsdale’s lawyer, Sally Moore, Head of Personal Injury at Leigh Day, said a civil legal action would now be taken against Oprea and Tesco, adding: “It remains a problem at the core of British society that serious collisions involving cyclists are still regarded as ‘par for the course’ and appear to be treated as such by the Courts.”
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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22 comments
It's not as if Stobart's don't have form for this typeof driving http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/husband-s-grief-lorry-driver-avoids-jail-...
I had previously been led to believe that Stobart was a company that is iconic in its high standards.
Since they approve of driving an HGV in a way that smashes someone's leg off, and happily give jobs to those standing trial for it (now convicted), I shall keep far, far away from their lorries, which from now on I will assume are driven by maniacs.
If Stobart give a f**k about their reputation, they might give thought to how many people are also thinking that way.
But they won't, of course; the road haulage industry doesn't care about killing or nearly killing, just like the police, the CPS, the courts, the government, local authorities... Just as long as it is done with a motor vehicle and the victim is on a bicycle. That makes it OK.
This is so terribly wrong. If a factory's unsafe practices cause an employee to lose a leg, they can expect a six-figure fine. If a driver's unsafe practices cause the same damage, the driver gets a small fine and enough points on their licence so that they can only do it a *second* time during the next three years before facing a ban.
Though I fear what we are reading is not "news". It's just a restatement of what we've known for some time. That the motorists' right to drive, whatever type of vehicle they are driving and pretty much regardless of how they drive it, is a much higher priority than the safety of the cyclists on the road.
It is so very wrong on so many levels, but whereas the Dutch were not prepared to put up with what amounted to wholesale murder on their roads, here in the UK we accept the death or injury risk to cyclists as a price worth paying (largely because the motorists know that they will not be the ones paying the price, and they are very much in the majority).
Im not one to shy away from direct action, most groups are very London centric though which is why I feel their appeal is limited. If the CTC (now cycling UK) where to rally the membership im sure others would join in but it needs to be a whole country movement, having multiple protests in different cities until things start to change.
Lobbying is OK but nothing much really happens just a back and for of "we think you should do this" and "we will try to implement your thoughts as long as it doesnt cost", lobbying wont help get safer roads for everyone, direct action might make people take notice and if they dont take notice keep the pressure up imagine repeatedly bringing major cities to a standstill at the same time across the UK, it would hit the governments pocket and we know they dont like that...
Yeah it has to be greater than just some flash in the pan lobbying.
A good recent case study would be Left Unity who tried to unite socialist groups, which was good in theory but the execution was woeful. The core idea was that there are countless socialist and left wing groups around the country, so instead of starting a new party, they would unite all of the old ones.
Of course what they ended up doing was copying in form a political party, everything from local meetings to their constitution and of course - they ended up becoming just that - another small left wing party and they weren't uniting anyone.
I actually tried early on with one of their key members to convince them that LU should have been a left wing network, forums, open source tools etc, which would attract all left wing groups as there would be a benefit for them to come to you. They weren't interested in new fangled ideas though. It really was meeting full of white, middle class old school socialists sitting around calling each other comrade (which I also suggested wouldn't fly to a newer generation and would be roundly mocked).
There's an old guard in the left, and they're sensitive, angsty, highly resistant to new ideas that aren't their own. They will eat themselves before supporting each other. That's why left wing groups are horribly fragmented. Right wing groups do a cracking job though of showing unity when it counts - that I've seen from my time in London (used to dabble a bit in the political scene there and was actually a bit right wing in those days).
Cycling needs something trendy and emotional to get young people who're not bogged down by responsibilities to get out and make a massive noise. It has to verge on the aggressive. Nothing MPs hate more than the feeling of losing control in their own constituencies - this is the key point. If they feel the tide is turning or they can't placate a noise they know it looks bad on them.
You're right, it has to be national not just a London-centric circle jerk.
You know what's needed - some really witty marketing guys to braindstorm a campaign. Celebs and shit. Memes that really go viral. All that new stuff. Has to be sexy as fuck. Look at Occupy - half those fuckers didn't know what they were campaigning for, but they turned out. It was cool, great logo and shit.
You need yes people, not wanky, 'oh but um', naysayers. Sometimes you have to hire them to get started.
Utterly disgraceful outcome.
As a midwife, if there was doubt about here techniques she would be supervised, not left to her own devices. Also, if she made a big mistake, she could lose the right to practice.
