[Closed] Ah, the old 'sun in my eyes' excuse...

...denies dangerous driving.

He has admitted drink-driving and failing to stop after an accident.

????

A jury was told that even with his driving glasses on he could not read a number plate from 4m (about 13ft) away and could only partially read one from 2m (6.5ft).

????

he had drunk his first whisky at 6am when he woke up.

????

Presumably if you thought you had hit a sheep you would stop and check?

Presumably if you thought you had hit a sheep you would stop and check?

I imagine the nominal fine and six month ban will teach him a good lesson....

let's hope the eye witness who overtook him just before can refute the "sun in his eye" defense.

Klunk = let's hope they wake up and work out that the "sun in the eye" defence is a crock.

"I can't see but I will keep on going at this speed anyway"

terrible... I hope that Simon was ok afterwards?

How can he be allowed on the roads?

Reminds me of the post last week with the lorry driver who'd knocked down & killed 2 people in London, very sad story..

Be careful out there - our roads kill and maim 1800% more cyclist than other road users.

Let's hope all the Olympic and Tour hype brings more public awareness of driving safely around cyclists.

cynic-al - Member
Klunk = let's hope they wake up and work out that the "sun in the eye" defence is a crock.

"I can't see but I will keep on going at this speed anyway"

+1

[i]I hope that Simon was ok afterwards?[/i]

No, not at all.

I follow him on twitter and he's been through a really bad time since this accident. I think he's looking at further surgery on his spine and he's had to move into a different house that's more adapted for his reduced mobility so there seems to be an expectation that it'll make long term differences to his life 🙁

"I can't see but I will keep on going at this speed anyway"

unfortunately as we already know as a defense in court it works with "there but for the grace of god go i" jurors.

From the original BBC article;
"The cyclist suffered fractures to the spine, a broken pelvis, a broken breast bone, cuts to his legs, and a "detached" lung, which means only one of his lungs is functioning."

I love the sheep comment,as if that was an everyday occurrence,and as such merited no further concern.
Thoughts out to the victim here..

He must feel cursed (Simon), already disabled after a car hit him on a training run, and now this! Reads like a Final Destination plot 🙁

"Be careful out there - [s]our roads[/s] UK drivers kill and maim 1800% more cyclist than other road users."
FTFY.

Jesus Christ:
"Later I felt one hell of a bang and I thought I had hit a sheep. I slowed right down.
"I thought to myself: 'I just want to go home'."
"I didn't try to hide my van but I did drive it off the driveway into the field."

I don't see why drivers wouldn't try the 'sun in the eyes' defence. It's worked in the past.

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-19198543

Update - guilty of dangerous driving

I don't see why drivers wouldn't try the 'sun in the eyes' defence. It's worked in the past.

Yep,with the little f@#ker that killed my brother in law.

[i]Update - guilty of dangerous driving[/i]

[i]Just[/i] dangerous driving it looks. What about all the other obvious offences?

DezB - Member
Update - guilty of dangerous driving

Just dangerous driving it looks. What about all the other obvious offences?

Strange how there's no "destroying someone's life" offence.

Minimum 12 month sentence according to Simon Richardsons twitter feed.

Minimum 12 month sentence according to Simon Richardsons twitter feed.

Will he permanently lose his license though?

He should!

[i]Will he permanently lose his license though? [/i]

sentencing is at the end of this month.

I suspect there'll be some sort of extended driving test requirement with his eyesight may mean he'll fail?

Will he permanently lose his license though?

sentencing is at the end of this month.

I suspect there'll be some sort of extended driving test requirement with his eyesight may mean he'll fail?

I doubt it. The lorry driver that managed to kill two people still has a chance of getting his license back.

http://thecyclingsilk.blogspot.co.uk/

I do wish some of the big names from the olympics would just speak up and say how wrong this state of affairs is!

They might , if BMW and BP were not main sponsors of the games