A cyclist who was seriously injured when he was struck by a motorist, who pulled sharply across the road without looking “to speak with her daughter on the phone”, has criticised the decision to send her on a driver awareness course – a punishment he described as a “slap on the wrist” – after Warwickshire Police concluded that “a fine and penalty points will not do anything to correct poor driving habits”.

Paul Barfoot was riding on Kenilworth’s Priory Road in July when he was hit by a driver who pulled across the road and into his path, leaving him with ankle, foot, and shoulder injuries, as well as a broken bike,
Following the incident, the Traffic Process Unit at Warwickshire Police told Mr Barfoot that officers had concluded that the motorist was “sufficiently blameworthy to justify further police action”.

However, in a letter sent to the cyclist, Warwickshire Police confirmed that the motorist would not face a fine or any penalty points, but instead be made to attend a driver awareness course.

The letter said: “While there is sufficient evidence in this case to justify a prosecution, there is no provision in law for a Magistrate to order such retraining and the imposition of a fine and penalty points will not do anything to correct poor driving habits.”

Speaking to Warwickshire World, the cyclist criticised the motorist’s “inadequate” punishment, noting that he is still recovering from the injuries “caused by this careless driving”.

“The driver told me the reason they quickly pulled from one side of the road to the other – in front of my path without looking – was to speak with her daughter on the phone,” he said.

“I suffered serious injuries which I am still recovering from. For several weeks I was unable to walk properly or climb the stairs. I had my arm in a sling. My foot and ankle swelled, my elbow and ankle badly sprained, not to mention the muscle and tissue damage I suffered.

He continued: “I still have issues with my ankle, elbow, and cannot lift my arm above my shoulder, not to mention the anxiety I get when I travel on any road now.

“I am having to pay for private consultants, MRIs, and am under a physio to try and recover from the injuries caused by this careless driving.

“Since the incident, I have had to spend hours submitting reams of information to my home insurance in order to claim for my £10,000 bike which was written off. I am still waiting for the bike insurance money to be paid – and all she gets is a slap on the wrist.”

Mr Barfoot also claimed that he had to “push the police to investigate the accident to the extent they did, with me getting tearful several times with the traffic officer explaining how it had impacted my life.

“I spoke to the sergeant involved in making the decision and told him I was very unhappy with the outcome.”

Responding to the cyclist’s criticism, a spokesperson for Warwickshire Police said: “Following direction from officers, the driver has agreed to do a safety course as a result of this incident, which is due to take place in October.

“At the moment, until that course has been completed, this incident is still technically under investigation for driving without due care and attention (as, for example, if the driver didn’t turn up for the course, they could find themselves in court, so this is still being treated as an active case).

“We feel that the result of this case was proportionate given the circumstances.”

Earlier this year, police in Scotland also came in for criticism from a cyclist, who blasted their “appalling” inaction that enabled a motorist to escape punishment for an alleged hit-and-run, which the rider claims left him with a broken bike and “unable to sit down for a week”.

Cyclist Alan Myles toad road.cc in February that, despite contacting East Dunbartonshire Police around 30 times in relation to the incident, he only received two responses – with one officer even taking over six months to reply to an email containing the crash footage.

Myles also claimed that those investigating the apparent collision failed to contact two witnesses, and that an officer told him that, due to the lengthy delay in tracking down the motorist, the offence had been downgraded from dangerous to careless driving because “the driver couldn’t remember the incident”.

The cyclist added that he only discovered that the case had been thrown out after contacting the Procurator Fiscal, who dismissed the police’s report as time-barred – over a year after the alleged hit-and-run took place.

https://road.cc/content/news/penalty-points-wont-correct-poor-driving-habits-say-police-304119

On 27/09/2023 10:32, Simon Mason wrote:
> A cyclist who was seriously injured when he was struck by a motorist, who pulled sharply across the road without looking “to speak with her daughter on the phone”, has criticised the decision to send her on a driver awareness course – a punishment he described as a “slap on the wrist” – after Warwickshire Police concluded that “a fine and penalty points will not do anything to correct poor driving habits”.

What's it got to do with him?

