More bad news from the courts

Tim Hall said:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7071664.stm

"A man has been given a suspended prison sentence and a £500 fine for
charges relating to the death of a cyclist."

Words fail.

Doesn't seem right does it? Despite the earlier report that

quote/
A cyclist has died in a suspected hit-and-run crash on the dual
carriageway A3 near Ripley in Surrey.
A driver called police in the early hours of Tuesday saying he was
worried for the safety of a man riding in the road south of Wisley services.
Officers found a 25-year-old man lying by the roadside next to a damaged
bike.
/Unquote

which implies that the poor victim might not have been blameless.
The paltry punishment sets a poor deterrence for "driving without due
care and attention and perverting the course of justice, and to failing
to stop after an accident."

Roger Thorpe said:

Tim Hall said:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7071664.stm

"A man has been given a suspended prison sentence and a £500 fine for
charges relating to the death of a cyclist."

Words fail.

Doesn't seem right does it? Despite the earlier report that

quote/
A cyclist has died in a suspected hit-and-run crash on the dual
carriageway A3 near Ripley in Surrey.

For any who do not know that road it is a 3 lane motorway in all but name -
with narrow lanes to make it even more dangerous. No one i know would dream
of cycling it.

pk

p.k. said:

Roger Thorpe said:

Tim Hall said:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7071664.stm

"A man has been given a suspended prison sentence and a £500 fine for
charges relating to the death of a cyclist."

Words fail.

Doesn't seem right does it? Despite the earlier report that

quote/
A cyclist has died in a suspected hit-and-run crash on the dual
carriageway A3 near Ripley in Surrey.

For any who do not know that road it is a 3 lane motorway in all but name -
with narrow lanes to make it even more dangerous. No one i know would dream
of cycling it.

None of which excuses:

"He had pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and
perverting the course of justice, and to failing to stop after an
accident."

Tim
--

Tim

fast and gripping, non pompous, glossy and credible.

Tim Hall said:

p.k. said:

Roger Thorpe said:

Tim Hall wrote:

> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7071664.stm
>
> "A man has been given a suspended prison sentence and a £500 fine for
> charges relating to the death of a cyclist."
>
> Words fail.
>
Doesn't seem right does it? Despite the earlier report that

quote/
A cyclist has died in a suspected hit-and-run crash on the dual
carriageway A3 near Ripley in Surrey.

For any who do not know that road it is a 3 lane motorway in all but name -
with narrow lanes to make it even more dangerous. No one i know would dream
of cycling it.

None of which excuses:

"He had pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and
perverting the course of justice, and to failing to stop after an
accident."

Which nobody is claiming.

I don't often see cyclists on the A3, when I do, I often wonder if they
are lost as I can't really think of any destination for which there
isn't a much nicer route. There's some wonderful cycling countryside
nearby.

Pete

Pete said:

Which nobody is claiming.

I don't often see cyclists on the A3, when I do, I often wonder if they
are lost as I can't really think of any destination for which there
isn't a much nicer route. There's some wonderful cycling countryside
nearby.

Speed. The A3 is a fast road with gentle slopes for cycling.

The alternatives, though beautiful, tend to be very hilly. (The A3
crosses both the North Downs and the South Downs.)

Roger Thorpe said:

Tim Hall wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7071664.stm

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"A man has been given a suspended prison sentence and a £500 fine for
charges relating to the death of a cyclist."

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Words fail.

Quoted message said:

Doesn't seem right does it? Despite the earlier report that

Quoted message said:

quote/
A cyclist has died in a suspected hit-and-run crash on the dual
carriageway A3 near Ripley in Surrey.
A driver called police in the early hours of Tuesday saying he was
worried for the safety of a man riding in the road south of Wisley
services.
Officers found a 25-year-old man lying by the roadside next to a damaged
bike.
/Unquote

Quoted message said:

which implies that the poor victim might not have been blameless.
The paltry punishment sets a poor deterrence for "driving without due
care and attention and perverting the course of justice, and to failing
to stop after an accident."

What was the nature of the offence and what punishment was appropriate?

There is nothing at all about that on the BBC website.

p.k. said:

Roger Thorpe said:

Tim Hall said:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7071664.stm

"A man has been given a suspended prison sentence and a £500 fine for
charges relating to the death of a cyclist."

Words fail.

Doesn't seem right does it? Despite the earlier report that

quote/
A cyclist has died in a suspected hit-and-run crash on the dual
carriageway A3 near Ripley in Surrey.

Quoted message said:

For any who do not know that road it is a 3 lane motorway in all but name -
with narrow lanes to make it even more dangerous. No one i know would dream
of cycling it.

I think you're right, though that particular bit (Esher - Guildford,
crossing the M25) has standard 12' traffic lanes. There are other
nearby stretches of A3 that have narrower lanes (eg, the Kingston Bypass).

The shame of it is that the route just at that point seems to have
been improved on the line of the "old A3", meaning that there is no
immediate alternative route for non-motor-traffic between Cobham and
Ripley. However, there is the route to the south of Ockham Common
(Ripley, Ockham, Downside, Cobham), which could - and some would say
should - be signed as a compulsory diversion for pedestrians, cycles
and animals.

