Two Deaths: Bristol

[Ern1e]

This is so sad RIP fellow cyclists and lets hope the driver gets a very long custodial sentence.

 

[glenn forger]

I wonder if the woman arrested was a passenger or another driver.

This seems to be a Level One offence:

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sentencing_manual/death_by_dangerous_driving/

Sentence range 2-5 years.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I wonder if the woman arrested was a passenger or another driver.

This seems to be a Level One offence:

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sentencing_manual/death_by_dangerous_driving/

Sentence range 2-5 years.

Can it be the passenger? She was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving.

 

[glenn forger]

I seem to remember passengers who egged on the driver being charged with similar, I may be wrong.

 

[Steve Lancashire]

Absolutley ubelieavable, 2 deaths down to bad driving. it will not put me off riding on the roads, but my other half and kids are now asking me if it is worth putting my life at risk riding as a hobby which i do. We as cyclist know the amount of seriously bad drivers there are on our roads, and we do have to have our wits about us all the time, but even then, we can only do so much, just check out you tube, it's very scary. Mind you, I see some really bad cyclist on our roads also, cutting red lights, weaving in and out without any regard for anyone.

 

[Crankarm]

If indeed the scrotes that killed this couple are convicted then the sentence will likely be derisory. It always is. The maximum is NEVER given so we are probably looking at a 6 month ban and a fine for killing two people. It was probably some drugged up scrote with a string of previous longer than the M6. It's times like this I wish we had an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth sentencing. Scum.

Also it may transpire that the police have some culpability by pursuing the vehicle causing it to be driven extremely dangerously. Car chases make for good Police Camera Action footage but it puts the public at great risk.

 

[ComedyPilot]

The police are afforded the ability to pursue, and as soon as they 'light up' they become responsible for their actions. Those actions also include the length of the pursuit, the speed of the pursuit, and if the pursuit wasn't called off when it should have been the police drivers have to answer why. From the reports, the police spotted a vehicle at speed, initiated a pursuit, but lost contact almost immediately. IME in cases like that it is SOP to end the pursuit and call other cars into the area for a search. Let us not forget, those people died because of a ........ selfish car driver. Not because a police officer may have tried to stop the car. The responsibility rests solely on the scum-sucking excuse for a human being that drove the car into them and then RAN.

The scum will continue to do this, and more cyclists (and other innocent road users) will die till we adopt a tough stance on road safety.

 

[glenn forger]

Yes, high speed pursuits need to be cleared, that wasn't the case in this horrible event.

 

[summerdays]

Also it may transpire that the police have some culpability by pursuing the vehicle causing it to be driven extremely dangerously. Car chases make for good Police Camera Action footage but it puts the public at great risk.

What do you suggest the police do if they see a car being driven in a dangerous manner? The report suggested the police asked the driver to stop and he didn't. It was already being driven in a way that had brought it to police attention.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Absolutley ubelieavable, 2 deaths down to bad driving. it will not put me off riding on the roads, but my other half and kids are now asking me if it is worth putting my life at risk riding as a hobby which i do. We as cyclist know the amount of seriously bad drivers there are on our roads, and we do have to have our wits about us all the time, but even then, we can only do so much, just check out you tube, it's very scary. Mind you, I see some really bad cyclist on our roads also, cutting red lights, weaving in and out without any regard for anyone.

I frequenlty have the same conversation with my mother. However, my rational is: everytime you get into a car, you place your life in the hands of that car's driver. As the driver of a car, your passengers are putting their lives in your hands. Chances are you could also be killed in a head on collision that there was nothing you could do anything about. Driving is also a very dangerous "hobby". You only have to look at the number of accidents vs deaths. As an (RoSPA & IAM) advanced level driver for 22 of the 23 years I have been driving, I see much more than other drivers do, and am often significantly more aware of what is happening all around me than most drivers (my OH has had to do something about his driving standard, because it was that bad, I felt like I was driving even as a passenger, so never let him drive: it scared me too much!). As a passenger in a car, I choose my drivers carefully, often prefering for us to go out of our way than let some of my or his family drive us anywhere. That metal box on wheels that kills cyclists, also kills drivers & passengers and pedestrians as well.

I am not in anyway detracting from their deaths, it is utterly tragic and nothing can change that now, so please don't get me wrong on this. I am simply pointing out that the arguement regarding putting your life at risk on 2 wheels (staying fit and healthy) is not valid in my opinion.

 

[Pale Rider]

Almost inevitably:

http://news.sky.com/story/1044714/bristol-tandem-cyclists-deaths-man-charged

 

[Peteaud]

Almost inevitably:

http://news.sky.com/story/1044714/bristol-tandem-cyclists-deaths-man-charged

Nicky Lovell will appear before North Avon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday accused of two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
The 38-year-old, of Oldland Common, south Gloucestershire, has also been charged with driving while disqualified, driving without third party insurance and driving a vehicle and failing to stop after a road accident.

Words fail me.

 

[Typhon]

Most drivers who are convicted of driving when disqualified don't go to prison. Instead they get a fine and an extended ban. Where is the deterrent? Why would he not just continue driving? The odds of being caught are low and the punishment is so derisory.

You have to do something very very bad to get disqualified from driving. Being caught speeding 3 times won't see you banned for even a day. Hell you can knock a cyclist off his bike, drag his body down the street on your bonnet and just get a £35 fine. So the fact that when people are disqualified they will face no serious consequences if they get caught driving again is really frightening.

Until the law is changed incidents like this are just going to happen again and again. But unfortunately the tide is turning the other way, I can foresee that in 20 years time no-one will ever get sent to prison for an offence committed on the road, no matter how heinous.

 

[Accy cyclist]

A damn shame, they were on an innocent Sunday afternoon ride when they had the misfortune to encounter the monster called Nicky Lovell!

 

[glenn forger]

A police spokeswoman confirmed that Lovell had been charged and said that a 35-year-old woman, also arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving after the incident, remained on police bail, pending further inquiries.
The Post has learned that the 35-year-old woman, who has not been named, was in the car that hit Mr and Mrs Simons.
The woman is understood to have stayed at the scene of the crash and was arrested there.

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Nick...using-deaths/story-17999783-detail/story.html