Nora Guttman & Eilidh Cairns

Press release from the families, worth a read... though it will make you angry as hell.

COURT AGAIN FAILS TO PERMANENTLY REVOKE LICENSE OF KILLER DRIVER

In a momentous week for cycling when Great Britain's first 2012 Olympic medal has been won by Lizzie Armistead in the women's road race, and Bradley Wiggins became the first Briton ever to be crowned Tour de France champion, families of the nation's everyday cyclists live with fear.

The failure on the part of authorities to properly protect cyclists and pedestrians on our streets, or to treat these deaths as real crime, is a cause for shame not pride. The families of two victims stand together today to demand better.

The Judge at Isleworth Crown Court today failed to permanently revoke the license of Joao Lopes, 56, who has killed not one, but two Londoners. He was sentenced to jail for death by dangerous driving after he killed youthful, fit and active 97 year old Nora Gutman at a pedestrian crossing in Marlebone.

Shockingly, Lopes had already killed before, but had not been prevented from driving again. In February 2009, Eilidh Cairns, 30, died after being knocked off her bike from behind, run over and crushed by Lopes' truck. Eilidh, a TV producer, was a strong and experienced cyclists who did a daily 20 mile commute and knew of the dangers of HGVs.

The police found no connection between Eilidh's death and the actions of the driver. Lopes pleaded guilty to the minor charge brought of driving with uncorrected defective vision. He was fined £200 pounds, given three points on his licence and permitted to carry on driving a tipper lorry.

Police later admitted the investigation had been substandard and carried out a full review following the death of Ms Gutman but the CPS again decided that no charge would be brought with respect to Ms Cairns' death. Lopes went on to have at least three more driving collisions before finally killing Nora Gutman whilst driving without his glasses. He also pleaded guilty to a tachograph offence.

There is a shocking disconnect between our national pride and support for the cyclists representing our country in competition and the inherent complacency about the slaughter of cyclists and pedestrians on our streets. HGVs are involved in more than 50% of deaths of London's cyclist and yet make up less than 4% of road traffic. Twice as many pedestrians were killed by HGV than cyclists in the first decade of this century.

But dangerous drivers do not have their HGV licences revoked after fatal collisions, and continue to crash these lethal lorries again and again without any oversight to protect the public.

Death after death: The families ask what will it take for authorities to live up to their responsibilities to protect the public?