A good or bad sentence\punishment

[2Loose]

I am in mixed minds about this sentence.
The accused got delayed and then irate about not being able to pass a cyclist. He then overtook and left-hooked him, leaving him laying in the road needing 16 stitches, before phoning the police once he was settled in at work.

Mostly because driving away from the scene is the (imho) lowest and most heartless thing any individual could do.
But it does at least go some way to being appropriate.

I know that some of us would like to see hanging for similiar crimes but what are your thoughts on the approprateness of the sentencing in this case, especially when compared to others that you have seen\heard about.

 

[killiekosmos]

Leaving someone injured and unattented is dreadful - regardless of fault.

It seems as though the driver was prepared to put others' safety at risk just to save a few seconds on his journey.

We should all be pleased he is off the road for a while.

 

[david1701]

leeaving the guy there made it a concious decision, maybe hangings a bit too far, how about running them over

 

[MarkF]

Fair.

- At fault and collided with cyclist. Left him lying in the road.

+ Phoned police. Pleaded gulity.

 

[the snail]

A friend of mine got 6 months (not suspended) and a year's ban for a 'road rage' incident which resulted in a accident, and he didn't do a runner, so I think that guy got off lightly. Beeping horn then overtaking and doing a left turn sounds like a 'punishment overtake' to me

 

[gambatte]

Not enough. Either the ban should be longer or part of the sentence not suspended, to allow him some time to 'reflect'

 

[Amanda P]

The punishment seems to have been based on the consequences of the collision, which, fortunately, were not too serious.

But Bradshaw (the driver) was in charge of a dangerous weapon and used it irresponsibly. It seems largely luck that Cronin (the cyclist) was not hurt much more badly or even killed.

Had this been any other weapon, say a knife, or a baseball bat, maybe a firearm, I think Bradshaw would now be in prison. Had it been a firearm, Bradshaw would never be allowed to own one ever again, and rightly so. There'd be no question of a year's ban from owning a shotgun.

Why, when someone has so clearly demonstrated their unfitness to be in charge of a lethal weapon, their unworthiness of the trust we place in them to use it safely, do we allow them to continue using it - ever?

A driving license is a privelidge that has to be earned. But once earned, it seems almost nothing will cause you to lose it. Even killing someone. That's got to change.

 

[jugglingphil]

Suspended sentence is a bit lame. What triggers this? Any other law-breaking or just driving into cyclists and leaving the scene!

Ban is good, hopefully over the next year Mr Bradshaw will try getting around by bicycle and learn some respect.

 

[Bicycle]

I am in mixed minds about this sentence.
The accused got delayed and then irate about not being able to pass a cyclist. He then overtook and left-hooked him, leaving him laying in the road needing 16 stitches, before phoning the police once he was settled in at work.

Mostly because driving away from the scene is the (imho) lowest and most heartless thing any individual could do.
But it does at least go some way to being appropriate.

I know that some of us would like to see hanging for similiar crimes but what are your thoughts on the approprateness of the sentencing in this case, especially when compared to others that you have seen\heard about.

There is much to admire in this sentence, but I think it can be improved in some areas:

The compound verb 'got delayed' is slightly colloquial in structure and might be replaced by the construction: 'was delayed'.

Similarly, the (implied) construction '... got... irate about not being able...' is slightly inelegant. It can help to read sentences aloud before submitting them.

The word 'laying' as applied to the sentence is transitive in use and must therefore alays have a direct object. I might perhaps have been laying the table or laying my sword on the ground. The construction '... leaving him laying in the road...' might be improved by using the word 'lying'. Hence: 'leaving him lying in the road'. The confusion between lay/laying and lie/lying (as a verb, participle or gerund) is not uncommon, as the former forms a part of some past constructions of the latter.

Taking the positives from the sencence, one can say it avoids ambiguity and shows an admirable economy of words. The grammar might be polished a little, but all in all I think the sentence is not a bad one.

I hope this helps, although the thread might be better placed on a 'Use of English' Forum.

On a slightly more serious note, I was at school in the 70s with the chap whose death caused the birth of the charity 'Roadpeace' to address inequities in the response of the law to deaths and injuries caused by reckless and dangerous driving on UK roads. I believe Roadpeace may still exist, although the founder may now have little to do with it.

The dead man was riding an XT550 near Tower Bridge when an Escort van RLJ-ed and he caught it amidships. He died at the scene. The driver of the van got a £250 fine (as I recall it) and no mention of the death was made in court.

This was many years ago (1991?). The situation now is way, way better. We will all wince sometimes at what look like inappropriate sentences, but the wheel is slowly turning in favour of victims.

 

[ohnovino]

Remove the vehicles from the scenario:

One person got ridiculously angry about the innocent behaviour of complete stranger. After five seconds of abuse and intimidation, the assailant assualted the victim, resulting in injuries to his neck, arm and leg and a head wound that required 16 stitches. The victim is also suffering severe stress from the incident, and there was considerable damage to his property.



Any weapon other than a car and he'd be behind bars.

 

[Amanda P]

Nicely put ohnovino.

And so much more consisely than I managed it. Removing the vehicles is a very useful thought experiment.

 

[Jezston]

FLASHBACK!

Oh blimey. I met a girl on a dating website a few months back who was part of the design team on that. Just remembered our conversation kind of petered out before I got to meet her

 

[2Loose]

@Bicycle

I saw what you did there

 

[downfader]

Heres the way I see it. Say I'm in Argos (where people regualry get c*cky around here...) and theres a little 5 foot skinny fella in the queue before me, but I'm in a rush? Now I'm a big 15 stone fella, and over 6 feet. By this sentance would it be right that I lost my temper and threw my weight into the guy, injuring him for a few minutes advantage?

I really dont understand the dissassociation pyschology of violence. The driver willfully acted in a violent way here and has been landed a sentance that is less that a similarly violent action person-on-person.

I strongly get the feeling that a good copper/legal has sat him down and said "...look, here we have witnesses saying you did this and did that, you've been a stupid boy and you know it." He has tried to mitigate the sentance by pleading guilty even though it doesnt/wont alter his mindset.

 

[DrSquirrel]

Remembering that he isn't actually in Jail, I don't see how this can be unfair at all.

A bit soft, maybe... but definitely not unfair


BTW you missed out the 100hrs unpaid work.

I think more people need community service, specially for "those lot" that £800 isn't a lot of money... but spending hours and hours at the side of the road picking rubbish is (not that its a bad job, anyone that does it is great in my mind).



I'm going to pick on stereotypes here, but 25yr old in a Calibra ... sounds a bit like a chavvy boy racer type to me.