Lorry driver jailed for death of cyclist

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upsidedown

Waiting for the great leap forward
Location
The middle bit
Words fail me.
 

yello

Guest
Dennis Putz – who had a string of convictions including three for drink-driving and 20 for driving while disqualified – hit Catriona Patel as he accelerated away from traffic lights.

Dear lord, WHY was he ever allowed his licence back.... surely this shows the man has no respect for the law.
 

slugonabike

New Member
Location
Bournemouth
I'm certainly glad that this low-life will be spending (another) period in prison - at least he is off the roads for the time being. However, he's already been caught driving whilst disqualified 20 times and has served previous custodial sentances, I don't believe that a lifetime ban is going to keep him off the roads permanently!

As to getting a HGV (or LGV) licence with that record, something is terribly wrong somewhere :angry:
 

noelmg

New Member
Location
Mansfield, Notts
Terrible incident, somehow the photo of the truck with the bike parts all under the wheels really made the story hit home.

I really feel for the family of this poor woman for their loss.

Fortunately the majority of drivers are not low life scum like this driver, and fortunately these incidents are rare enough to make the news. I don't feel unsafe while cycling, in fact staying alert and dodging bad drivers is part of the fun, unlike being sat in a car where it is easier to lose attention.
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
I don't know what information HGV drivers have to produce when they get a job, perhaps the company should also be responsible for employing someone with such a bad record and heavily fined unless they can show that they tried to do the proper checks on him. As it is he obviously isn't bothered by needed to have a driving licence.
 

Blackandblue

New Member
Location
London
I don't really have much to add to this other than it really upsets me that there are people like this out there. The utter arrogance, disrespect and contempt that this guy has displayed on so many occasions doesn't fill me with much hope that he won't be back on the roads again.
 

iamanidiot

New Member
Sorry if this is a repeat post, but I thought this story deserved a post on here.
I warn you now, some of the readers comments may make you very angry.

Have they been removed? 'Cause I only found a couple of comments suggesting that cyclists are frequently to blame for their own misfortune, on the whole the comments were regarding how ridiculous it is that the driver was allowed behind the wheel of an HGV.
 
Have they been removed? 'Cause I only found a couple of comments suggesting that cyclists are frequently to blame for their own misfortune, on the whole the comments were regarding how ridiculous it is that the driver was allowed behind the wheel of an HGV.
Perhaps this is a good sign, the anti-cyclist rants pop up if you click the 'worst rated' tab on the comments column. Maybe there are good eggs amongst the DM readership (or at the least, those who visit the DM website) after all.

I strongly feel that newspapers' online 'comments' features should be more curtailed - they're so much abused. Is this really 'freedom of speech' when this happens? I had a minor 'success' recently with our local paper: flagged a nasty 'comment' about cyclists and the Mods then removed it. :thumbsup:
 

As Easy As Riding A Bike

Well-Known Member
BTW, this thread covers the same story. Perhaps they could be merged?

Until they are, or if they are not, I will add my comments from that thread.

Further details are here.

Note that Putz has

20 previous disqualifications, three drink drive convictions and three previous convictions for reckless driving.

That's disqualified twenty times, IN ADDITION to three drink driving convictions, and three reckless driving convictions.

Thames Materials Ltd should be asked some serious questions about why they were employing this man to drive 30 tonne trucks across central London.

But this company has form.

Thames Materials Ltd failed several inspections, the company and its drivers had many convictions. In 2002 the Traffic Commissioner tried to revoke its licence to operate lorries; this was overturned on appeal.

(From lcc.)
 
Simon of Bath

Direct from their website "The Bristol & Bath Railway Path is a 13 mile off road route between the cities of Bristol and Bath. The path is open to walkers and cyclists and access is provided for disabled users."

On our local path the cyclists are too often racing rather than the cycling equivalent of having a stroll.

Cyclists are a mixed bunch, good and bad just like other road users. When I regularly used to drive in the dark it really frightened me how many cyclists had no lights and wore dark clothing, and even when they had lights they were virtually useless.

- RetiredTaxman, Durham, 19/11/2010 8:10

Not even the most intelligent of trolling.....

Simon of Bath who lives in Durham and thinks using an off road route in Bristol would have helped with an accident in London.

If his maths is anything like his geography it explains the recent problems with erroneous tax calculations!!!
 
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