Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)
  • Charge for woman who hit a cyclist
  • owenfackrell
    Free Member

    I don’t know how many of you remember this from last october but here in Soton a woman hit a cyclist at a junction and he later deid in hospital. She has just be charged with causing death by dangerous driving. It makes a change to read that a driver has even been charged with this after an incident.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    anyone get any details of what heppened?

    was she driving dangerously or did she just lapse in concentration?

    kevonakona
    Free Member

    I know it’s wrong to think this but surely they could have got a better photo of him.

    THe charge at least shows that someone is taking it seriously. if it happened in a kitchen it’d be homicide wouldn’t it? Causing a death is causing a death, be it through intent, accident or by neglect.

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    owenfackrell
    Free Member

    kevonakona – Member
    I know it’s wrong to think this but surely they could have got a better photo of him.

    I thought that as well as he is ment to be in his 20’s.
    I do think that if you want to commit murder then using a car carries the best chance of either getting off or a short sentance.

    There must be some good evidence that she was doing something wrong for it to get this far.

    Stoner
    Free Member

    Owen – I think the inconsistency you actually mean is between manslaughter and death by dangerous driving, not murder and death by dangerous driving. If you intend to injure or kill using a car you WILL be charged with murder. If you dont intend to you generally WONT be charged with manslaughter.

    owenfackrell
    Free Member

    opps your right though you could make it look accidental a lot eaiser than just walking up to people with a gun for instance.

    Smee
    Free Member

    Causing death by dangerous driving carries a similar penalty to manslaughter which in most cases it is.

    fingerbike
    Free Member

    Just been behind a car through a couple of towns, driving quite erratically containing a group of young girls, the driver obviously hadn’t been driving long, she jumped all the speedhumps in a busy high street, nearly running a woman over (locked up for a second), was tailgating cars and later overtook another car right before a junction and braked quite hard in front of them, Seeing things like this keeps me in the woods and off the roads when on a bike… Hoping the police catch up with her and have a word before she does some damage….

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    The offences of “causing death by dangerous driving” and “causing death by careless driving” were created reasonably recently as juries simply would not convict for manslaughter.

    Since these offences were created it has been easier to get prosecutions and thus jail time for the perpetrators as the prosecution has only to prove that the driving was dangerous and that a person was killed rather than having to show as in manslaughter that the actions of the defendent could reasonably be seen to be likely to cause death.

    IMO a good piece of law.

    Stoner
    Free Member

    smee the maximum penalty for manslaughter is life in prison. The average sentence for manslaughter (1996-2004) is c.5 yrs.

    the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving is now 14 years, but in its application:

    Choice and length of sentence
    Brake agrees with the recommendation by the Sentencing Advisory Panel that the starting point for causing death by dangerous driving, whether or not there are aggravating features in the case, should be a custodial sentence. However, in contrast to the Panel, Brake feels that many more sentences should be at the higher end of the scale, rather than mainly at the bottom.

    The Panel states (moderate culpability, No. 3) that the presence of one or more aggravating features could indicate a sentence within the “higher range, up to three years.” However, Brake points out that three years is only 21% of the possible maximum sentence, and a woefully low sentence for a case involving one or more aggravating factors.

    Similarly, the Panel states that “custodial sentences over five years should be reserved for cases involving an extremely high level of culpability on the offender’s part. This might be indicated by the presence of three of more aggravating factors although an exceptionally bad example of a single aggravating feature could be sufficient to place on offence into this category.” Brake would argue that five years, which is only just over a third of the maximum sentence, is again too low.

    Average sentancing data wont be available until later this year apparently but Brake site 2x recent cases (I know, hardly independent or obviously representative of all sentencing…) of 15 months and 18 months for Death by Dangerous Driving.

    Munqe-chick
    Free Member

    Death by dangerous driving has been around for a while, it’s only death by careless and inconsiderate driving that has been brough in recently (There were previous offences of death by careless through being unfit though drink and drugs).

    aracer
    Free Member

    Causing death by dangerous driving carries a similar penalty to manslaughter which in most cases it is.

    You are joking, aren’t you?

    Hairychested
    Free Member

    I dropped my wife off at Feltham this morning, drove back and at one of those massive roundabouts so common round here a woman drove straight into a bloke cycling. ‘WTF did he ride here, it’s an F’ing road!’ she screamed at another cyclist helping the injured guy. An ambulance came and so did the Police. I hope she pays for his injuries.

    aP
    Free Member

    You see where you’re going wrong there – its the mention of Feltham.

    snaps
    Free Member

    Of the 2 times I’ve been knocked off, both the fault of women pulling out into me when its my right of way, the police only prosecuted the one where I had a witness.

    Sponging-Machine
    Free Member

    I was trackstanding at a very busy roundabout once when an old bloke drove into me from behind. He told the police it was my fault as I looked like I was moving. Then denied it happened afterwards.

    Police were completely disinterested when they arrived. No charges despite loads of witnesses (happened in front of a Gym window with about 20 people on steppers/treadmills watching) and took 11 months for his insurance to pay up for a new road bike.

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