Farther south, there is is the ancient Portsmouth road via Ripley and
Burpham, and to the north, there is continuation of the same coaching
route via Esher and Kingston, avoiding the bypasses. Cycling (etc)
along the whole modern route of A3 between the Robin Hood Roundabout
and Milford (SE of Guildford) is unnecessary (subject to the bit above
about Ockham Common).

Tim Hall said:

p.k. said:

Roger Thorpe said:

Tim Hall wrote:

>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7071664.stm
>
>"A man has been given a suspended prison sentence and a £500 fine for
>charges relating to the death of a cyclist."
>
>Words fail.
>

Doesn't seem right does it? Despite the earlier report that

quote/
A cyclist has died in a suspected hit-and-run crash on the dual
carriageway A3 near Ripley in Surrey.

For any who do not know that road it is a 3 lane motorway in all but name -
with narrow lanes to make it even more dangerous. No one i know would dream
of cycling it.

None of which excuses:

"He had pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and
perverting the course of justice, and to failing to stop after an
accident."

DWDCAA can be anything from serious to downright trivial (and there is
no way to tell which it was from the report).

The perverting the course of justice charge is interesting. I bet the
court penalised the driver mainly for that (at least, it would be
provable and measurable).

p.k. said:

Roger Thorpe said:

Tim Hall said:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7071664.stm

"A man has been given a suspended prison sentence and a £500 fine for
charges relating to the death of a cyclist."

Words fail.

Doesn't seem right does it? Despite the earlier report that

quote/
A cyclist has died in a suspected hit-and-run crash on the dual
carriageway A3 near Ripley in Surrey.

For any who do not know that road it is a 3 lane motorway in all but name -
with narrow lanes to make it even more dangerous. No one i know would dream
of cycling it.

I remember once cycling on the A6 and then the A666 from Manchester to
Bolton. I did so because my then girlfriend lived in Bolton and it
looked as though I would be unlikely to get lost. I'm unlikely ever to
attempt the journey again.

Cheers,
Luke

--
Red Rose Ramblings, the diary of an Essex boy in
exile in Lancashire <http://www.shrimper.org.uk>

"p.k." <[email hidden]> a écrit:

Quoted message said:

For any who do not know that road it is a 3 lane motorway in all
but name - with narrow lanes to make it even more dangerous.
No one i know would dream of cycling it.

I used to ride from central London to Ripley fairly frequently, and would
often take the A3 in both directions. Has it worsened markedly in the last
few years?

James Thomson

Tom Crispin said:

Pete said:

Which nobody is claiming.

I don't often see cyclists on the A3, when I do, I often wonder if they
are lost as I can't really think of any destination for which there
isn't a much nicer route. There's some wonderful cycling countryside
nearby.

Speed. The A3 is a fast road with gentle slopes for cycling.

yup though it has to be said i avoid the road like the plague be that on
bike or car.

Quoted message said:

The alternatives, though beautiful, tend to be very hilly. (The A3
crosses both the North Downs and the South Downs.)

yup.

roger
--
www.rogermerriman.com

JNugent said:

Roger Thorpe wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

which implies that the poor victim might not have been blameless.
The paltry punishment sets a poor deterrence for "driving without due
care and attention and perverting the course of justice, and to
failing to stop after an accident."

What was the nature of the offence and what punishment was appropriate?

There is nothing at all about that on the BBC website.

It's hard to say whether or not the punisment was aproprate for the
individual. As a DETERRENT to others from committing the declared
offences which include leaving the scene of a fatal accident it doesnt
seem enough.

Roger Thorpe

Roger Thorpe said:

JNugent said:

Roger Thorpe wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

which implies that the poor victim might not have been blameless.
The paltry punishment sets a poor deterrence for "driving without
due care and attention and perverting the course of justice, and to
failing to stop after an accident."

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What was the nature of the offence and what punishment was appropriate?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

There is nothing at all about that on the BBC website.

Quoted message said:

It's hard to say whether or not the punisment was aproprate for the
individual. As a DETERRENT to others from committing the declared
offences which include leaving the scene of a fatal accident it doesnt
seem enough.

The BBC report didn't connect the "careless driving" with the
fatality. It was very opaque. As worded, there are lots of different
possibilities.

Tom Crispin said:

Pete said:

Which nobody is claiming.

I don't often see cyclists on the A3, when I do, I often wonder if they
are lost as I can't really think of any destination for which there
isn't a much nicer route. There's some wonderful cycling countryside
nearby.

Speed. The A3 is a fast road with gentle slopes for cycling.

The alternatives, though beautiful, tend to be very hilly. (The A3
crosses both the North Downs and the South Downs.)

I disagree for the bits I know. Surbiton to Guildford - which I have
cycled regularly - is about the same terrain off the A3 as on. Past
Guildford, you're better off not using the A3 as you can bypass the long
climb up the Hogs Back by going out through Shalford and Compton, or
keep going through Godalming to Witley. Once you get to Hindhead and
the Devils Punchbowl, I'd still say you're no worse off, terrain wise,
off the A3 than on. Either way it's a climb.

That's as far as I've been, I'd be interested to know what it's like
further south.

Pete