Driver put her hand over her eyes, killed cyclist, no charges.

[glenn forger]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ry-road-female-driver-dazzled-winter-sun.html

An 82-year-old author died after he was knocked off his bicycle accidentally by a driver who became dazzled by the winter sun.

Geoffrey Blore, an RAF veteran who wrote an acclaimed account of his life as an evacuee, was cycling near his home town of Leominster in Herefordshire when he was hit from behind by a Ford Focus driven by Catherine Jones.

Police cautioned Ms Jones, but brought no charges. She told them she had held up her hands to shield herself from the glare - which may have blocked her view of the pensioner.

An inquest heard Mr Blore, a keen marathon runner, was wearing a high-visibility jacket but no helmet when the fatal crash happened south of Leominster on January 15.

He was airlifted to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth hospital but died of a severe head injury the same day.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-driver-dazzled-winter-sun.html#ixzz2lkjij9SC
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[Markymark]

Are people just think up more and more elaborate excuses for being allowed to knock off cyclists?
It would be comical were it not for the tragic and horrific consequences for Geoffrey and his family.

 

[glenn forger]

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8pX52v_yNA&feature=youtu.be]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8pX52v_yNA&feature=youtu.be
[/URL]

 

[Markymark]

Driver in clip did more than one overtaking cyclist on double white line for no overtaking.

 

[bianchi1]

Driver in clip did more than one overtaking cyclist on double white line for no overtaking.

That's fine

129
Double white lines where the line nearest you is solid. This means you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road. You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.
Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10 & 26

It's the fact he is operating the zoom on the camera that worries me!

 

[Markymark]

I didn't know that but doubt the cyclist was <10mph

 

[ColinJ]

It's the fact he is operating the zoom on the camera that worries me!

I think the zooming was done back at home when editing the video!

 

[DWiggy]

If the 4x4 driver was looking ahead he could of applied his brakes or maybe slowed down, but from experience most drivers never really want to use their brakes, its an inconvenience apparently.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Right, driving too fast for the road conditions. Putting hand in front of eyes while driving too fast so that she kills someone. Negligent manslaughter (or whatever the legal word is) at the very least.

 

[wiggydiggy]

That's fine

129
Double white lines where the line nearest you is solid. This means you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road. You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.
Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10 & 26

It's the fact he is operating the zoom on the camera that worries me!

I didnt know that! I started pointing at the doubles and waving whilst looking back and giving a driver 'the stare' a little while back when they tried to pass me over doubles*

* Doubles on a blind uphill right hander and I stopped them from wiping us all out when they would have got hit by the LGV coming the other way but thats by the by!

 

[Cycling Dan]

If one is dazzled by the sun would it not be best and really the only option which comes to mind which is to slow down in the event something like this did happen. The road is totally flat so going off the report she was in the glare of the sun for a long time. So in turn had plenty of time to slow down to a speed which would allow here to take evasive action to avoid something in close proximity. In my eye if you don't do this it is reckless as you are maintaining a speed which does not allow you to drive safely. I don't see any reason in the report to not go ahead with causing death by careless driving as clearly she held a speed which was not suitable for the conditions. As above cyclists don't come out of nowhere. I wonder if the verdict would be the same if she hit a queue of traffic and killed people? Would it then be accidental death?

 

[nickyboy]

If the 4x4 driver was looking ahead he could of applied his brakes or maybe slowed down, but from experience most drivers never really want to use their brakes, its an inconvenience apparently.

To provide a bit of balance I have done about 6,000 miles in the past 18 months on exactly those roads in the video. That's 500 hours of cycling during which time I must have been overtaken by many thousands of cars. I can only remember 2 dodgy overtakes in that time. The thousands of others have been absolutely fine and, despite me holding up traffic everyone has been courteous and polite.

I am not belittling what happened to Mr Blore, merely providing a different perspective on what happens on the roads

 

[Cycling Dan]

To provide a bit of balance I have done about 6,000 miles in the past 18 months on exactly those roads in the video. That's 500 hours of cycling during which time I must have been overtaken by many thousands of cars. I can only remember 2 dodgy overtakes in that time. The thousands of others have been absolutely fine and, despite me holding up traffic everyone has been courteous and polite.

I am not belittling what happened to Mr Blore, merely providing a different perspective on what happens on the roads

Everyone on the most part is fine when everything is as expected. Its only when another factor comes into the picture like the sun some people refuse to adjust to the situation and like in this case they kill.

 

[Crankarm]

W T F !

 

[Globalti]

Most drivers do not clean the insides of their windscreens, which become obscured by the grey film of plasticiser that migrates out of the vinyl trim. The film collects moisture causing misting and it obscures the view badly when driving towards the sun.