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Devon driver who allegedly knocked cyclist off the roadMiddle finger councillor who ran cyclists off road fined
A Devon parish councillor, who forced cyclists into a hedge before flipping them the middle finger, has been fined £140 and issued with eight penalty points on his license.
Two cyclists were injured in the incident last July, in which Bridford parish councillor James Atkinson tried to overtake the group on a blind bend in his Land Rover, before veering into the group of four to avoid an oncoming car.
The incident, which took place in the Teign Valley in Devon, apparently left one rider upside down hanging from a tree, and another impaled on a fence. Atkinson, whose reaction after the incident was caught on helmet camera, admitted careless driving to Exeter Crown Court.
Cyclists say enraged Devon councillor ran them off the road
According to the Exeter Express and Echo, Prosecutor Lyndsey Baker said the four cyclists were riding single file at 25mph when Atkinson roared up behind them and tried to overtake them on a blind bend.
Atkinson then veered into the cyclists to avoid an oncoming car, which was travelling at 20mph, forcing them into the hedge, and “a jumble on the floor”.
It is reported Atkinson showed no remorse, and he tried to blame the cyclists for riding four abreast and forcing him to the opposite side of the road.
Cyclist and hair salon boss, Rob Pierce, who shot Atkinson’s reaction after the incident on his helmet camera, calls the punishment a “slap on the wrist” and says one of the riders hasn’t been able to cycle since.
Mr Peirce, 48, told the Express and Echo: "We were riding single file along that road which is one of the few flat roads we can use. We ride 200 miles a week and we are experienced riders.
"One of the injured riders was a stranger who suffered a head injury. An ambulance was called for him.
"My friend Jason Acreman was also hurt. He hasn't been cycling since because of the emotional effect it has had on him.
"Atkinson's driving was the most aggressive extreme driving we have ever encountered.
"In my opinion he is going to kill or seriously injure someone. His attitude was outrageous.
"I am not surprised he has received a slap on the wrist. But he should have been banned – you get a stiffer penalty if you break the speed limit on the motorway than nearly killing two people on their bikes."
Mr Acreman, who suffered back, hip and shoulder injuries in the collision, said: "I heard this beeping from a car and then heard screeching and skidding.
"I was riding by a hedge and had nowhere to go and was left upside down and hanging out of a tree. I was quite lucky really."
Mr Peirce said: "We tried to speak to the driver about what had happened and he gave me his middle finger. I was giving him a piece of my mind that he could have killed people – women and children use this road – and he looked me in the eye and kept swearing at me. A lady driving the other way stopped and confronted him. She rang the police.
"We were cycling back from Tiverton along the Teign Valley. It was a nice sunny day. Atkinson began hooting along the straight road, it was not the twisty bit.
"He was aggressively revving his engine and beeping his horn and overtook us on a blind corner and took two of the cyclists out. James is a keen cyclist but has not been out since which is a real shame. One of them was impaled on a hedge fence and the other was left lying in a gutter. The driver did not show a jot of concern.
"The lady driver went ballistic at him but he sat in his Land Rover with a smug look on his face. It was unbelievable – and then he drove off."
According to Teignbridge Council’s website it appears Atkinson is still a Parish Councillor.
Laura Laker is a freelance journalist with more than a decade’s experience covering cycling, walking and wheeling (and other means of transport). Beginning her career with road.cc, Laura has also written for national and specialist titles of all stripes. One part of the popular Streets Ahead podcast, she sometimes appears as a talking head on TV and radio, and in real life at conferences and festivals. She is also the author of Potholes and Pavements: a Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network.
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41 comments
Brilliant. Now he's resigned as per email below:
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Made my day!
I sent my email to the other councillors, and here's the reply I received.
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Thank you for your concern.
The Parish Council does not condone inappropriate behaviour on the part of any Bridford resident,
Mr Atkinson's behaviour and demeanour, as evidenced by the Court verdict and a photograph in the public domain, was completely unacceptable.
The Code of Conduct only applies to elected representatives when they are discharging official duties and at the time of the incident, Mr Atkinson was not acting as a representative of the Parish Council.
The Parish Council has taken professional advice and is constrained to actions which are according to the law. James Atkinson was elected by due process and for legal reasons cannot therefore be removed from office.
The Parish Council would like to express its regret that cyclists and other road users have felt intimidated and assure everyone that they are most welcome to this beautiful corner of Devon.
Joan Banks
Clerk to Bridford Parish Council
-------------------------------------------
I'm happy to have received a reply, and still angry that no official action has been taken. My guess is he's an arrogant and rather nasty piece of work and this will latest debacle will be welcome ammunition for more sensible locals to put pressure on him. He may seem like a shameless sociopath, but shame can be a very insidious thing, and work wonders over time.
I shall be cycling on Dartmoor tomorrow, but at the West end, not the East where this council resides.
Happy cycling. Ben.
I've just emailed the councillors as well - wonder if they will respond!
And this report shows his car. I wonder what the I in his name stands for? http://metro.co.uk/2016/02/15/councillor-fined-after-running-four-cyclis...
Imbecile
At the very least he should have been charged with reckless and dangerous driving. The government insists it wants more people to take up cycling. If they're really serious about that then it's well past time they made sure the law starts protecting the cyclists using our roads.
Much fuller report by the cyclists here http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Devon-councillor-swore-cyclists-allegedl...
It would also appear the lying sh*t claimed that he was assaulted http://www.torquayheraldexpress.co.uk/let-s-calm/story-26850103-detail/s...
