More good press

If he had the time and the opportunity to avoid the girl then he should have done regardless of the girls position.

+1

timiskinky is right though. The number of people who now step out in front of you (whether in a car or on a bike) with or without looking, but expecting you to stop anyway cos they don't give a fuck is ridiculous.

It's not totally clear if the collision took place on the footway or in the road but this telegraph article we have the following:

"Mr Collins said that the defendant admitted in a police interview that he could have steered away from the pedestrians but thought a shout was enough to avoid the collision."

The cyclist had a duty of care towards the pedestrians, ie to try and avoid colliding with them if he could. He did not.

There is NO SUCH THING AS JAY-WALKING IN THIS COUNTRY.

Nor, in my view, should there be.

Sorry, but pedestrians have a more of a right to be in the road, anywhere in the road, than cyclists do. Just as cyclists have more of right to be in the road, anywhere in the road, than motor-vehicles.

Possible place where it happened?

The problem with swerving is you can never predict which way a pedestrian will go once they see you. I've got a sprained wrist because a guy walked out on me and when I went to go in front of him, rather than stepping back on the pavement he stepped forward to.

Collision happened. Somehow he braced himself against my bike and threw me straight over the bars and I landed on my hand.

the sad reality is that if all road users (that includes pedestrians crossing, especially as they are most vulnerable) obeyed the law,or in the case of peds the guidelines in the highway code) then the vast majority of these situations wouldn't happen.

Instead everyone acts like a selfish cunt and looks to "blame" afterwards.

Peds: look before you step out and cross safely
Cars: drive at the speed limit, don't use mobiles and obey traffic signals and road markings
Bikes: don't ride on the pavement and obey traffic signals

I think it really could be that simple.

yes, we are still in danger as cyclists, especially with the HGV-left turn scenario, but again how many of those accidents were caused by the driver failing to obey the law..

How is that a possible place? And if so why was he travelling at 17mph?

How is that a possible place? And if so why was he travelling at 17mph?

Actually after reading the Telegraph article this is the more likely location.

I'm really not sure what difference the location makes, unless someone wants to plan a macabre "accident ride"

it is hard to judge from the articles, but either way, i'd consider myself very lucky indeed, paying a couple of grand for killing someone.

the sad reality is that if all road users (that includes pedestrians crossing, especially as they are most vulnerable) obeyed the law,or in the case of peds the guidelines in the highway code) then the vast majority of these situations wouldn't happen.

Instead everyone acts like a selfish cunt and looks to "blame" afterwards.

Peds: look before you step out and cross safely
Cars: drive at the speed limit, don't use mobiles and obey traffic signals and road markings
Bikes: don't ride on the pavement and obey traffic signals

I think it really could be that simple.

yes, we are still in danger as cyclists, especially with the HGV-left turn scenario, but again how many of those accidents were caused by the driver failing to obey the law..

not only do i agree, but i think it should get a bit draconian for anyone not obeying the law. take driving licenses away from drivers who cause accidents, even if it's only a prang. anyone caught disobeying the law loses their license for a month, minimum.

driving on the motorway the other day, i was appalled at how many drivers veered randomly into other lanes due to lazy, poor driving. People like this shouldn't be on the roads.

people would soon sharpen up a bit.

I love a good C+ thread.

Now - was he wearing a helmet?

To cycle into someone on purpose, just because you have the legal right of way, is unconscionable. If a motorist tried to defend themselves with this reasoning, it wouldn't be accepted.

impossible to make any king of judgment from the info in the article
+2

What? Shout "move cos I'm not stopping" and (from what I can see) when she did move, back towards the pavement, try to get through the gap between her and the kerb?
The guy got of lightly. What would you say about a motorist who yelled this out of his window at a pedestrian who stepped out in front of them?

Not, my point was, (as I witnessed first hand this morning) a number of pedestrians do a death dance in front of you when they suddenly realise they are in a dangerous place. I am not condoning his actions, he should have stopped. I have had motorist do just that too!

@mouse: you wouldn't make a very good detective then!

impossible to make any king of judgment from the info in the article

+2

But where would this country be if it wasn't for ill-informed, knee-jerk over-reaction. Eh? It's what makes Britain Great!

