A driver who used his car as a “highly dangerous weapon” to run over a cyclist in a road rage incident, leaving him with life-changing injuries, has been jailed for 18 months in order “to deter similar attacks”.

62-year-old Richard Caseby was cycling back to his home on a Saturday morning in January last year, when a driver of a Vauxhall Corsa almost hit him at the Sun in the Sands roundabout on the A2 in Blackheath, London.

Once he drew level with the driver at a traffic light, Caseby, a former managing editor of The Sunday Times and The Sun, asked him politely “to keep an eye open for cyclists as I’d had a narrow escape”, but the driver swore at him and said, “F*** off or I’ll f*** you”.

As soon as both of them set off, Caseby said that he was carried along on the bonnet of Georgiou’s car, which hit the kerb, throwing him against a brick wall. He suffered serious fractures to his left leg and ankle and a damaged shoulder.

The driver, Marios Georgiou, 52, has now been sentenced by the Woolwich crown court to 18 months in prison. The Times (link is external) reports that Judge Philip Shorrock told the driver: “You used your car as the equivalent of a highly dangerous weapon, albeit you intended to scare him.”

He said a jail sentence was required to “deter you or anyone else from behaving that way in the future”.

Georgiou claimed that he was only trying to scare Caseby, who he feared would damage his car as another cyclist had left a dent after punching the vehicle during a confrontation five weeks earlier. He claimed as a result of hitting Caseby he now suffers from anxiety and depression and is being assessed for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Caseby suffered a broken left leg and ankle in three places and spent months on crutches, having to learn to walk again. A year on, he still suffers permanent pain and walks with a stick and a permanent limp and has been diagnosed with PTSD.

He told the court: “Marios Georgiou mowed me down in his car and left me with life-changing injuries.

“The attack has destroyed my basic fitness and dreams of an active retirement with my wife and friends. My orthopaedic consultant told me that my injuries are truly ‘life-changing’. In short, I will never be the same again.”

Caseby, who used to cycle “everywhere”, said: “Drivers are in a lethal weapon and if they lose their temper for a moment, they can kill you. I knew when I was clinging to the bonnet that if I let go, I would fall under the wheels and be killed.”

The lawyer in mitigation, said Georgiou admitted the offences on the basis that he did not intend to injure Caseby but intended only to “scare” him.

Georgiou, a barber from Kent, declined to give evidence. He has been jailed for 18 months after admitting maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm shortly before the start of his trial last month.

He has received a nine-month concurrent sentence for dangerous driving. He has also been banned from driving for two years and nine months and ordered to take an enhanced driving test before being allowed back on the road.

https://road.cc/content/news/driver-jailed-using-car-highly-dangerous-weapon-302059

