Jack William Hopkins, aged 29 and of Tugela Road, Chippenham, Wiltshire, appeared at Shrewsbury Crown Court to be sentenced after admitting two charges: one of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, and one of driving with excess levels of a controlled drug.

The court, sitting at Telford Magistrates Court, was told that the victim, Richard Smith, had been driving a Mercedes van southbound on the A49 near Woofferton at the time of the incident, at around 1.15pm on August 12 last year.

Prosecutor Mr Philip Beardwell said that as Mr Smith came round a corner, Hopkins's van, travelling in the opposite direction, was in the oncoming lane.

The vehicles crashed with Mr Smith initially trapped by his leg and the steering wheel.

The court was told that with the vehicle smoking and with fear it was about to burst into flames, Mr Smith managed to wrestle himself free, and was then helped from the Mercedes by members of the public who had stopped to help.

Mr Beardwell said the victim had been flown to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital by air ambulance where he was treated for numerous injuries, including fractures to his hands, ribs and left leg, along with torn cruciate ligaments and a number of cuts.

He was in hospital for six days and had, as of March this year, been unable to return to work for eight months.

The court was told that the injuries had changed his life, leaving him nervous in vehicles, and unable to carry out a number of activities he would have previously.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/crime/2023/12/20/man-spared-jail-after-leaving-sainsburys-delivery-driver-with-serious-injuries-in-head-on-crash/

On 20/12/2023 11:59 am, Simon Mason wrote...

....nothing which was anything relevant to uk.rec.cycling.

QUOTE: The court was told that the injuries had changed his life, leaving him nervous in vehicles. ENDS

Don't the cyclist haters say that the innocent victims of car collisions should keep off the roads if they are nervous of traffic after they get hit?

JNugent <jnugent@mail.com> wrote:
> On 20/12/2023 11:59 am, Simon Mason wrote...

> ...nothing which was anything relevant to uk.rec.cycling.

Don’t worry about Mason’s trolling, as he’s only got to the 22nd of
February next. After that he’s either off-the-air, or has a different
Usenet server, which will doubtless have a contact address for reporting
abuse.

--
Spike

From the same page: OVER EIGHT MILLION QUID from pavement parking fines - surely some mistake?

QUOTE: Councils in London collected nearly £8.5 million through pavement parking fines in the 12 months up to November this year.

New research by Autocar found that 22 London councils generated a total of £8,442,068 from Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) issued to drivers who had parked on the pavement. However, the research also found that of the 167,066 PCNs issued, only 111,495 had been paid meaning that close to a third of the charges had yet to be resolved.

Parking contravention code 62 – or rule 244 in the Highway Code – prohibits vehicles from being parked with one or more wheels on the pavement. Earlier this month, the Scottish government introduced a new law banning pavement parking with drivers slapped with a £100 fine if they were found to be flouting the rules.

However, in London, it was the borough of Newham which proved to be a flashpoint for pavement parking fines with more than 21,000 PCNs issued in this area alone. Despite a high proportion of unpaid fines, Newham earned £936,391 during the same period.

Mark Tisshaw, Autocar editor, said: “Scotland is following London’s lead by clamping down on pavement parking, which can have serious consequences for pedestrians – especially those with reduced mobility. Drivers across the country – in both rural and urban areas – need to understand the rules to avoid being fined.”

By law, any profit made from parking penalties must be used to fund off-street parking, help public transport services or highway maintenance. ENDS