- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
Darius_Kravitz_HospitalFather of two nearly killed in collision urges people to 'think about the hurt they could cause'
A father of two who was left with life changing injuries after he was knocked down by a motorist while riding into work has urged people to take care as more cyclists than ever take to the roads following the pandemic.
Darius Kravitz was cycling down Knight’s Hill Road, West Norwood, Lambeth, when a car turned across his path as the driver attempted to turn into Cheviot Road.
Darius, 48 who lives in West Norwood, suffered multiple life-changing injuries, including spinal and rib fractures, a fractured chest bone, a broken left leg as well as a fractured and dislocated right hip.
He spent around two months in Kings College Hospital, where he received life-saving treatment, before being transferred to the Pulross Centre to continue his rehabilitation.
Following the collision, Darius instructed expert serious injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to help him access specialist rehabilitation and therapies he requires.
Darius’ legal team at Irwin Mitchell helped secure him a five-figure interim payment to help fund his ongoing rehabilitation.
Darius, who runs The Legends Barbershop in Holborn and the Strand with his wife, Adrianna, age 42, is now urging people to take care on the roads.
The driver involved in the collision pleaded guilty to a charge of driving without due care and attention when they appeared at Bromley Magistrates’ Court.
The motorist received six points on his licence and was fined £394 and ordered to pay court costs of £139.
Before the crash, which happened on 11 September last year, Darius’ business had won numerous awards.
The couple were hoping to expand the number of branches they had as well as their online business. However, this has been put on hold because of Darius’s injuries.
He said: “The crash is all a bit of a blur. One minute I was cycling to work and the next moment I remember being hit by the car and coming off my bike.
“Ever since then life has completely changed. I loved keeping fit and active and we threw everything into expanding our business. Now that has all changed.
“I’m unable to do things people take for granted, such as picking up my children, and am a lot more reliant on Adrianna. All our plans for the business are on hold while I try and recover.
“I’ve always been determined and that determination is keeping me focused on making the best recovery I can. Getting back to work would be a huge boost and that is my number one aim.
“I just hope that by speaking out people realise the hurt and pain they can cause others and how important it is to take care on the roads.”
Adrianna added: “When I heard Darius had been involved in a collision my heart sank. I immediately thought the worst and seeing him in hospital was absolutely horrible.
“Since the crash our lives have been turned upside down. We’re a strong family and a hard-working couple, but now we no longer feel safe. We live in constant insecurity of not knowing what’s going to happen next."
Latest Comments
- David9694 31 min 48 sec ago
t-boned
- Rendel Harris 1 hour 52 min ago
I didn't know the blue RA saddle was a holy grail - I had a 1986 RA bought new in 1987 with a blue saddle that lasted me very well until 2002 when...
- newbankgyratory 2 hours 2 min ago
Solution: Put these up everywhere. Source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/traffic-signs
- newbankgyratory 2 hours 13 min ago
The issue is elderly people worried/worked-up about being knocked over by cycling louts....
- Cugel 2 hours 19 min ago
Wot!? Such a goodly ship wasted as an attraction for gawpers with nothing better to do but gawp!?...
- Rendel Harris 2 hours 59 min ago
Glad you like it - this week was the first proper commuting week since I got it, 250kms nice and warm but not boiled, indeed - and when the...
- Rendel Harris 4 hours 32 min ago
As what you have said is demonstrably untrue, given that the event is organised and has been for the last four years by a professional events...
- chrisonabike 5 hours 47 sec ago
Accessibility issue. Of course by necessity / co- evolution the Dutch generally provide a fairly "one size fits standard bikes" parking solution -...
- Steve K 6 hours 15 min ago
I'm there now too, if anyone wants a follow/wants to follow me. @cyclingtheseaso
- Shepton 6 hours 51 min ago
I totally agree. I used to commute through Long Ashton and only started getting agro from motorists when the pavement was made to be a shared path....
Add new comment
22 comments
Pretty light sentence; perhaps some concellation that the drivers insurance going forward will be sky-high (I'm assuming here?) and he may have to declare any conviction in a job application, visa request or hire car contract (again, just speculating?).
If the penalty was related to the injuries caused then perhaps motorists might be more considerate of the potential cost to them from their fuckwitted driving. But then again, of course they won't, because they always blame the victim for simply being there.
I agree, although there should be a baseline that reflects the potential for harm caused by shit driving, to ensure that there is no "blood on the road" approach to sentencing
I would rather stamp down on all shit driving, rather than just penalising the unlucky ones. This is the way to make the roads safer.
Increasing penalties can only ever be effective if the chance of being convicted is high. When most people get away with it people don't consider the penalty.