Amusing to read the "calm down" requests. If those people had ever had a car driven at them, they would know that the adrenaline kicks in and if there is one thing you aren't going to do, it's stay calm. Big kudos for the uninjured cyclists for not dragging him out of his killing machine and lynching him from the nearest tree, but I suppose there wasn't any rope handy.
I think it's time we have own justice against criminals easily let off.
Gotta go, bat signal in the sky
I have written a polite email to all the councillors on the Bridford Parish Council page asking whether they consider it appropriate that they continue supporting a councillor who has such a cavalier attitude to the life of others and who demonstrates such dangerous sociopathological behaviours.
The emails are:
jfm2 [at] btinternet.com, geoff.hearnden [at] btinternet.com, Trevelyan [at] burnicombe.eclipse.co.uk, elisabeth.price [at] gmail.com, rog.dowding [at] gmail.com, slee [at] dartmoor-npa.gov.uk
If you do choose to write to them, please be aware that any irrational blasts, however appropriate in the circumstances, will probably have a negative effect. The end result we'd be looking for is that this dangerous man becomes a social pariah to help him on his journey of self-discovery and remorse.
Here's my email:
--------------------------------
To whom it may concern,
As a long term (and current) user of Devon's road both as a driver and a cyclist, I was appalled to learn of the exceedingly dangerous behaviour exhibited by Councillor Atkinson when he recently ran several cyclists off the road, endangering their lives and the lives of other car users. In addition, his behaviour directly following the accident - not alerting the emergency services and extreme rudeness to the people he'd almost just killed - surely needs to be condemned in the most emphatic way by the Bridford council.
Further, I would suggest that such a disregard for human life is not consistent with the values and intentions of your council, and it would be incumbent upon you to fulfil your civic duties by publicly distancing yourself from this behaviour and the man himself.
I would very much like to know what your intentions are in this matter.
Regards. Ben Brangwyn
--------------------------------
Could also add that he's in breach of items 1 and 2 from the Bridford Parish Council Code of Conduct as published in a PDF file produced by the parish council
Excellent, and much less abusive than mine would have been, but I think the use of "accident" in this context is wrong, as this was no accident. It was the entirely predictable outcome of the dangerous driving of the idiot behind the wheel.
Hey, wait a minute, was it four cyclists and he dared to show the midle finger? why didn't they beat the shit out of him? Get this fuck face slamed about 10 times on the steering wheel and lets then see if he does it again!! courts my ass!!
But assault is taken very seriously by the police, CPS and the courts.....unless it is committed using a motor vehicle as a weapon. Not only are cyclists expected to be injured and killed by motorists as a matter of course but they are required to accept the oppression of the authorities who allow and condone it.
I'm with you mate, I just don't know how the non-injured members of this group were able to control their tempers. I would have gone absolutely mental. I know that's not big or clever, but the amount of anger I feel just reading about it.
Despicable little prick....
Back in the old days—about three hours ago—this thread contained 28 comments, some lavishly illustrated. The site's lawyers—and Parish Councillor Atkinson—are surely happier with it now.
one-does-not-delete.jpg
Wow, this comment thread got redacted a great deal, didn't it? The bloke's contact details were out there on the internet, but I guess the admins took exception to people's digging up some not-exactly-mainstream hobbies... Point is, eight points on his licence should be "do anything else and you'll lose your licence, sonny-boy" - but we know how that works, don't we? - IMO, eight points and a hundred odd quid fine is not an appropriate punishment, but I don't work for the CPS.
Serves them right for riding single file, next time 4 abreast.
Have a go at the guy for being a selfish, angry, bigoted danger to others, who shouldn't be allowed on the road.
But don't ridicule people for their sexual preferences or for any harmless minority activities that you personally find amusing or look down upon.
Remember, that's some people's view of men who put on skin-tight shorts and play on children's toys together on a Sunday morning, and that's what ends up with selfish, angry, bigoted Idiots driving 4x4s into them.
Well said!
"or for any harmless minority activities that you personally find amusing or look down upon" a bit like those cyclists, hence my comment of karma before the great purge. I don't care what people do if it doesn't hurt others but this seemed like borderline irony.
I am not sure he is actually a "convicted criminal". Is this a criminal offence he has been found guilty of, or a civil offence??
Yes it's a criminal offence - there's no such thing as a civil offence. A civil action is typically for damages.
English law doesn't recognise the terms 'felon' and 'petty criminal'. Perhaps they existed here in the past, and I believe they may talk of felony in the US, but not here today.
Sorry, that last comment was poorly worded. I wasn't referring to felon/petty criminal as legal terms, more a shorthand classification for how a particular crime is viewed by society. AFAIK all crimes are misdemeanors in English law, but I'd imagine if you asked the "man on the Clapham omnibus" to rate careless (as opposed to dangerous) driving as either a petty or serious offence, they'd probably go for petty.
I am not sure he is actually a "convicted criminal". Is this a criminal offence he has been found guilty of, or a civil offence??
IANAL, but I'm pretty sure you can't be 'found guilty' in a civil court; only held liable. And certainly if it's a contravention of statute law (which this is) then it's criminal. The only question remains is he considered a felon rather than a petty criminal? I think probably not, but he should be.
Certainly at the very least he should be prevented from driving as he is obviously a danger to other people.
Now that he is a convicted criminal, and as a bonus has a rather odd/kinky pastime, he is pretty much a shoe in for an MP in parliament.
Wouldn't it be terrible if a printout of that page were to somehow make its way to Bridford council?
Interesting on what the council code of conduct has to say;
https://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=35569&p=0
That his email address starts with "BMWM5" is telling.
I can't wait to see his next election pamphlet, or maybe that of his opponent....
Lovely chap.
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