Texting van driver cleared of responsibility for death of 18-year-old cyclist

Ah so texting is ok. Cycling is an incumberance to texting road users. Judge 1 justice nil. Killer goes free. What a fuck up system we have in the UK.

Do we know the drivers address? More ways of achieving justice than through courts.

While out and about today, I saw quite a number of people using phones while driving, mostly van drivers. Looking at a phone screen, or holding one to your ear while driving is bad enough, but actually typing text whilst driving . . . WTF !!!

This is a very odd verdict given the circumstances as described in this post. It sets a very dangerous precedent. Anybody up before a jury in future, for a similar offence, can now quote this particular case and say, "all I was doing was texting, I wasn't looking at the screen, or talking into the phone", to stand a good chance of getting away with it.

There seems little point in having a law that forbids phone use while driving, if this is what happens when an offender kills someone.

license to drive = license to kill

Something I have noticed in London recently is a growing number of cyclists and pedestrians shouting abuse at motorists using hand held mobile phones / smart phones whilst driving, or tapping on their window to let them know other people are watching. I can think of several instances where people have alerted a nearby Police officer to the driver, who has then been flagged down.

I also remember a courier who was infamous in London for ripping phones of out motorists hands and throwing them into the traffic!

However, its very obvious that the Police have no real control over the streets any more, especially road traffic, and citizens are now taking it upon themselves to shame motorists by making a commotion.

I agree with an earlier comment that we need a massive publicity campaign to chance social attitudes towards cell phone driving, as was done with seat belts and drink driving.

When the law was changed there did seem to be an improvement for a while, until the smart phone became very accessible to the masses, with its all inherent distractions.

In addition, its a fair bet that motorists have realized the chances of being caught, let alone prosecuted, are minute.

The problem with juries is that they are, in the main, composed of people who either lack the wit to come up with an excuse to get out of doing jury service, or simply have nothing better to do with their time.

I would sh*t myself if I were ever put in front of a jury to defend myself against a crime I didn't commit, because time and again the verdicts returned prove nothing other than that the jurors are utter f*cktards.

I don't usually comment on these things because you can normally apply some logic to a decision that while not popular with cyclists explains the decision. But this is unbelievable. Anyone texting while driving is not in full control of their vehicle. My deepest sympathy goes out to the victims family and friends.

The guy didn't even get fined £70 for using a mobile phone whilst driving.

Another shuddering reminder of the completely f+@ked situation we find ourselves where a driver having carried out those actions can be found not guilty.

As far I can see the following needs to happen..

1) A massive, and I mean far beyond the scale of the current one running for drug driving media campaign needs to take place to stigmatise driving whilst using your phone in the same way that drink driving is seen now. If the van driver had been drunk he'd have been found guilty by the jury. Of that I have no doubt. The issue is that drink driving is the only road crime that is seen as a crime by the general public.

2) Unmarked police motorbikes need to be used to activly go out and catch people doing this. Bring a fear (and i chose that word carefully) to drivers that they are going to get caught if they don't change their behaivior. Not PCSO's looking at green boxes where the drivers lower their phones by the time they get to them. The police must start putting resources into this.

3) As a London rider I'm going to make it my business to press any candidate for the next mayor position for if they would back the above. We have vast resources poured into stopping terror attacks, kettling student protests, policing areas around football grounds. If this many people were getting killed by football violence then there'd be uproar.

It does sound like a classic SWSS, Single Witness Suicide Swerve.

I know we dont have all of the facts and I really hate to feel like this, I also probably dont mean it but....right at this moment....I really do hope the jury loose someone to a texting driver.

So what is the justice system trying to say? Vigilante justice is the only way?

What direction did the judge give the jury? Was m'lady asleep and missed the admission of the offence of using a hand help mobile telephone while driving?

To the jury....SHAME ON YOU

I know it's been said before, but, if ever I want to murder someone, I'm going to buy them a bike.

A disgrace! I'm not saying, hang the driver for texting, and maybe a custodial sentence would do no good, but at least let it be known he was largely responsible for the death of that poor boy.

I didn't murder him, ha swerved into my knife while I was vaguely distracted by trying to load my gun.

time to deal with things your self cos the law wont

Unbelievable verdict. Obviously no cyclists on the jury then.

As well as the blatant breach of the law regarding mobile phones, Highway Code has plenty to say about drivers and cyclists such as ;

213

Motorcyclists and cyclists may suddenly need to avoid uneven road surfaces and obstacles such as drain covers or oily, wet or icy patches on the road. Give them plenty of room and pay particular attention to any sudden change of direction they may have to make.

There is an onus on the driver to be give space, anticipate and be prepared to move or brake.

I am not sure how you can do this if you are busy texting. And to claim you can text without looking at the phone!! And the jury agreed!!! Gobsmacked....

Maybe the Cyclists Defence Fund and CTC can pursue this further, this is farcical.....

Awful. I feel so sorry for the family and depressed that we let idiots like this off after killing a person.

Unreal outcome, his poor family. I hope there is some sort of avenue to appeal but I fear there isn't.

Words fail!

When the only witness is dead a defendant can make up any story to minimise their responsibility. I hope their conscience makes them pay but I suspect it won't.

Honestly WTF.

I would be nice to know it there were any other witness to the classic motorist suggestion of a "suicide swerve" by the cyclist.

Other than that It would be dreadful if the members of the jury were to loss somebody close to them in simular circumstances and they receive same "justice". I'd feel so sorry for them.

The message seams to be, it open season on cyclists.

Sober killer gets let off!

Alcoholic Arsonist jailed for 7.5 years.

The arsonist made the drunken mistake of only potentially killing people but definitely damaged property. We hate kids in this country and we value wealth over people.

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/11870218.Alcoholic_arsonist_gets_7_5_yea...