In alternative cases, your argument is thatwhatever the court decides
has to be treated as gospel.
>
> Paul Barfoot was riding on Kenilworth’s Priory Road in July when he was hit by a driver who pulled across the road and into his path, leaving him with ankle, foot, and shoulder injuries, as well as a broken bike,
> Following the incident, the Traffic Process Unit at Warwickshire Police told Mr Barfoot that officers had concluded that the motorist was “sufficiently blameworthy to justify further police action”.
>
> However, in a letter sent to the cyclist, Warwickshire Police confirmed that the motorist would not face a fine or any penalty points, but instead be made to attend a driver awareness course.
>
> The letter said: “While there is sufficient evidence in this case to justify a prosecution, there is no provision in law for a Magistrate to order such retraining and the imposition of a fine and penalty points will not do anything to correct poor driving habits.”
>
> Speaking to Warwickshire World, the cyclist criticised the motorist’s “inadequate” punishment, noting that he is still recovering from the injuries “caused by this careless driving”.
>
> “The driver told me the reason they quickly pulled from one side of the road to the other – in front of my path without looking – was to speak with her daughter on the phone,” he said.
>
> “I suffered serious injuries which I am still recovering from. For several weeks I was unable to walk properly or climb the stairs. I had my arm in a sling. My foot and ankle swelled, my elbow and ankle badly sprained, not to mention the muscle and tissue damage I suffered.
>
> He continued: “I still have issues with my ankle, elbow, and cannot lift my arm above my shoulder, not to mention the anxiety I get when I travel on any road now.
>
> “I am having to pay for private consultants, MRIs, and am under a physio to try and recover from the injuries caused by this careless driving.
>
> “Since the incident, I have had to spend hours submitting reams of information to my home insurance in order to claim for my £10,000 bike which was written off. I am still waiting for the bike insurance money to be paid – and all she gets is a slap on the wrist.”
>
> Mr Barfoot also claimed that he had to “push the police to investigate the accident to the extent they did, with me getting tearful several times with the traffic officer explaining how it had impacted my life.
>
> “I spoke to the sergeant involved in making the decision and told him I was very unhappy with the outcome.”
>
> Responding to the cyclist’s criticism, a spokesperson for Warwickshire Police said: “Following direction from officers, the driver has agreed to do a safety course as a result of this incident, which is due to take place in October.
>
> “At the moment, until that course has been completed, this incident is still technically under investigation for driving without due care and attention (as, for example, if the driver didn’t turn up for the course, they could find themselves in court, so this is still being treated as an active case).
>
> “We feel that the result of this case was proportionate given the circumstances.”
>
> Earlier this year, police in Scotland also came in for criticism from a cyclist, who blasted their “appalling” inaction that enabled a motorist to escape punishment for an alleged hit-and-run, which the rider claims left him with a broken bike and “unable to sit down for a week”.
>
> Cyclist Alan Myles toad road.cc in February that, despite contacting East Dunbartonshire Police around 30 times in relation to the incident, he only received two responses – with one officer even taking over six months to reply to an email containing the crash footage.
>
> Myles also claimed that those investigating the apparent collision failed to contact two witnesses, and that an officer told him that, due to the lengthy delay in tracking down the motorist, the offence had been downgraded from dangerous to careless driving because “the driver couldn’t remember the incident”.
>
> The cyclist added that he only discovered that the case had been thrown out after contacting the Procurator Fiscal, who dismissed the police’s report as time-barred – over a year after the alleged hit-and-run took place.
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/penalty-points-wont-correct-poor-driving-habits-say-police-304119
>

Really, really appalling policing.

These ignorant policemen are very concerning.

In this case they have denied the victim the opportunity of Court ordered compensation for injury and damage. Where careless driving has caused injury or cost, Magistrates are required to explain their reasons when they do not order compensation.

This police officer seems not to be aware that Magistrates Courts have a power to order a driving ban in relation to careless driving separate from points etc, under "ancillary orders" and the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, and Section 163 of the Sentencing Act 2020.

I think we need an automatic extended test for totters before they get their licences back.

