Deliberate collision

[magnatom]

This is both good and bad news. Good news for you and your daughter, obviously, and hopefully it shows your daughter that bad behaviour will be punished, i.e. so she gains back some faith.

However, as John the Monkey has already stated, how can this possibly be construed as careless and not dangerous! The car was used as a weapon, . Something has to change in prosecuting dangerous and aggressive driving before we will have any chance of addressing it.

 

[Cubist]

Thanks for the update, but if he'd punched you in the shoulder instead of using a tonne of metal, it would be viewed altogether more seriously. Funny world.

Actually he has no previous convictions. Had he punched me he would have received a caution, so in a way this works better. He will get mucho points on his licence, and probably a reasonably hefty fine.

 

[magnatom]

That's what he is admitting to. I suspect he is trying to minimise the consequences by hedging towards "I admit to clipping him, but didn't actually mean to." My statement contains what evidence I could muster that it was deliberate. It's down to CPS what they charge him with, and then the magistrates as to what punishment he will receive. Given that he did not attempt to deny the offence, CPS will take him to court, but, frustratingly, they often choose the line of least resistance.

Ah, ok, we'll wait and see what the CPS decides. I seriously doubt that they will go for dangerous though...

 

[Cubist]

This is both good and bad news. Good news for you and your daughter, obviously, and hopefully it shows your daughter that bad behaviour will be punished, i.e. so she gains back some faith.

However, as John the Monkey has already stated, how can this possibly be construed as careless and not dangerous! The car was used as a weapon, . Something has to change in prosecuting dangerous and aggressive driving before we will have any chance of addressing it.

Just because he admits it was careless, doesn't mean he won't be prosecuted for dangerous driving. As I said, it's down to CPS what he gets charged with, not what he wants.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Thought you'd all like an update. The driver and passenger have both now been interviewed under caution. The driver admitted careless driving by swerving into me and the passenger gave an identical account. A file will be submitted to CPS to decide what to prosecute him for at court. Great thing for me here is that with him admitting it and the passenger corroborating events, there will be no need for Cubette to give evidence.

I also learnt that the driver has a warning marker attached to the car for anti-social behaviour. Although it can't be used on this occasion (on second occasion found committing by an officer in uniform the car can be seized and crushed) the boys and girls will be looking out for him. Seems a bit harsh...............

.. now that would be heartbreaking, would it not?

Glad to hear Cubette doesn't need to get involved and good to hear you've got a result .. of sorts. Shame he's not getting done with a more serious offence, but I guess the CPS go with what's got the best chance of sticking?

 

[magnatom]

Just because he admits it was careless, doesn't mean he won't be prosecuted for dangerous driving. As I said, it's down to CPS what he gets charged with, not what he wants.

Thanks for the clarification Cubist.

I'll bet you'll just be glad when all of this is over.

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

Thanks for the clarification Cubist.

I'll bet you'll just be glad when all of this that bl**dy chav is run over by an HGV.

Duly corrected, Mags.

 

[grhm]

On a slight tangent - how is Cubette and her confidence doing? It's good that she is not likely to have to give evidence - but is she still riding? I'd hate one accident and then this muppet to stop a cyclist being a cyclist.

You must be having a "fun" time trying to encourage and reassure her without pressurising her.

 

[Cubist]

On a slight tangent - how is Cubette and her confidence doing? It's good that she is not likely to have to give evidence - but is she still riding? I'd hate one accident and then this muppet to stop a cyclist being a cyclist.

You must be having a "fun" time trying to encourage and reassure her without pressurising her.

We had a 10 mile ride along some canal towpaths the day before yesterday, and we'll be doing a few more easy style rides now the weather is better. I can tell it's going to be a long haul getting her back up to her old self.

 

[grhm]

Glad to hear she's still willing to ride - that's the main thing. Her confidence will return eventually.

I am of the belief that driver's like this muppet are in the minority. I'd also like cyclists who are too scared of the road to become a minority. If we can instill safe, confident cycling in the next generation they might not forget it all when they start driving.

I'd like to believe that as long as new drivers don't forget their cycling youth (and preferably not give it up), the roads will slowly get more and more tollerant - although I think I might be wandering off into cloud cuckoo land here

 

[Cubist]

Just had a chat with Cubette. She's able to put December's accident down to ice and inexperience, but she is concerned that stupid drivers are all too common. I've tried to explain that there are really very few deliberate acts like the one here, and that generally, as long as you keep your wits about you, you can avoid such mishaps. I have no doubt that it will take a very long time before she fully regains her old self in terms of cycling, but as I said, we have a few months of decent weather in front of us and some quieter routes to work on.

 

[TwickenhamCyclist]

Good for you Cubist – and I’m glad the little &*$% will possibly have some grief – but it seems that the prosecution may go ahead because the driver and passenger both “owned up” to the incident.

My problem is that getting the police to take any notice (let alone interview a driver under caution) of the type of incident you had the misfortune to encounter, is neigh impossible round this neck of the woods.

 

[Twenty Inch]

I'm glad this idiot has had a talking to and is now wondering whether he's going to lose his licence, but I infer that the police only took an interest because Cubist is a senior police officer, or on the police authority, or has some other direct influence over his local police.

If this is the case, it stinks. The London police weren't interested in pursuing the taxi driver who assaulted me, even though it was caught on CCTV, nor were they interested in prosecuting the girl who drove her car at me, and then spat in my face, despite the witness statements. It inspires no confidence at all in our police to hear that they will only take potentially lethal attacks on cyclists seriously when the victim is one of their own.

Hope Cubette gets over her fear too.

 

[summerdays]

Its still better than the police doing absolutely nothing. I agree that they don't appear to do much with cyclists complaints though in general.

 

[Cubist]

I'm glad this idiot has had a talking to and is now wondering whether he's going to lose his licence, but I infer that the police only took an interest because Cubist is a senior police officer, or on the police authority, or has some other direct influence over his local police.

If this is the case, it stinks. The London police weren't interested in pursuing the taxi driver who assaulted me, even though it was caught on CCTV, nor were they interested in prosecuting the girl who drove her car at me, and then spat in my face, despite the witness statements. It inspires no confidence at all in our police to hear that they will only take potentially lethal attacks on cyclists seriously when the victim is one of their own.

Hope Cubette gets over her fear too.

I think your inference is inevitable, given that an awful lot of people are let down by their police force. There are many "the police did nothing despite all the evidence stories" , most of which make me cringe with professional embarassment. However, you must remember that the quality of service differs greatly across the country. I spend a lot of my time at work ensuring people on my patch get a good quality, proportionate service. I spend a lot of time recovering poor service, or perceived poor service. So as someone who has devoted his working life to try and get the balance right I can only sympathise.

I wonder at your example of the woman who drove at you and spat in your face. If witnesses gave statements, then it appears that an investigation was carried out. The eventual decision not to prosecute her would not have been made by the people who carried out that investigation.

Like I said, I'm sorry you feel that way, but I have not received a service over and above anything that a member of the public on my patch would have expected, or indeed deserved.

It stinks, as you put it, that you did not receive the service you expected, or an explanation as to why no prosecutions were brought. It does NOT however stink that in this case a proper investigation was carried out.