@ RPM: Hadn't read all the way down, innit. But still you can't make a judgement, you only bring your prejudices to the situation.

It sounds a terrible waste of life, time, money and effort all round. Poor kid, poor parents and poor cyclist.

Adding to the general C+ chatter, I'm getting a lot of aggression off drivers (esp. cabbies) over my road positioning lately. I'm usually about 3-4 foot in from the kerb and they are taking this very personally. Anyone else experiencing this or am I just cycling like a cunt?

villa-ru, someone actually lost their life through this. What can be more important than a life, or the loss of it? The reaction may be ill-informed, but it is not an over-reaction .......IMO.

it is hard to judge from the articles, but either way, i'd consider myself very lucky indeed, paying a couple of grand for killing someone.

+1

It sounds like this accident is the result of poor judgment, plain and simple... poor judgment by the girl, poor judgment by the cyclist. Regardless of who was in the right or wrong legally, nothing can undo the fact that the girl's death could have been avoided if the cyclist had just slowed down.

Yes, stupid peds who don't look before they cross the street are friggin' annoying. But the fact is, when we're on bicycles traveling at 10 mph, we can easily injure them, or ourselves, or damage our beloved bikes. It's sort of like the Spider-Man "With great power comes great responsibility" thing... because we can hurt them so easily, we need to be more careful, regardless of who's right or wrong according to the Highway Code.

"The cyclist had a duty of care towards the pedestrians, ie to try and avoid colliding with them if he could. He did not.

There is NO SUCH THING AS JAY-WALKING IN THIS COUNTRY.

Nor, in my view, should there be.

Sorry, but pedestrians have a more of a right to be in the road, anywhere in the road, than cyclists do. Just as cyclists have more of right to be in the road, anywhere in the road, than motor-vehicles.[/quote]

[SIZE=2]I agree. As a cyclist you are in charge of a vehicle just as you are when you drive a car and you need to be alert and aware of obstacles on and around the road.
As a cyclist you see a lot of bad driving where people just aren't paying attention to the road and what is on it ahead or next to them or pedestrians just using their ears rather than eyes and stepping out into the road without looking. But I have to say that you also see a lot of cyclists not paying attention and doing potentially dangerous things - for example going up the inside of a van turning left who clearly had it's indicator on. I guess that as a road user you need to be aware of your responsibility to ride/drive safely with respect for others.
I agree that the cyclist should have stopped as it seems that he had the option but chose not to and that a £2000 fine seems low - is there anyway that he could be banned from cycling as you can be banned from driving? Or maybe it's time to bring those dreaded USA-style anger management courses.
[/SIZE]

I might say that shouting "get out of the way I ain't stopping" is an arrogant dumb arse thing to say even if you ain't stopping...! other than that I ain't going to pass judgement, if you you try your damnest every once in a while you are going to hit someone ...this case sounds to me alot like the boozy punch up that happened at my university the kid got belted, fell over, banged his head then he was dead... there was no intention to kill, it was an accident ...they might have sent the cyclist of to compulsory cycling school

I'm usually about 3-4 foot in from the kerb and they are taking this very personally. Anyone else experiencing this or am I just cycling like a cunt?

You are taking your rightful position on the road. Perhaps you are screwing up their ability to perform random u-turns without signaling.

I'm getting a lot of aggression off drivers (esp. cabbies) over my road positioning lately. I'm usually about 3-4 foot in from the kerb and they are taking this very personally. Anyone else experiencing this or am I just cycling like a cunt?

I get the same here in Paris particulary when I am overtaking Velibs in the cycle/bus lanes that all the taxi's use as a short cut! you got to stand your ground and try not to lose your head which is easier said than done

You are taking your rightful position on the road. Perhaps you are screwing up their ability to perform random u-turns without signaling.
But there deffo seems to be a difference in our understanding of the situation and theirs.

is there anyway that he could be banned from cycling as you can be banned from driving?

Technically you can but you would have to use something like the ASBO mechanism which lack effectiveness and policeability outside a local community situation. Then again, driving bans are also notoriously useless unless the driver gets caught again and you can then indulge in a book throwing exercise.

I like the woman who was hurling abuse at me this week for riding the wrong way down a one way street except I was riding legally the wrong way down a one way street in a contra flow cycle lane ...two tons of metal driven by a moron