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news
Van driver hits cyclist.jpgSussex van driver filmed forcing cyclist off road to appear in court
A van driver from Sussex who was filmed forcing a cyclist off the road in April will appear in court next week on a charge of dangerous driving.
Confirmation that the motorist had been summonsed to appear at Crawley Magistrates' Court on 19 July was made this morning in a tweet by Sussex Police, in reply to a query from Twitter user and cyclist Chris Gerhard, who had asked how the case was progressing.
Footage of the incident went viral after it was posted online and was picked up by news outlets across the UK and beyond.
The driver's employment was terminated immediately once the managing director of the company the van belonged to had been able to review the footage.
It took place on the A272 westbound on Sunday 30 April at Cowfold, West Sussex.
It also prompted BBC Radio Sussex to pose the question on Twitter - subsequently withdrawn following an outcry from users of the social network - as to whether the cyclist or van driver was to blame.
> Van driver filmed forcing cyclist off road; BBC Sussex asks "Who's to blame?"
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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16 comments
My prediction, a playful ruffle of his hair and a, "promise not to do it again you little scamp? Off you go back to work then." (Magistrate mutters under breath - "what a silly sausage...")
It's a Magistrates' Court. It's highly likely he'll get a suspended sentence and an arbitrary driving ban at the very most. Magistrates are the most lenient judges. They're not there to balance the scales of justice, or even to punish. They're there to acknowledge that something happaned and something was done about it. The driver will be free to go. The driving ban won't stop him from driving. He'll be intimidating cyclists again in no time if he isn't already.
Well I watched the video and I can't see what the fuss is all about. Van passes cyclist and then... oops... SMIDSY I mean surely the cyclist realised he needed to disappear once in blind spot of van?
It is scary what a pathetic defence can result in viz. the disgusting result of the private prosecution of that woman who killed the man in London, there the SMIDSY defence worked despite so much evidence to the contrary. Our society beggars belief.
i hope I'm wrong and this van driver does get properly convicted.
If the video is admitted as evidence, the driver is sunk and will be convicted. What of, is a different matter. It hinges on th video
Have you seen the jail sentences handed out today to some motor bikers for a Halloween Rideout in Leeds ? A couple of years in some cases. Let's hope they are cracking down on idiots.
Have you seen the jail sentences handed out today to some motor bikers for a Halloween Rideout in Leeds ? A couple of years in some cases. Let's hope they are cracking down on idiots.
Have you seen the jail sentences handed out today to some motor bikers for a Halloween Rideout in Leeds ? A couple of years in some cases. Let's hope they are cracking down on idiots.
Attempted murder.
Anyone with a Tory MP might want to flag such cases up as a reason why they don't feel they can vote Conservative any more.
Because bad things have never happened under Labour? Nobody got murdered or raped or even had their bike stolen before the Tories came along?
Of course not. But the Tories are currently alert to discontent right now. Make yourself heard.
I've written letters about cycling and sentencing to MPs of all (well, three) stripes; all letters were met with the same indifferent response.
Immediate termination of employment, and now a court summons. My justice boner is throbbing
Might be a little soon.
Reports of his being sacked are unconfirmed and he hasn't been convicted of anything yet.
As above, I'd hold your horses.
What will in all likelihood happen is he'll come up in court infront of a judge or jury that are institutionally biased against cyclists, and propogate the cycle of crap sentencing for what is in life-threatening behaviour.
Nah, I reckon it's fairly cut and dry there. Looks like it'll be Magistrate's court, hopefully in front of a stip rather than 3 magistrates.
My guess would be a 6 month sentence, suspended for 12 months with a 12 month driving ban.
Nah, I reckon it's fairly cut and dry there. Looks like it'll be Magistrate's court, hopefully in front of a stip rather than 3 magistrates.
My guess would be a 6 month sentence, suspended for 12 months with a 12 month driving ban.
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Your faith in the judicial system is touching, but possibly misplaced. There are many, many cases of drivers being prosecuted with much worse than this, and walking off scot free. Courts believe drivers, the magistrates, lawyers and juries are drivers, and very seldom cyclists. All he has to say is that the sun was in his eyes or some such excuse, and it will in all likelihood be accepted without question.