Cyclist hits out at driver awareness course but no charges for motorist who knocked him down… on bike path

racyrich, the problem there is the insurance companies dont have access to dvla records and the dvla wont disclose anything to them. They have to apply through a data protection request which costs them money so they wont do it.

In my line of work we speak to Insurance companies on a regular basis and to be honest they dont care about speeding points on licence's or other minor infringements and when asked if it invalidates a policy they say NO because they would rather have their money coming in than not.

I'm sure there will be instances when the insurance company does submit a data protection request, usually when its a multiple times claimant.

Couple of points i've picked up on. The main story was about how the Police did nothing yet there are numerous comments stating it's a good course etc etc, so in reality the Police took the correct action.

Secondly, md6, have you read the previous comments about what the Police did ? obviously not because if they had not done anything then what do you call the driver awareness course ??????? and all the positive comments about it.

Finally, if you dont declare points how does your premium go up ? I believe, and someone please correct me if i'm wrong here, there are only certain offences where you have to declare the points and i dont think speeding is one. Insurance companies dont have access to the DVLA computers for data protection purposes.

Hmmm. Going back to the original issue; the police thought re-education over any penalty because the driver claimed the steering on her car went. Surely this could be proven easily by a mechanical assessment. This should be the first cause of action in a case of attempted murder/manslaughter. What else is it when someone aims 2 tons of steel at an innocent bystander? Anyway a call to one of those terribly keen lawyers should see him right with damages etc.

Having been snapped at 36 on a dual-carriageway A-road at 7am on a Sunday (no excuse of course) I opted for the awareness course.

Half a day of quite sensible re-education and picking up a few tips, including one that I'm 100% certain saved a head-on smash a week later (the 'thicker lines = more hazard' one).

BUT - and this is the biggie - had I opted for the points instead of paying £80 for the course, next year's insurance premium would have been nearly triple the £500 it is now.

No-one ever mentions that in this debate - points are bloody expensive a year later, and I think insurance firms take them into account for quite a few years afterward.

I had a good idea for red-light jumping cyclists too: custard pies or eggs thrown by pedestrians. Or maybe that stringy spray from cans.

Deliberate speeding isn't the same as (supposedly) suffering a mechanical failure.

Failing to react correctly after losing control is something better treated with training than points, so I think the police made the right decision on this one.

Here's a novel alternative punishment: cyclists should be offered the option to punch a member of the driver's family with the same force with which the driver hit them.

I'm beginning to think that in cases like this, where the poolice do nothing really that the only course of action is to start taking court action against the driver. It is clear that if ou leave the road, cross a grass verge and hit someone, you were driving without due care and attention and reckless endangerment at the least. I think that actual court action would chang the driver's habbits. You know, a trial and whatnot. But if the police (CPS) are too spineless to take action then the cyclist should...god i hate myself for saying that

There is a cost as mentioned for the course. It varies a bit, but upwards of £90-100 is average. Plus a day off work. Someone I know was caught at 36 in a 30 zone and opted for the training to keep a clean licence. He said it was one of the best days training he had ever had, and having been in a car with him, is a better driver for it. One thing not mentioned - you can only do this once. If you get caught again it's fines and points, no choice.
I would prefer that drivers who make a mistake get trained rather than just fork out £60 and carry on as before.

The wife did the course and on the whole she had praise for it. BUT she also pointed out a typical problem with regards to cycling awareness!

A picture of a scene was shown to the group, consisting of a road, a petrol station, cars etc. The group was asked to identify the hazard.

The wife said there is a cyclist and the road narrows to a pinch point - obviously a correct answer of many.

Trainer: nope that's wrong the answer. The answer he was looking for was someone might be pulling out of the petrol station forecourt and you should be looking for that. No consideration or discussion was planned regarding the cyclist and the pinch point.

I suspect there is very little formal training for the course organisers regarding cycling. In which case it is hardly conducive to correcting bad drivers who have collided with a cyclist.

I did a driver's awareness course a few years ago. As I understand it you could do it if you we're slightly rather than greatly over the speed limit.
It did cost a not insignificant amount.
It was really good - essentially an accident prevention course, looking at speed, road signs and conditions, mirrors. We also had a session with a driving instructor in the afternoon, about 40 minutes of one to one.
It was a useful reminder that all the things you think you're doing subconsciously - checking mirrors, anticipating other users - you aren't necessarily doing.
I'd like to see much more of this kind of constructive response to poor driving, perhaps combined with tv advertisements that educate on driving and cycling skills/awareness.

The police prefer driver awareness training - no prosecution - less paperwork. Clearly, awareness training is positive however, he real problem here is that the courts cannot include compulsory driver awareness training as part of a penalty so it's either prosecution or awareness training. In some cases there would be benefit in the courts deciding to impose a mixture of both where circumstances warrant it.

While it's a little off topic, I was reading up on pedestrian crossing design across Europe and was interested to note that the penalty for failing to give way on a crossing in Belgium is €2400. Presumably drivers take care to the extent of not paying THAT more than once....

There is a fine of sorts I think. The driver who hit me on a roundabout was given the option to attend a course but it was at his own expense - £130 if I remember rightly

Furry Mommy - have you sent that footage to BP Mitchell?

I'm sure they would be pleased to see how their employees represent them on the road! Bearing in mind the construction industry is supposed to abide by strict H&S etc seems he might need a bit of re-training.....

It's comical that the police 'offer' you the choice to go on the course. My sister in law was offered the chance to go on one of these courses after being caught speeding but decided to pay the fine and take the points instead.

The police do nothing....shock, horror, gasp.....and we expect better of them!??

Sorry but after this incident that was videoed (low definition on You Tube but HiDef disc supplied to TVP) and with an independent witness, guess what TVP have done....??

Bugger All!

See: http://youtu.be/BoBye7ch1WI

That's pretty peculiar fo sho. My goodness

The reason why fines and points don't work is that they are trivial. Any motoring offence should have two zeros tacked on the end of the current fee. That would make people think. 60 quid doesn't say you have been fined. Its less than an admin fee. 3 points mean now't either. 11 maybe, out of 12.
Of course the awareness course should still be run.

If the police felt it was necessary to punish this driver (albeit leniently) what is stopping the cyclist from suing (other than cost.)?

Quote:

has 21 says to reply to the police’s letter

21 days, I believe.

Bournemouth has recently been in the news as one of the worst cycle accident blackspots in the country. This story is tagged as 'bournemouth' which then automatically associates it with those stories. For instance, the top news item linked with this story is "Bournemouth cycle safety pledge following claim it's second most dangerous place to ride outside London". Reading this might lead one to question that pledge. That would be unfair, as this incident happened in a different town.