Suspended sentence “a real farce”, says family of cyclist killed by motorist – as Cycling UK blasts UK’s “broken road traffic laws”

The father of a cyclist who was struck from behind and killed by a motorist – despite experts finding that the rider should have been visible for at least seven seconds before the collision – has described the suspended sentence handed to the driver, convicted of causing death by careless driving, as “too lenient” and a “real farce”.

Tony Jones, whose son David was killed while cycling in Bridgend in 2020, compared driving to holding a “dangerous weapon” and that “if you kill somebody you should be made to pay for it”, while Cycling UK says the tragic case – and the decision to only charge motorist Raymond Treharne with causing death by careless driving – is symptomatic of the UK’s “broken road traffic laws”.

The cycling charity also called on the government to commit to its “long overdue comprehensive review to bring consistency to our road traffic laws and keep responsible cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers safe”.

> “Where were you looking? Why didn’t you see him?” Former HGV driver receives suspended sentence for killing cyclist

In March, we reported that 41-year-old father-of-two David Jones was cycling on the A48 Crack Hill in Bridgend at around 5.50am on 27 May 2020 when he was hit from behind by 74-year-old retired HGV driver Treharne, who was driving a 4x4 Grand Cherokee Jeep at the time of the incident.

Jones was thrown in the air in the collision and suffered a serious head injury. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Following the crash, former professional driver Treharne allegedly told witnesses that “I hit him… He was standing on the bike. He fell into the road”.

However, forensic collision investigators told the subsequent trial at Cardiff Crown Court that Mr Jones was riding his bike in an upright position at the time of the fatal collision, and did not fall prior to Treharne hitting him.

The trial also heard that there was no evidence that the motorist, who should have seen the cyclist for at least seven seconds before striking him, had applied his brakes or swerved before the collision.

Treharne, who pleaded not guilty to causing Mr Jones’ death by careless driving, was found guilty following the February trial and last month was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and banned from driving for seven years.

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Speaking to the BBC, Tony Jones described the impact his son’s death has had on his family.

“The night before he was here having steak and chips with us for his tea and that’s the last time we saw him,” he said.

Jones said he first heard the news after calling David, only to find a police officer on the other end of the phone.

“He said Davey had been in an accident,” Jones said. “I said ‘is he alright?' And he said ‘I’m 99 percent sure he’s dead’. I came in here and told the wife and it was chaos here. She couldn’t believe it, she just broke down and she’s still the same now.”

A retired coach driver, Jones said the subsequent court case was made even more difficult because he knows Treharne and had worked with him in the past.

“If he had come over and said ‘I’m sorry’, it wouldn’t have made any difference about bringing Davey back but he would have shown a bit of remorse, but there was nothing at all,” he added.

> Driver jailed for two-and-a-half years for killing one cyclist and seriously injuring another blamed victims for “not riding in single file”

As the court was told that Treharne should have seen the cyclist ahead of him for at least seven seconds, Jones said he “couldn’t believe what I was hearing”.

“Seven seconds is a long time when you think about it. It’s long enough to react and obviously he didn’t,” he said.

Describing the suspended sentence handed out to Treharne as a “real farce” and Judge Catherine Richards as “too lenient”, Mr Jones added: “I couldn’t believe he just walked.

“Driving a car is like having a knife in your hand, it’s a dangerous weapon and if you kill somebody you should get made to pay for it. He just hasn’t, he’s walked away free.”

Jones said that the family has been advised that an appeal against the decision would be unlikely to succeed, as Treharne was sentenced within the guidelines for causing death by careless driving.

The maximum sentence for causing death by careless driving is currently five years, whereas until recently the maximum jail term for causing death by dangerous driving stood at 14 years, but for offences committed on or after 28 June 2022 a life sentence can now be imposed.

However, even in the most egregious cases, the sentences handed down to drivers convicted of the offence are often far less.

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Andrew Taylor, a criminal barrister based at Apex Chambers in Cardiff, told the BBC: “I suspect because Raymond Treharne had an impeccable driving record, he’d driven professionally for many years, there was no evidence of any drink or drugs involved, there was no evidence that the vehicle was other than properly on the road with tax, MOT, insured and all the things we expect of a driver – and therefore [Judge Catherine Richards] decided to draw back from sending him to immediate custody and she imposed a suspended sentence.

“This is a case where a person behind a wheel, with devastating consequences, sadly doesn’t keep a proper look out as we all have to do when we get behind the wheel of a vehicle.

“That of course cost the deceased his life, which is tragic, but there is nothing the learned judge did not take into account which should have been properly taken into account.”

Nevertheless, Cycling UK’s campaigns manager Kier Gallagher believes that this particular case demonstrates why the law around careless and dangerous driving needs to be reviewed.

“Failing to spot another road user for almost 10 seconds before crashing into and killing them is clearly a dangerous act, yet our broken road traffic laws mean Raymond Treharne was merely charged with causing death by careless driving,” Gallagher said.

“The Westminster government promised to review these failing laws in 2014 but we’re still waiting, and the price of delay is sadly paid again and again by families like that of David Jones.”