This driver was questioned about not using mirror enough, but was let loose in a HGV. He nearly killed someone and maimed them for life, yet was given the lightest of telling offs and can still drive an HGV!
We need long or lifetime bans, and if they are caught driving again should be given a prison sentence.
Tesco's won't give a shit as long as they are making money, The driver should be banned from ever driving in this country again. It wouldn't take long for drivers to realise if they're involved with a bike accident and they were banned for life,
they would think bike.
I feel very sorry for Julie Dinsdale and for every other victim in cases like this. We will share a sentiment on this site that doesn't seem to be the same as our justice system. I believe because the driver in this case pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention a more serious charge was not then pursued. I do hope that through civil action she manages to get a sense of justice being delivered and is able to move on as best as possible. As for the driver now employed by Stobart, well that just sickens me. There's negligence here both from the individual and the company (Tesco). I cannot see how incidents like this will become fewer unless drivers are motivated by the weight of responsibility and fear of severe consequences should their driving fall below legal requirements.
While it's a case of "whoops I've maimed or killed but let me off cos I made a simple mistake and honest I feel a bit guilty but no I'm not pleading guilty well OK maybe to that lesser charge so I can get back behind a wheel....." it won't get any better will it.
It takes the NHS three years to train a midwife. I wonder if the NHS has a different take on their loss of a skilled member of staff and the costs of treatment and prostheses for decades to come, compared to the MOJ.
One cannot begin to imagine the impact of something like this happening. Like looking out of the window in winter longing for the spring and summer days, but with something like this, knowing those days will never be the same.
I really just don't understand. Is the law supposed to be a deterent or just a record for statistical purposes?
Another incident where the punishment does not match the crime, but perhaps we should be grateful that the authorities actually did prosecute. As we all know, they frequently don't http://road.cc/content/news/200414-cyclists%E2%80%99-defence-fund-launch...
I'm sick of hearing that the government are going to address this problem and announcing yet another review of road law. Stop the waffling and do something. I'll be writing to my MP yet again, demanding action, so perhaps all the road.cc readers could do the same and we might actually achieve something.
Perhaps we should start a special interest group, something with a catchy name...like Cyclists Against Being Killed on the Road. Cyclists know that cycling is part of the solution not the problem. If we don't do anything, we shouldn't complain. We have to organise or nothing will ever change for the better.
Been thinking this myself. These cycling sites should form a network and share their readerbase to actually accomplish something. Protests, mass letter spam, pool together the talents and ideas of the readship. Bet we've a lot of clever and motivated people around here. Bet there's a lot of people ready to put in a few hours work, or chip in a few quid if necessary.
What we have at the moment are a handful of sites acting as a shopfront for the cycling industry, with a thin veil of 'reviews' and some stitched together how to's, which are already all over the internet and in greater detail. So we know it's just for clicks.
To justify this commcerial enterprise why not do some genuine activism. We get the rabble rousing horror stories, we just don't get the direction to do something about it. Noise = action. Make enough noise and MPs get off their arse. Always the way of it.
If sites like road and bikeradar etc don't pull the finger out and I doubt they will, it's probably very cosy doing what they do, so why stick your neck out - then maybe a group of members could consider starting something and then bring the sites into it. Connect them all.
Isn't that what these people do? - http://stopkillingcyclists.org/
Need to mimic the mainstream to infiltrate them unfortunately. That site looks like some nu-punk anarchist blog. A good example of acting mainstream, but having a message that is anything but would be: https://republic.org.uk
Nice one. Although SKC do extist in the realm of the real instead of the realm of the hypothetical, and that is not a trivial detail in my view.
It exists.
High praise indeed
Gutted for her. Makes it all the worse that she was a fit and active woman. She should have extra damages for that loss of enjoyment. Good luck to her and the case.
The whole concept of 'duty of care' seems to be completely absent when it comes to driving. I feel as though the majority of people who don't cycle just view it as a risk-taking activity - "You chose to cycle on the road, it's your own fault if you get run over...." and the punishments are accordingly lenient.
Ever time I go for a ride, I wonder what my wife would say to my children. "I'm sorry dear, daddy isn't coming home ever again. But he was holding up a motorist so he deserved to die....."
Shocking! A clear case of the punishment not matching the crime.
If a speeding offence leads to 3 points, how does this only lead to 5? I would love to see data on the average lenth of driving ban for different kinds of driving offences, for instances where cyclists are victims. I strongly suspect that this kind of lax punishment is the norm, rather than the exception.