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Southampton FC (via Twitter).jpgCyclist hit by Southampton footballer issued with fixed penalty notice for riding through lights on amber
The cyclist hit by Southampton striker Charlie Austin has been issued with a fixed penalty notice for riding through an amber light. Austin, who hit the man as he set off from traffic lights in October, has admitted driving without due care and attention and now has the option of attending a driver awareness course or court.
In a statement last week, Austin said that in late October 2016, he had been driving in Southampton city centre and had stopped at traffic lights at a junction. He said he moved forward when the lights turned green and it was at that point that a cyclist came across his path.
The Daily Echo reports that the cyclist involved was Anthony Grey, who subsequently underwent a five-hour operation to have a metal plate inserted in his damaged spine.
Grey cannot remember anything about the incident and wants to meet Austin to find out what happened.
Austin was reported to have stopped his Bentley to attend to Grey, who was then taken to hospital. “I would like to thank him if nothing else,” said Grey. “I just want to understand how it all happened. I know where I was going and doing but something went horribly wrong.”
Grey had bought the bike the day before the incident and said he had not ridden for years. Friends told him he had left work and gone home to collect some things before setting off on the bike for a friend’s house in Shirley.
“The last thing I remember is leaving work at 4.30pm and the incident was at 5.30pm. I remember coming around and a police officer giving me my rucksack cut in half.
“It was excruciating. I could not move my legs or my upper body at all. I had to wear a neck collar and body brace. The surgeons have fixed it though and have done an incredible job... I should be in a wheelchair but I am not.”
He also said that he would never ride a bicycle in Southampton again.
“It is just not safe to cycle in Southampton. Cyclists don’t belong on the path with pedestrians and they don’t belong on the roads where everything is just moving too fast.
“Some cyclists just don’t pay respect to the road... I have always said people should wear safely gear and if they do something wrong while cycling on the road they could be held accountable – police gave me a ticket for running an amber light – this is maybe why I was hit I don’t know.”
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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38 comments
standards are
Amber period leaving green = 3s
Amber period going to green = 2s
replicated by the conflicting vehicles you have 5s minimum value (this is increased by 1s increments to allow for seperation of conflicts)
Amber does mean "prepare to stop" though and can't see how that could be inforced.
Red lamp cameras work off the red....though they "arm" on the amber
Following his life-changing injuries who the fuck found it appropriate to give him a fine?
I'm not an 'amber gambler' myself, but It does seem that the drivers behind me generally are.
I don't risk putting on the brakes.
+1
“It is just not safe to cycle in Southampton. Cyclists don’t belong on the path with pedestrians and they don’t belong on the roads where everything is just moving too fast.
“Some cyclists just don’t pay respect to the road... I have always said people should wear safely gear and if they do something wrong while cycling on the road they could be held accountable – police gave me a ticket for running an amber light – this is maybe why I was hit I don’t know.”
Fuckall use that safety gear did you mate...and telling people they shouldn't be on the road because you jumped a light and got caught?!?! Really??
You should see the outrage in the comments on the local news website - lots of people castigating the cyclist for going through an amber because, clearly, motorists never do that.
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/15092040.Saints_star_admits_driving_with...
Really??? When was the last time you saw *anyone* stopping at amber? When did the police start bothering to enforce "You may go on only if the AMBER appears after you have crossed the stop line or are so close to it that to pull up might cause an accident." Or was he an easy mark because he'd had to stop (because he'd been hit by a footballer in a car...)?
Second point: if the footballer went through on GREEN and the cyclist went through on AMBER then I think someone needs to have a look at the timing on those lights, in any case...
I wonder what the standards are for timing.
One crossroads across a main A road on my commute is a PITA.
To go straight across you have to bear right slightly, which means I take primary to avoid losing the road mid-junction. If I get a sniff that it's about to turn amber I put a burst in, because otherwise I'll have 4 lanes of traffic closing down on me from either side. And I won't put the brakes on because I'm in primary and will likely get rear-ended by a genuine amber gambler.
It's ok if you can change up the gears quickly and get maybe a 10mph burst on, but the light sequences are made for cars, allowing (I reckon) for a steady 20mph to get across before the other traffic gets going. If you're not a fit cyclist you could easily be trapped in the shit - seems totally biased towards cars.
I don't know the junction in Southampton, but if it's like the one I'm describing, I have sympathy for a driver in Austin's situation. If you're looking at the lights and, on green, putting your foot down in a car that's quick off the mark, I don't suppose you're expecting a cyclist to appear from the side. No idea how fast the cyclist was going, but it does seem like Austin's lights shouldn't have been going green.
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