In law we are missing a "causing ABH by careless driving" offence. We have "causing serious injury.." which corresponds to GBH, but that roughly starts with broken bones. This was less but caused weeks off work.

I hope the victim takes the perp through the civil courts.

Robert Hardy | 156 posts | 7 hours ago
5 likes

If you hit a vulnerable road user with a vehicle at any speed that is sufficient to cause injury that is dangerous, if your lack of care caused that situation then by definition you have driven dangerously and the law needs to be toughened up to reflect the fact.

JNugent <jennings&co@mail.com> wrote:
> On 27/09/2023 10:32, Simon Mason wrote:

>> A cyclist who was seriously injured when he was struck by a motorist,
>> who pulled sharply across the road without looking “to speak with her
>> daughter on the phone”, has criticised the decision to send her on a
>> driver awareness course – a punishment he described as a “slap on the
>> wrist” – after Warwickshire Police concluded that “a fine and penalty
>> points will not do anything to correct poor driving habits”.

> What's it got to do with him?

> In alternative cases, your argument is that whatever the court decides
> has to be treated as gospel.

It’s a facet of Mal de Discours Syndrome (MdDS) which is recognised by the
unwavering support given to the legal system when cyclists ‘win’, and the
severe denigration of the same when cyclists don’t ‘win’. It is
characterised by extreme variability of what constitutes a ‘win’ or
otherwise, and a total lack of any form of real-world logic.

>> https://road.cc/content/news/penalty-points-wont-correct-poor-driving-habits-say-police-304119

--
Spike

Simon Mason <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> Robert Hardy | 156 posts | 7 hours ago
> 5 likes
>
> If you hit a vulnerable road user with a vehicle at any speed that is
> sufficient to cause injury that is dangerous, if your lack of care caused
> that situation then by definition you have driven dangerously and the law
> needs to be toughened up to reflect the fact.

Lobby your MP…

--
Spike

So, “a fine and penalty points will not do anything to correct poor driving habits”.

A driver being hit in the pockets twice (directly from the fine and indirectly, presumably through increased insurance premium due to points) won't make them think about their driving habits?

I'd argue that anything that involves being distracted by one's 'phone (whether actively using it or - in this case - reacting to it) whilst driving should result in a default points / fine regardless.
=================Presumably it was an incoming call, and she looked at the screen long enough to be able to read the ID of the incoming call.

I saw one driver on their phone today, the phone at their right ear making it very easy for others to observe, and two others using phones at traffic lights. All within 5 minutes. Drink driving has become socially unacceptable, why not phone use?

On 28/09/2023 13:22, Simon Mason wrote:
> So, “a fine and penalty points will not do anything to correct poor driving habits”.
>
> A driver being hit in the pockets twice (directly from the fine and indirectly, presumably through increased insurance premium due to points) won't make them think about their driving habits?
>
> I'd argue that anything that involves being distracted by one's 'phone (whether actively using it or - in this case - reacting to it) whilst driving should result in a default points / fine regardless.
> ==================
> Presumably it was an incoming call, and she looked at the screen long enough to be able to read the ID of the incoming call.
>
> I saw one driver on their phone today, the phone at their right ear making it very easy for others to observe, and two others using phones at traffic lights. All within 5 minutes. Drink driving has become socially unacceptable, why not phone use?

Has drunk chav-cycle riding (of which you used to regularly boast of
here) yet become socially unacceptable?

On the one hand a driver training course will cost more and have more impact than the standard 3 points and fine. (as well as costing half a day). If I picked up a speeding offence with no other points on my licence I would just take the points, rather than pay more and lose a ha;f day of leave to take the course. But If I already had points then the course would be preferable to keep insurance down.

On the other hand the points system is there to enable dangerous drivers who will not mend their ways to be taken off the roads, in which case giving points clearly does have an impact, because while some drivers will not improve, they will no longer be on the roads, which is still a win.

Maybe the police, tired at seeing "exceptional hardship" result in dangerous drivers being left on the roads, despite 12 points or more, feel that driver training courses are the most succesful tactic in improving road safety..

So really I'm not sure whether I am outraged by this or not. If only points AND training course were an option.