The cycling lawyer. Excellent blog post

Link does not show in search. Excellent, well written post by a QC about cycling, the law it's implementation and car culture.

http://thecyclingsilk.blogspot.com/2009/11/cycling-against-car-culture.html

Very interesting entry. Great to read a rational opinion piece on it. Some very tragic stories in there, though.

Thought that this quotation drives home the risks of bicycles to pedestrians:

The number of pedestrians killed by cyclists is similar to the number killed by golf balls; in each case too small to register on statistics, but on the few occasions per decade that it does occur accompanied by much publicity.

V good!

Every physically competent adult has a right to drive, removable only as a punishment for serious or repeated criminal offending and, even then, only temporarily

Scary and true!

The most interest bit for me was the sentence comparison and arguments made by the judges.

One assumes that he selected a representative sample

This is true but the existences of these examples shows hat it's probably not something judges are accustomed to thinking about.

I can't believe Oliver is not all over this.

Very interesting. I especially like the idea of charging at fault drivers with assault with a deadly weopon.

Prosecutors here might learn from the course taken by Los Angeles prosecutors in the case of Dr Christopher Thompson, who was this month convicted on seven counts including assault with a deadly weapon after a road rage incident resulting in two injured cyclists.

Oliver is probably compiling a list of puns before going ahead and posting.

You're right - it does highlight inconsistencies in judges' sentencing. It would be interesting to see if the judges would re-evaluate the sentences when they are presented as in this post (comparatively, in one go). My guess is they would (if they weren't too proud to...), as this seems very close to problems of irrationality derived from framing effects in behavioural economics.

Basically, your opinions (or answers, or judgements, etc.) can depend on how problems are presented to you, even to the point of being technically irrational when taken together. Interesting stuff, as it suggests that we can fail quite badly at looking at the bigger picture when dealing with something rather complex at a lower level.

** Basically, your opinions (or answers, or judgements, etc.) can depend on how problems are presented to you,** even to the point of being technically irrational when taken together. Interesting stuff, as it suggests that we can fail quite badly at looking at the bigger picture when dealing with something rather complex at a lower level.

That is what makes a good Lawyer, someone who can present any situation to encourage you to draw the conclusion they want you to conclude.

Cheers for the PM, Tommy, haven't got time to read this properly right now, though. Needs quality time.

fantastic analysis of cycling and car culture by a QC.

If only LGFSS own resident cycling lawyer, Cliveo, would put his skills to such worthy use.

It's great, Martin Porter for PM (MP?). But it's kind of depressing at the same time. Makes you realise that in a way individual campaigns (e.g. lorries) are tinkering at the edges of a much wider deep seated problem, which is seemingly insurmountable :(

fantastic analysis of cycling and car culture by a QC.

If only LGFSS own resident cycling lawyer, Cliveo, would put his skills to such worthy use.

+1 shame on Clivo. Tut tut. I think we know who the real villain is here.

Link does not show in search. Excellent, well written post by a QC about cycling, the law it's implementation and car culture.

http://thecyclingsilk.blogspot.com/2009/11/cycling-against-car-culture.html

Only just read this, Tommy, thanks for bringing it to attention. A very good post that summarises a lot of the key issues in a way that's accessible even for people who don't have that much experience of it yet.

I expected it to be a lot more technical legally, which is why I put off reading it for so long, but it wasn't.

Another good little post.

http://thecyclingsilk.blogspot.com/2010/03/legal-review-of-month-february-2010.html

well done for updating us on that^

nice one

Yep interesting point about sentencing guidelines not wanting to inconvenience the guilty party as they will be forced to drive illegally if banned.

Another good post

http://thecyclingsilk.blogspot.com/2010/02/aggressive-driver-and-car-culture.html

The sense spoken in this blog is such a breath of fresh air.

The new transport minister wants to 'end the war on motorists'. Oh those poor victimised motorists...

http://thecyclingsilk.blogspot.com/2010/06/broken-transport-policy.html

Some interesting example in this case law thread, worth reading if just to see the points of vulnerability.

http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=39282.0

They cyclign lawer is still blogging some good information.

http://thecyclingsilk.blogspot.com/2010/11/metropolitan-police-do-they-take.html

interesting stuff about attempting to report dangerous driving to the police

The video of the threat, at the end of the previous posting on the bloke, is pretty conclusive. The very last comment from Cycling Lawyer did make me smile though....

Must think about starting to cycle with a camera.

Follow up - apologies if this is a repost

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23901457-i-filmed-a-driver-threatening-to-kill-me-but-cps-dismissed-the-case-says-cyclist-barrister.do

here too.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8163696/Barrister-criticises-police-for-failure-to-prosecute-road-rage-driver.html

I hope he manges to make as much of this a possible. He has the knowledge of the legal system and respect to be be taken more seriously than most of us.

Even just the publicity created is good.