"Somehow I got too close to him..."

[mjr]

The cynical part of me also wonders if the 'carer' bit is there as an excuse to say that she couldn't possible carry on her saint-like work without being able to drive her car, hoping the bit that she drives her car into cyclists can be overlooked...

Was she trying to create more work for people in her career?

 

[Drago]

Shame she didn't care as devotedly for people on 2 wheels.

 

[ufkacbln]

One of the biggest issues is the problem that often it is the act, not the consequence that is considered in the Court


The consequences can and in the past have been seen as irrelevant to the actual case

Go round a blind bend at 70mph and get away with it........you are committing exactly the same offence as going round a blind bend at 70mph and clipping a pedestrian or cyclist you haven't seen

 

[briantrumpet]

Go round a blind bend at 70mph and get away with it........you are committing exactly the same offence as going round a blind bend at 70mph and clipping a pedestrian or cyclist you haven't seen

That reminds me of a time a nurse overtook me at speed on a completely blind RH bend (in other words, her line of sight was even worse than mine) on one of those country roads without a white line that can just squeeze two cars past each other. Fortunately for all of us nothing was coming the other way, otherwise we'd all have been in the papers.

 

[Pale Rider]

That reminds me of a time a nurse overtook me at speed on a completely blind RH bend (in other words, her line of sight was even worse than mine) on one of those country roads without a white line that can just squeeze two cars past each other. Fortunately for all of us nothing was coming the other way, otherwise we'd all have been in the papers.

Which in turn reminds me of a drunk driver who was killed when he drove down the wrong side of the A19 trunk road and collided head-on with a nurse coming the other way in a VW Golf.

She survived, although was clearly limping when she came to court to give evidence at the inquest.

To be fair to the drunk's widow, she had the good grace to apologise to the nurse for what her husband had done.

I think the widow felt partly responsible because her husband had taken to the road after they had had a row.

 

[ufkacbln]

I can't remember the exact details, but there was a Nurse who was caught speeding several times and exceeded the 12 points

She pointed out that as a Senior Sister in a neurological theatre she was an integral part of the team to the point that if she could not drive, then cases would have to be delayed or cancelled

She kept her license and it was in the local press

She was in fact a junior member of staff and had no key role, and someone shopped her to the NMC for unprofessional conduct - they investigated and she was suspended

 

[jarlrmai]

Where are these courts that are just taking defendants word for it?

 

[TrishE]

The assumption is that the car driver has rights to do whatever, and that the cyclist has none. What can we do?

 

[Pale Rider]

Where are these courts that are just taking defendants word for it?

The case in question was a trial at crown court.

The defendant would have given her occupation, and the fact that she was of previous good character and had no driving convictions, as part of her evidence.

She will have been cross-examined, but realistically only about her evidence of the incident itself.

Prosecutors will have had access to her record, so that's a matter of checkable fact.

Stuff like her occupation, marital status, etc is taken on trust, but one might think as evidence it's very peripheral to the case which is all about her standard of driving.

 

[briantrumpet]

The case in question was a trial at crown court.

The defendant would have given her occupation, and the fact that she was of previous good character and had no driving convictions, as part of her evidence.

She will have been cross-examined, but realistically only about her evidence of the incident itself.

I suppose that if she falsely testified about her occupation in order to try to get off (or a lighter sentence), that is perjury? Courts take a dimmer view of that than killing cyclists...

 

[PhilDawson8270]

acceptable on a race track (with run off)

It's not even acceptable there!

Shocking driving, and an even worse attitude

 

[Pale Rider]

I suppose that if she falsely testified about her occupation in order to try to get off (or a lighter sentence), that is perjury? Courts take a dimmer view of that than killing cyclists...

Giving false evidence is perjury, which people are sometimes charged with.

If you think about it, perjury happens all the time at a trial.

Person A says one thing, Person B says the opposite - both cannot be true so someone is lying, and usually wilfully so rather than being honestly mistaken.

But in this case it's a red herring, she will be a carer if that's what she said she was.

Something else that doesn't really matter, but in the interests of accuracy: 'carer' is capable of different meanings.

I've used the the term 'occupation', but I don't know that, when she said 'carer' to the jury she may have meant she's a carer for an elderly relative.

 

[PhilDawson8270]

Which in turn reminds me of a drunk driver who was killed when he drove down the wrong side of the A19 trunk road and collided head-on with a nurse coming the other way in a VW Golf.

She survived, although was clearly limping when she came to court to give evidence at the inquest.

To be fair to the drunk's widow, she had the good grace to apologise to the nurse for what her husband had done.

I think the widow felt partly responsible because her husband had taken to the road after they had had a row.

Should have to blow into a tube to start a car, instead of turning a key. Would solve lots of issues.

 

[briantrumpet]

But in this case it's a red herring, she will be a carer if that's what she said she was.

I was thinking about the post about someone claiming to be a Senior Sister when she was nothing of the sort. Agreed, in the OP case, a 'carer' covers a wide range of situations.

 

[Pale Rider]

I was thinking about the post about someone claiming to be a Senior Sister when she was nothing of the sort.

That referred to mitigation at sentence which is a different kettle of fish because it has an impact on level of sentence.

We are at the jury stage with this one.

Were you a juror, would you take much account of what she did for a living one way or the other?

I wouldn't, my focus would be on trying to assess whether she drove dangerously or not.