Being overweight can cause heart attacks, but most people get away with it.
smoking can be fatal but most people get away with it.
bad driving can cause crashes, but mostly doesn't
People don't drive recklessly because they think the penalty for hitting someone is small, they drive badly because they don't consider that they might kill someone. After all they have been driving badly for years and haven't injured anyone yet.
Totally agree.
I'd love to see a much greater police presence (or maybe camera use) to target poor driving and issue small penalties and/or education/training to improve the quality of driving. Simple things like giving someone an on the spot driving ban for a month if they're caught using their phone in traffic.
Once drivers get used to hearing about colleagues and friends getting small driving bans, it'll soon become expected that if you don't follow the rules, you will get caught. Should also reduce congestion too.
I'd love to see a much greater police presence (or maybe camera use) to target poor driving
No, it's much simpler and cheaper than that! 'Greater police presence' demands are immediately cancelled by 'insufficient resources'- this is a perpetual police plea exceeded only in frequency by the 'insufficient' evidence' dodge which they employ even when the evidence is perfect. What we actually need is for the police to cease the shameless practice of spending more time protecting offending motorists than the time they would take in doing their jobs properly and taking action against them in order to deter motorists from committing the same offences. Lancashire Constabulary (as many of you are tired of hearing), along with their previous sins of forgiving a Freelander driving on the wrong side of the road and hitting a stationary cyclist (me) because it was 'only a momentary loss of concentration', refusing to accept that a LC traffic Sgt. was wrong in threatening to prosecute me for obstructing a motorist by not getting out of his way so that he 'had' to cross the double white lines (a cyclist offence that we all agree does not exist accompanied by an indisputable and perfectly proved motorist offence about which no action was taken), refusing to act on numerous serious close passing, red light crashing, white line crossing etc. incidents ... came up with the ultimately self-serving, self-excusing pathetic dodge that they couldn't take any action because they didn't have confirmatory video from the offending vehicle in this case where my video was perfect.
This makes me realise I got off lightly when the car turn right across my path. Keep working at it Darius, things do improve when you work on them (and it sounds like you are).
There is a problem with how driver are taught to look before turning. They need to be taught to look slowly and scan the Road properly, and that a glance isn't good enough.
I don't think anyone is taught a glance is enough, it just becomes a habit.
On the other hand, I don't think they are taught to look fully and anyone who passed years ago hasn't been taught how to look with modern pillars.
But hey, if you passed your test 50 years ago, that's good enough.
I wonder when the own goal of massive A pillars will be addressed? Something which makes it more likely that the car occupants will survive but makes it inevitable that other completely innocent people will die.
...along with many other safety developments made to motor cars.
Such as driving around in facking tanks...
certainly frequent reminders about proper looking would have a benefit but how to roll them out. As the system essentially considers that once people have passed their test they are good to go, and largely that is bourne out to the extent that new drivers are more likely to have a crash than experienced drivers, so the data doesn't back up mandatory retesting for everyone.
Maybe a mandatory retest for people accruing too many penalty points, or having too many at fault insurance claims.
Good luck Darius
I suspect a lot of those people have managed to thoroughly convince themselves that it was the cyclist's fault. If not due to the physical circumstances, then at some existential level it was the cyclist's fault - they should have/have not [fill in some cr@p here].
Person at my work turning right at some traffic lights. Saw a "gap" after another car he could squeeze through without seeing the cyclist in the gap. Luckily the cyclist wasn't too hurt but since then he is convinced it is the cyclists fault for cycling that fast across some traffic lights.
Definitely no hope for some people.
if it had been a motorbike rider would they also have been at fault for riding too fast? or was the cyclist riding faster than the cars (unlikely)
Well, at least the dangerous driver who caused such life-changing injuries was suitably punished, sending a strong message to other bad drivers to drive carefully and not cause this sort of danger to other vulnerable road users...
Oh
Exactly. Obviously the full force of the law has been used to reflect the damage done to people's lives.
Oh wait...
It's depressing.
However, I hope Darius recovers well and quickly
I know there are some legal people who comment here. I'd love to know how the tariffs compare, causing equivalent levels of injury and hardship, in other arenas. For example, as an employer if your employee suffers similar harm due to H&S infractions you already knew of but decided to do nothing about. Are motorists a legally protected species, or is it just bias confirmation on our part?
I know this might be a slightly different set of circumstances, as there was a hit and run and perverting the course of justice factor to it..... but it seems a car driver hitting a pedestrian causing life changing injuries gets 4.5 years in jail.... hit a cyclist you get 6 penalty points.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mum-left-unable-walk-after-24535490
The article states that the driver pleaded guilty to "Driving Without Due Care And Attention". I am no legal expert but my understanding is that this is a minor offence, often dealt with via a FPN, and carries only a fine and points/disqualification as potential penalties.
I thought there was an option of "Causing Serious Injury By Careless Driving", which seems way more appropriate on the face of it.