Drivers have a high responsibility to be aware of cyclists on the road” Judge Niclas Parry

[Little yellow Brompton]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-21034918

I always forget the pecking order, does a Crown Court Judge's comments set precedent?

 

[subaqua]

dunno but Nic was a good solicitor/barrister

 

[green1]

I always forget the pecking order, does a Crown Court Judge's comments set precedent?

All judges comments set precedent but pretty sure Crown Court sets 2nd highest after House of Lords.

 

[Pale Rider]

These are only comments made during sentencing, not a judgement, so they don't set any precedent.

 

[Crankarm]

14 months prison and an 18 months ban is still pathetic. For driving a Range Rover he should have got at least 5 years for each.

 

[semislickstick]

There was a local news item about the family of young man who was killed by a speeding (58mph) red light jumper on a pedestrian crossing, the driver was sentenced to 42 months, but he'll do less than two years, are calling for a change to sentencing guidelines for judges. If any one wants to offer some support by signing the e-petitions.
The maximum is 14 years, but no one has ever received that sentence, you have to wonder what more you'd need to do wrong!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-21011759

http://www.justiceforjamie.co.uk/

North East Cambridgeshire MP Stephen Barclay who set up his own e-petition
http://www.stopdangerousdrivers.com/

 

[gaz]

If the judge thinks drivers need to be more careful, why didn't he punish a driver who quite obviously was not paying attention and is not fit to use the road with a stricter sentence?
Still an absolute joke.

 

[subaqua]

If the judge thinks drivers need to be more careful, why didn't he punish a driver who quite obviously was not paying attention and is not fit to use the road with a stricter sentence?
Still an absolute joke.

I need to very careful in how i respond . Nic had the nickname Nic the brief, it was almost a given that if he represented you , you would be on the winning side

 

[Davidc]

There's a place for custodial sentencing, but I'd rather see big fines and lifetime driving bans in most cases. Ignoring the ban would be the ticket to the Scrubbs.

 

[Lanzecki]

14 years, may be the maximum, but we all know even if a judge was brave enough to sentence someone to 14 year they will appeal. And only do half that time in jail. For killing someone....... Words fail me sometimes 14 months for killing another human. Not just a cyclist.

 

[400bhp]

If the judge thinks drivers need to be more careful, why didn't he punish a driver who quite obviously was not paying attention and is not fit to use the road with a stricter sentence?
Still an absolute joke.

Because, arguably, there is a distinction between a general comment by a judge and a specific sentence he/she then lays out to an individual. We don't have the details presented in mitigation, nor do we know the background of the individual.

Reading between the lines, this concerns me a little:

1.

He said it was inexplicable that Evans, from Flint, did not see the retired paramedic who was cycling properly.

2.

Witnesses said the victim was riding close to the kerb and was wearing a high visibility jacket.

Has the judge equated #1, because of the actions in #2?

 

[sidevalve]

14 years, may be the maximum, but we all know even if a judge was brave enough to sentence someone to 14 year they will appeal. And only do half that time in jail. For killing someone....... Words fail me sometimes 14 months for killing another human. Not just a cyclist.

+100% and no two ways about it, the law is oten an ass. However IF the victim had been an old lady, knocked over by a footpath cyclist who died as a result of a cracked skull what I wonder would be the reaction of the people who defend cyclists who do this ? "Oh sorry but the road was very busy and after all it was only a cyclist and he didn't mean it" ?

 

[Pale Rider]

We do know this about the killer driver (quoting from the story):

"The judge said Evans was a man of good character and an industrious, devoted family man whose "remorse was genuine".

That's about as much personal mitigation as he could have.

Rightly or wrongly, the going rate for a single death by dangerous killing after a trial is about two years.

This guy pleaded guilty which entitles him to a 25 per cent discount, so down to 18 months.

Knocking off a bit more for no previous, hardworking and sorry brings it down to around the 14 months which he got.

 

[glenn forger]

The 14 year sentence has NEVER BEEN IMPOSED on any killer driver.

One in three killer drivers don't even go to jail.

Only one in ten gets a sentence of more than five years..

 

[Little yellow Brompton]

+100% and no two ways about it, the law is oten an ass. However IF the victim had been an old lady, knocked over by a footpath cyclist who died as a result of a cracked skull what I wonder would be the reaction of the people who defend cyclists who do this ? "Oh sorry but the road was very busy and after all it was only a cyclist and he didn't mean it" ?

114ish cyclists are killed a year by motorists. 1 pedestrian is killed every 5 years by a cyclist. If you are going to compare behaviours at least compare something within the same factor, not something 500 times less likely.