Driver failed to brake or take evasive action before fatally striking cyclist, court told

A motorist charged with causing the death of a cyclist through dangerous driving failed to apply emergency braking or take evasive action during the fatal collision, a court in Livingston has heard.

In August 2019 66-year-old Iain Anderson, from Glenrothes, was killed in a collision involving a Nissan Cabstar flatbed truck while riding his electric bike on the B937 near Ladybank. He died at the scene from serious head injuries.

80-year-old Adam Fernie has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving. According to an experienced accident investigator, no emergency braking was applied to Fernie’s van before it collided with the cyclist.

While the locked wheel of Anderson’s e-bike left a tyre mark at the scene of the incident, the investigator said no tyre marks attributable to the Nissan were found. This was despite tests carried out on the vehicle after the collision which proved that its front service brakes were capable of locking the wheels, which would have left marks on the road.

The investigator claimed that the damage to both the bike and the van, including a smashed windscreen and damage to the internal dashboard, was consistent with a collision between the cyclist and driver. He also concluded that the bike contained no defects which may contributed to the incident.

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As well as causing death by dangerous driving, Fernie is charged with failing to stop after the incident, failing to give his name and address to any person with reasonable grounds for asking, failing to identify the vehicle’s owner, and failing to provide the identification mark of the vehicle.

The court heard earlier this week that, after driving a further 100 yards up the road, Fernie turned around to attend the scene. A bus driver, who captured footage of the incident on his dashcam and rushed to help the stricken cyclist along with another passer-by, claimed that he heard the motorist say that he didn’t see the bike rider “because the sun was in his eyes”.

Fernie faces another charge of driving his van in dangerous condition. According to the prosecution, at the time of the collision, the truck included a seized brake, a loose handbrake cable, a missing wheel nut, a worn track rod ball joint, a noisy wheel bearing, a missing fuel filler cap, and a fractured fuel tank strap. He denies the charges.