Cyclists never seem to grasp that discretion is the better part of valour
(apologies to Shakespeare), but instead must force their point on others.
Sometimes it’s just wiser to ride away, or hang back, or apply the brakes,
or stop at a pedestrian crossing or traffic light.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> A driver who used his car as a “highly dangerous weapon” to run over a
> cyclist in a road rage incident, leaving him with life-changing injuries,
> has been jailed for 18 months in order “to deter similar attacks”.
>
> 62-year-old Richard Caseby was cycling back to his home on a Saturday
> morning in January last year, when a driver of a Vauxhall Corsa almost
> hit him at the Sun in the Sands roundabout on the A2 in Blackheath, London.
>
> Once he drew level with the driver at a traffic light, Caseby, a former
> managing editor of The Sunday Times and The Sun, asked him politely “to
> keep an eye open for cyclists as I’d had a narrow escape”, but the driver
> swore at him and said, “F*** off or I’ll f*** you”.
>
> As soon as both of them set off, Caseby said that he was carried along on
> the bonnet of Georgiou’s car, which hit the kerb, throwing him against a
> brick wall. He suffered serious fractures to his left leg and ankle and a damaged shoulder.
>
> The driver, Marios Georgiou, 52, has now been sentenced by the Woolwich
> crown court to 18 months in prison. The Times (link is external) reports
> that Judge Philip Shorrock told the driver: “You used your car as the
> equivalent of a highly dangerous weapon, albeit you intended to scare him.”
>
> He said a jail sentence was required to “deter you or anyone else from
> behaving that way in the future”.
>
> Georgiou claimed that he was only trying to scare Caseby, who he feared
> would damage his car as another cyclist had left a dent after punching
> the vehicle during a confrontation five weeks earlier. He claimed as a
> result of hitting Caseby he now suffers from anxiety and depression and
> is being assessed for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
>
> Caseby suffered a broken left leg and ankle in three places and spent
> months on crutches, having to learn to walk again. A year on, he still
> suffers permanent pain and walks with a stick and a permanent limp and
> has been diagnosed with PTSD.
>
> He told the court: “Marios Georgiou mowed me down in his car and left me
> with life-changing injuries.
>
> “The attack has destroyed my basic fitness and dreams of an active
> retirement with my wife and friends. My orthopaedic consultant told me
> that my injuries are truly ‘life-changing’. In short, I will never be the same again.”
>
> Caseby, who used to cycle “everywhere”, said: “Drivers are in a lethal
> weapon and if they lose their temper for a moment, they can kill you. I
> knew when I was clinging to the bonnet that if I let go, I would fall
> under the wheels and be killed.”
>
> The lawyer in mitigation, said Georgiou admitted the offences on the
> basis that he did not intend to injure Caseby but intended only to “scare” him.
>
> Georgiou, a barber from Kent, declined to give evidence. He has been
> jailed for 18 months after admitting maliciously inflicting grievous
> bodily harm shortly before the start of his trial last month.
>
> He has received a nine-month concurrent sentence for dangerous driving.
> He has also been banned from driving for two years and nine months and
> ordered to take an enhanced driving test before being allowed back on the road.
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/driver-jailed-using-car-highly-dangerous-weapon-302059
>

--
Spike

Honestly this is such a depressing read.. 'I only meant to scare him' as I drove into him with him on my bonnet up a curb and towards a wall.. ' FOR FUCKS SAKE.

Life changing injuries.

The law of this land is fucked.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> Honestly this is such a depressing read.. 'I only meant to scare him' as
> I drove into him with him on my bonnet up a curb and towards a wall.. ' FOR FUCKS SAKE.
>
> Life changing injuries.
>
> The law of this land is fucked.

And all because a cyclist just had to have his say, no matter how politely:

“Once he drew level with the driver at a traffic light, Caseby, a former
managing editor of The Sunday Times and The Sun, asked him politely “to
keep an eye open for cyclists as I’d had a narrow escape””.

Sometimes it’s just better to let it go.

--
Spike

On 22/06/2023 05:01 pm, Spike wrote:

> Cyclists never seem to grasp that discretion is the better part of valour
> (apologies to Shakespeare), but instead must force their point on others.
> Sometimes it’s just wiser to ride away, or hang back, or apply the brakes,
> or stop at a pedestrian crossing or traffic light.

[ ... ]

So many of those cycling-chavs feel that they are entitled to far more
than are other road-users (especially drivers and pedestrians).

But tell them to stay off the footway, or not to disobey traffic lights
and you take your life in your hands.

Maybe I'm just looking for victories anywhere, but it is really quite good here to see the use of offence against the person (GBH) here. Normally when cars are used as weapons, it is treated as a driving offence, rather than a violence offence. Hopefully this becomes a norm - threaten someone and deliberately drive at them, and you get an assault/ABH/GBH/god-forbid-something-more-serious charge.

Agreed. This is great to see. The language used in the sentencing makes clear his intent. What a complete moron driver who frankly should be banned for driving for life.

