A very familiar sounding story being reported on in my local rag.

[Drago]

Again?

I never suggested it would make it less dangerous. I simply pointed out that roads don't create danger, the people that use them do. I agree, cyclists are often their own worst enemies and have never, ever suggested otherwise. You're complaint regards assertions that I have never made.

Finding a resolution to that issue was beyond the scope of my ramblings.

 

[LocalLad]

I can see both sides to this - on the one hand, the driver probably did make a genuine error - we all do; on the other hand, this error was about as bad as it could have been.

Putting myself in the place of the driver, I would probably say that I've been punished and that a custodial sentence weren't appropriate (there was no malice, so it's not like I'm going to go and do the same again).

Putting myself in the place of the cyclist's other half, I'd say that the driver should not have been so careless, and that she has a legal and moral responsibility to make sure the giant metal box she's moving around is safe.

Overall, I think a custodial sentence wouldn't be appropriate, but I would have said a longer ban and bigger restorative penalty might be more appropriate