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HGV driver who crashed into oncoming lorry as he overtook cyclist fined

Cyclist came off bike as he tried to avoid debris in road following collision in Scotland’s Highland region

An HGV driver who crashed into an oncoming lorry as he attempted to overtake a cyclist, causing the rider to sustain an injury after he fell off his bike, has been fined by a court in Scotland.

Jamie Taylor, aged 42 and from Inverness, admitted careless driving when he appeared today at Tain Sheriff Court, reports the Northern Times.

Hilary Michopoulou, prosecuting, told the court that the crash happened at around 12.45pm on 11 June 2020 on the B9165 near Station Road, Fearn, Easter Ross, and described the road as having a series of bends.

She said: “The accused performed an overtaking manoeuvre on a cyclist who was on a short, straight section of road.

“There was a lorry coming the other way and the accused was unable to complete the overtaking manoeuvre and both lorries collided, knocking off each other’s wing mirrors.

“Debris from both vehicles was thrown on to the carriageway and the complainer – the cyclist – crashed into the wing mirrors on the road. He tried to take evasive action but that caused him to fall off his bike.”

Paramedics who attended the scene took the cyclist to hospital where he was treated for grazing on his left arm, leg and knee, and he was discharged later that day.

Rory Gowans, defending Taylor, told the court that the defendant was employed by an Inverness-based courier company.

He said his client usually drove a 3.5-tonne vehicle but on the day in question was driving a 7.5-tonne lorry to deliver pallets.

He said: “He passed the cyclist fairly successfully and pulled in but, as a consequence of this being a heavier vehicle, he misjudged how easy it would be to get onto the other side of the road.

“Both vehicles stopped immediately to make sure the cyclist was okay.”

He added that Taylor had given up his job as a result of the incident, and now worked delivering pizzas.

Besides the £600 fine, Sheriff Gary Aitken also ordered Taylor to pay a £40 victim’s surcharge and endorsed his driving licence with six penalty points.

Adding that : “He [Taylor] is very lucky, as is the cyclist, that this did not end up a lot worse,” Sheriff Aitken also pointed out that the changes to the Highway Code that came into force in England, Scotland and Wales this weekend advise cyclists to ride in the centre of the lane on quieter roads.

Rule 162 of the new version of the Highway Code relates to overtaking and advises motorists: 

Before overtaking you should make sure

the road is sufficiently clear ahead
road users are not beginning to overtake you
there is a suitable gap in front of the road user you plan to overtake..

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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18 comments

Avatar
jh2727 | 2 years ago
1 like

Looking at the highway code section on overtaking there are far to many 'should/should not/do/do not' and nowhere near enough 'must/must not'. How can on earth can (for example) overtaking on a blind bend, be anything other than 'you must not'?

Avatar
Bungle_52 | 2 years ago
4 likes

£600 fine and 6 penalty points.

What would the punishment have been if the driver had killed the cyclist to avoid hitting the oncoming lorry, fled the scene, not offered assistance and remained silent in interview (if caught) until his lawyer was present.

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jh2727 replied to Bungle_52 | 2 years ago
0 likes

Likewise, what would the punishment have been if the oncoming road user he hit was a cyclist - or a family of five in a car?

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Tattoojunkie30 | 2 years ago
4 likes

So yet again, another driver who couldnt be arsed waiting - thankfully this time the cyclist is still alive.

"Given up his job" yeah you mean got sacked for driving like an idiot and almost killing 2 people and with 6 points on his license...yeah lets go with "given" "up"

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nosferatu1001 replied to Tattoojunkie30 | 2 years ago
1 like

It's possible with that offence code / number of points the employers insurance would no longer cover them. 

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mdavidford | 2 years ago
8 likes

Quote:

“He passed the cyclist fairly successfully"

Eh? What's a 'fairly successful' pass? Isn't it either successful or... not?

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Hirsute replied to mdavidford | 2 years ago
5 likes

Well, he didn't kill him ! We should celebrate that !

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eburtthebike replied to mdavidford | 2 years ago
2 likes

mdavidford wrote:

Quote:

“He passed the cyclist fairly successfully"

Eh? What's a 'fairly successful' pass? Isn't it either successful or... not?

It's like being slightly pregnant.

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wycombewheeler replied to eburtthebike | 2 years ago
0 likes

eburtthebike wrote:

mdavidford wrote:

Eh? What's a 'fairly successful' pass? Isn't it either successful or... not?

It's like being slightly pregnant.

I think if they get pregnant it was a very succesful pass.

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nosferatu1001 replied to mdavidford | 2 years ago
1 like

mdavidford wrote:

Quote:

“He passed the cyclist fairly successfully"

Eh? What's a 'fairly successful' pass? Isn't it either successful or... not?

injured but didn't kill? 

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Mungecrundle replied to mdavidford | 2 years ago
2 likes

Any landing you can walk away from...

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hawkinspeter replied to Mungecrundle | 2 years ago
1 like

Mungecrundle wrote:

Any landing you can walk away from...

Well, that's not much use for snakes on planes it it?

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Mungecrundle replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
2 likes

I knew this one would come in handy one day.

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ktache | 2 years ago
2 likes

Wing mirrors, on lorries too...

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andystow replied to ktache | 2 years ago
5 likes

Arguably correct enough even for some pedants.

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I love my bike replied to andystow | 2 years ago
0 likes

That's not 7.5t! & how on earth would any of those mirrors hit a cyclist?

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mdavidford replied to I love my bike | 2 years ago
4 likes

I love my bike wrote:

That's not 7.5t! & how on earth would any of those mirrors hit a cyclist?

The mirror only hit the cyclist once it was no longer attached to the truck.

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Flintshire Boy replied to I love my bike | 2 years ago
0 likes

If it was in the road, after the collision (as it says in the article).

Oh DO keep up, there.

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