JNugent <jnugent@mail.com> wrote:
> On 22/06/2023 05:01 pm, Spike wrote:
>
>> Cyclists never seem to grasp that discretion is the better part of valour
>> (apologies to Shakespeare), but instead must force their point on others.
>> Sometimes it’s just wiser to ride away, or hang back, or apply the brakes,
>> or stop at a pedestrian crossing or traffic light.
>
> [ ... ]
>
> So many of those cycling-chavs feel that they are entitled to far more
> than are other road-users (especially drivers and pedestrians).
>
> But tell them to stay off the footway, or not to disobey traffic lights
> and you take your life in your hands.

Absolutely.

Wasn’t there an elderly man who was beaten to the ground for daring to tell
a cyclist that they shouldn’t be on the pavement? Although I doubt that was
a unique case.

--
Spike

Spike <Aero.Spike@mail.invalid> wrote:
> JNugent <jnugent@mail.com> wrote:
>> On 22/06/2023 05:01 pm, Spike wrote:
>>
>>> Cyclists never seem to grasp that discretion is the better part of valour
>>> (apologies to Shakespeare), but instead must force their point on others.
>>> Sometimes it’s just wiser to ride away, or hang back, or apply the brakes,
>>> or stop at a pedestrian crossing or traffic light.
>>
>> [ ... ]
>>
>> So many of those cycling-chavs feel that they are entitled to far more
>> than are other road-users (especially drivers and pedestrians).
>>
>> But tell them to stay off the footway, or not to disobey traffic lights
>> and you take your life in your hands.
>
> Absolutely.
>
> Wasn’t there an elderly man who was beaten to the ground for daring to tell
> a cyclist that they shouldn’t be on the pavement? Although I doubt that was
> a unique case.

Ah…here it is:

QUOTE

An elderly man has been beaten up by a cyclist in Southampton after telling
him he shouldn't be riding on the pavement.

At around 7pm on Monday (April 25), the 80-year-old victim was walking
along the pavement towards a pedestrian crossing near the junction with
Sherwood Close leading to Southampton Common.

When a cyclist passed very close to him at speed, the man told him he
should be on the road.

The cyclist then pushed the man to the ground and began kicking him before
leaving the scene via Sherwood Close and Pointout Road.

The elderly man suffered cuts and bruising as a result.

Police are now searching for the cyclist who is described as white, aged 30
to 40, between 5ft 10ins and 6ft tall, of a medium build with strawberry
blonde/ ginger hair in a pony tail.

The suspect was wearing a white t-shirt, carrying a backpack and with bags
on the handlebars of his bicycle.

Anyone with dash-cam footage or CCTV of the incident is being asked to
contact Hampshire Police on 101, or report online and quote reference
number 44220161920.

ENDQUOTE

<https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2022-04-27/cyclist-beats-up-elderly-man-in-southampton-after-being-told-to-ride-on-the-road>

