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Justice (Lonpicman, Wikimedia Commons)Driver fined after pulling out on triathlete at roundabout
A Nottinghamshire driver who hit a cyclist at a roundabout, causing serious life-altering injuries, has received six penalty points and a £200 fine.
Nottinghamshire Live reports that on July 30 last year Kay Melvin pulled out in front of a cyclist who was already on a roundabout. He tried to avoid her but was hit.
According to Ann Barrett, prosecuting, "The front offside wheel went over his chest and the rear offside wheel over his helmet. He suffered serious life-altering injuries.”
Barrett said that the helmet prevented a significant head injury.
Melvin admitted driving without due care and attention.
Tom Gent, mitigating, said: "She is genuinely devastated that her mistake has caused the injuries it has done."
He added: “It had been raining that morning and visibility was reduced at the busy mini roundabout, which has a white circle painted on the road. She checked the road before pulling out.
"It seems she looked and saw no car or any such vehicle and nothing on the roundabout. She must have looked beyond the cyclist who was already present. She accepts entirely she missed him, overlooked him.
"She accepts her driving fell below the required standards and it is something she bitterly regrets. There is genuine remorse. She has been badly affected by what has happened. It is something she has struggled to come to terms with."
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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25 comments
Angry enough to do something about it, yet?
No?
Ah, well. Keep on with ineffectual bleating. That's always helped.
https://road.cc/content/news/255301-cyclist-who-hit-horse-during-royal-w...
So there is a £200 fine for causing life changing injuries to a cyclist but a cyclist is fined over £900 for cycling into a horse?
Welcome to the laughably titled "justice system". Which is only just if you're on four wheels.
Feel free to venture out on the roads trusting to your continued good luck. May I suggest you mount a lucky rabbit's foot on your handlebars and in between tugging your forelock at each passing motorist, give it a rub before every junction.
"She was unluckily it was a cyclist rather than a car."
Unlucky? WTF sort of excuse is "unlucky"?
Oh you poor thing, you almost killed someone, maimed them for life, but don't blame yourself it was just a bit of bad luck.
I'd suggest that the bad luck is on the poor rider with their life changed forever. The lady motorist is enormously lucky in that she gets to walk away unscathed, a trivial fine and will be back driving, life as normal.
Bad luck? Fuck bad luck as an excuse for the results of something entirely within the control of the person responsible.
Seldom have I agreed with anyone more. Well said.
It wasn't bad luck, it was a failure to take proper care for someone else's life.
You seem to be one of those morons who cause drivers to hate cyclists so much, they’ll purposely try to knock us off the road. Yes, she did cause injury but you totally miss the point of my post, I was commenting on people moaning that the triathlete got a worse punishment, he did as it was deliberate, he was riding dangerously, if a driver did that, it would be 3 points and a fine.
I don't think it was deliberate. Just my opinion I know as I wasn't there, but I suspect the undertakers were riding towards the back of a group and the lead split to avoid the horse and rider. The following riders weren't paying due attention and had to take evasive action. Poor observation definitely, but I doubt deliberate.
What a joke! In Norway you get a higher fine for much lesser infringements!
Example; driving without evidence of having a license (i.e. Jumping in the car, but forgetting to out your wallet in you pocket) will net you a higher fine than this (approx 250 gbp iirc). Christ, I got a 600 quid fine for a fender bender (I admitted responsibility) with no personal injuries.
The UK is really going to the dogs!
After the increases at New Year, if you are caught without your licence it's 500kr, so £45 give or take depending what the exchange rates are doing.
However a breach of give way rules (roundabouts, side roads etc) is 6,800 kr (about 600 quid just now)
On your bike and forgettful (no lights) or colourblind (oops a red light), didn't see the no entry sign etc etc, are alla flat 1200kr (Just north of £100)
HINT : Don't get caught speeding in Norway, that REALLY hurts.
And Mr Alliston got 18mths in prison. Both were negligent. It seems having remorse for your crime changes your punishment by quite a margin.
*Saying* that you have remorse...
It might, but what really changes the punishment level is whether you were driving a car or riding a bike.
Just read the same BBC report as Mungecrundle involving the triathlete and the horse however I can't see anywhere on the BBC website any mention of the above story. Who said the BBC don't demonise cyclists??
Just read story on BBC about the triathlete who passed a horse and rider on the inside, at speed during a race. Rider got slight bruising to ankle, horse undamaged. Triathlete has been fined nearly £1000 including court costs and banned from competition for life.
Not saying that idiot on bicycle deserves any less punishment, but in the context of more lenient consequences for maiming someone for life whilst driving without care and attention there is a huge discrepancy.
And:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-40134629
Which is what the 2014 review of road law was supposed to be about.
The British court system isn’t perfect, but I can see the difference. The triathlete who passed the horse knew exactly what they were doing and put other road users at risk through their recklessness. It seems the woman on the roundabout made a genuine error of judgement, how many accidents involving two cars happen each day that go totally unpunished? She was unluckily it was a cyclist rather than a car. As I cyclist I’ve made errors and so do drivers. I was out this morning, in the right hand lane (straight on) at lights and was almost hit by a driver who came up the inside of me in the left lane (left turn) and almost collided at the junction; now that is dangerous driving as the driver knew exactly what he was doing.
We all need one of these magic helmets.
I'm surprised she didn't add something about wearing those self inflating vests for his torso.
Two things;
When are drivers who kill and maim through their incompetence going to get realistic punishments? A mistake of this magnitude should result in an immediate ban.
The helmet did nothing, and the prosecutor had no evidence to say that it had. You can break a cycle helmet by sitting on it. The fact that we now have court officials talking complete total and utter nonsense should frighten us all. Is there any way to report Ann Barret for utter incompetence and gross stupidity?
Just where is the review of road law promised in 2014?
She would have seemed to have ignored his presence, didn't notice hitting him (he did somehow end up on the ground), was unaware of driving her front wheel over his torso and continued to drive her rear wheel over his head.
The devastation and regret that these substandard drivers feel never appears to rise to the level of declaring that as they are such a danger to everyone else on the road that they shall never drive again and rip their licence up in front of the court. I might believe them then.
"She has been badly affected by what has happened."
Better give her a mickey mouse punishment while her victim copes with his "life altering" injuries then.
Oh you have?
Good.
British justice.
A-pillar blindspot plus the usual mini-roundabout madness no doubt. They're completely bloody lethal, there's one near me that drivers routinely straightline at speed and try and get air over the mound.
I wonder what percentage of drivers know what an A-spot is much less how to check it? I have to say, since I started cycling regularly, I have become a lot more aware of how much I cannot from behind the wheel, until I make a conscious effort to look for it.
"Barrett said that the helmet prevented a significant head injury."
Good news yes. A motorcycle helmet maybe but what polystyrene cycle helmet can do that?