--
Spike

Spike <Aero.Spike@mail.invalid> wrote:
> Spike <Aero.Spike@mail.invalid> wrote:
>> JNugent <jnugent@mail.com> wrote:
>>> On 22/06/2023 05:01 pm, Spike wrote:
>>>
>>>> Cyclists never seem to grasp that discretion is the better part of valour
>>>> (apologies to Shakespeare), but instead must force their point on others.
>>>> Sometimes it’s just wiser to ride away, or hang back, or apply the brakes,
>>>> or stop at a pedestrian crossing or traffic light.
>>>
>>> [ ... ]
>>>
>>> So many of those cycling-chavs feel that they are entitled to far more
>>> than are other road-users (especially drivers and pedestrians).
>>>
>>> But tell them to stay off the footway, or not to disobey traffic lights
>>> and you take your life in your hands.
>>
>> Absolutely.
>>
>> Wasn’t there an elderly man who was beaten to the ground for daring to tell
>> a cyclist that they shouldn’t be on the pavement? Although I doubt that was
>> a unique case.
>
> Ah…here it is:
>
> QUOTE
>
> An elderly man has been beaten up by a cyclist in Southampton after telling
> him he shouldn't be riding on the pavement.
>
> At around 7pm on Monday (April 25), the 80-year-old victim was walking
> along the pavement towards a pedestrian crossing near the junction with
> Sherwood Close leading to Southampton Common.
>
> When a cyclist passed very close to him at speed, the man told him he
> should be on the road.
>
> The cyclist then pushed the man to the ground and began kicking him before
> leaving the scene via Sherwood Close and Pointout Road.
>
> The elderly man suffered cuts and bruising as a result.
>
> Police are now searching for the cyclist who is described as white, aged 30
> to 40, between 5ft 10ins and 6ft tall, of a medium build with strawberry
> blonde/ ginger hair in a pony tail.
>
> The suspect was wearing a white t-shirt, carrying a backpack and with bags
> on the handlebars of his bicycle.
>
> Anyone with dash-cam footage or CCTV of the incident is being asked to
> contact Hampshire Police on 101, or report online and quote reference
> number 44220161920.
>
> ENDQUOTE
>
> <https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2022-04-27/cyclist-beats-up-elderly-man-in-southampton-after-being-told-to-ride-on-the-road>

Or it might have been this one:

QUOTE

Ringwood cyclist caught on camera hitting man, 83

Ringwood cyclist caught on camera hitting man, 83

Police have released CCTV footage of a cyclist hitting an 83-year-old man
in the face.

The attack happened at 06:35 BST on 18 October as the man was walking along
Hightown Road in Ringwood.

Hampshire Constabulary said the cyclist brushed past the victim, then
verbally abused him.

The CCTV appears to show him striking the man in the face, which knocks him
to the ground, and then fleeing the scene.

The man was not seriously injured, police said.

The cyclist, who is believed to travel a similar route on a daily basis,
had dark hair shaved at the sides, was wearing a black backpack, and had a
white carrier bag on his bike.

ENDQUOTE

<https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-hampshire-59166890>

--
Spike

IanMSpencer | 1831 posts | 42 min ago
2 likes

So his mitigation was he'd already been involved in another road rage incident...

Sounds like the incompetence paradox - what should make an offence worse is used to excuse it. "In mitigation, it is harder for my client to control his violent rage than most - previous offences are the proof...

On 22/06/2023 07:51 pm, Spike wrote:
> Spike <Aero.Spike@mail.invalid> wrote:
>> JNugent <jnugent@mail.com> wrote:
>>> On 22/06/2023 05:01 pm, Spike wrote:
>>>
>>>> Cyclists never seem to grasp that discretion is the better part of valour
>>>> (apologies to Shakespeare), but instead must force their point on others.
>>>> Sometimes it’s just wiser to ride away, or hang back, or apply the brakes,
>>>> or stop at a pedestrian crossing or traffic light.
>>>
>>> [ ... ]
>>>
>>> So many of those cycling-chavs feel that they are entitled to far more
>>> than are other road-users (especially drivers and pedestrians).
>>>
>>> But tell them to stay off the footway, or not to disobey traffic lights
>>> and you take your life in your hands.
>>
>> Absolutely.
>>
>> Wasn’t there an elderly man who was beaten to the ground for daring to tell
>> a cyclist that they shouldn’t be on the pavement? Although I doubt that was
>> a unique case.
>
> Ah…here it is:
>
> QUOTE
>
> An elderly man has been beaten up by a cyclist in Southampton after telling
> him he shouldn't be riding on the pavement.
>
> At around 7pm on Monday (April 25), the 80-year-old victim was walking
> along the pavement towards a pedestrian crossing near the junction with
> Sherwood Close leading to Southampton Common.
>
> When a cyclist passed very close to him at speed, the man told him he
> should be on the road.
>
> The cyclist then pushed the man to the ground and began kicking him before
> leaving the scene via Sherwood Close and Pointout Road.
>
> The elderly man suffered cuts and bruising as a result.
>
> Police are now searching for the cyclist who is described as white, aged 30
> to 40, between 5ft 10ins and 6ft tall, of a medium build with strawberry
> blonde/ ginger hair in a pony tail.
>
> The suspect was wearing a white t-shirt, carrying a backpack and with bags
> on the handlebars of his bicycle.
>
> Anyone with dash-cam footage or CCTV of the incident is being asked to
> contact Hampshire Police on 101, or report online and quote reference
> number 44220161920.
>
> ENDQUOTE
>
> <https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2022-04-27/cyclist-beats-up-elderly-man-in-southampton-after-being-told-to-ride-on-the-road>

Seen the Plymouth story?

Unbelievable...

JNugent <jnugent@mail.com> wrote:
> On 22/06/2023 07:51 pm, Spike wrote:
>> Spike <Aero.Spike@mail.invalid> wrote:
>>> JNugent <jnugent@mail.com> wrote:
>>>> On 22/06/2023 05:01 pm, Spike wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Cyclists never seem to grasp that discretion is the better part of valour
>>>>> (apologies to Shakespeare), but instead must force their point on others.
>>>>> Sometimes it’s just wiser to ride away, or hang back, or apply the brakes,
>>>>> or stop at a pedestrian crossing or traffic light.
>>>>
>>>> [ ... ]
>>>>
>>>> So many of those cycling-chavs feel that they are entitled to far more
>>>> than are other road-users (especially drivers and pedestrians).
>>>>
>>>> But tell them to stay off the footway, or not to disobey traffic lights
>>>> and you take your life in your hands.
>>>
>>> Absolutely.
>>>
>>> Wasn’t there an elderly man who was beaten to the ground for daring to tell
>>> a cyclist that they shouldn’t be on the pavement? Although I doubt that was
>>> a unique case.
>>
>> Ah…here it is:
>>
>> QUOTE
>>
>> An elderly man has been beaten up by a cyclist in Southampton after telling
>> him he shouldn't be riding on the pavement.
>>
>> At around 7pm on Monday (April 25), the 80-year-old victim was walking
>> along the pavement towards a pedestrian crossing near the junction with
>> Sherwood Close leading to Southampton Common.
>>
>> When a cyclist passed very close to him at speed, the man told him he
>> should be on the road.
>>
>> The cyclist then pushed the man to the ground and began kicking him before
>> leaving the scene via Sherwood Close and Pointout Road.
>>
>> The elderly man suffered cuts and bruising as a result.
>>
>> Police are now searching for the cyclist who is described as white, aged 30
>> to 40, between 5ft 10ins and 6ft tall, of a medium build with strawberry
>> blonde/ ginger hair in a pony tail.
>>
>> The suspect was wearing a white t-shirt, carrying a backpack and with bags
>> on the handlebars of his bicycle.
>>
>> Anyone with dash-cam footage or CCTV of the incident is being asked to
>> contact Hampshire Police on 101, or report online and quote reference
>> number 44220161920.
>>
>> ENDQUOTE
>>
>> <https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2022-04-27/cyclist-beats-up-elderly-man-in-southampton-after-being-told-to-ride-on-the-road>
>
> Seen the Plymouth story?
>
> Unbelievable...

It’s just standard stuff for the cycling world:

Blame…blame everyone…blame everyone bar themselves.

Given them an inch, they’ll take a mile, etc, etc.

And they don’t mind hiding behind the halt and the lame, either.

--
Spike

espressodan | 88 posts | 8 hours ago
3 likes

"he was only trying to scare Caseby... another cyclist had left a dent after punching the vehicle during a confrontation five weeks earlier. He claimed as a result of hitting Caseby he now suffers from anxiety and depression and is being assessed for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"another cyclist had left a dent after punching the vehicle"

And now in our story on things that never happened...