BMW driver walks free from court after deliberately running over cyclist

[thelawnet]

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/p ... st-2523473

Nigel Hall, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Princess Yachts carpenter Mr Stevenson was cycling home from the Coypool site.

He added that Nodder was driving his BMW in the opposite direction and came towards him in the middle of the narrow road.

Mr Hall said: “The defendant had his head down and was not looking where he was going.”

The barrister added that Mr Stevenson remonstrated with the driver to get him back on his side of the lane.

He added that a short time later Mr Stevenson was knocked from his bike by an impact from behind.

He added that the bike, a high-end machine worth £5,000, was fitted with a GPS machine which showed its speed going from 22.7mph down to zero at the moment of impact.

Mr Hall said that Nodder had a previous conviction and a road ban for driving without due care and attention in 2014.

Michael Green, for Nodder, said his client suffered from learning difficulties, anxiety disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He added that Nodder had suffered a breakdown several years ago.

The judge said "There is no doubt at all that you suffer particular difficulties which would make a prison sentence particularly difficult for you."

To which the obvious answer is 'you should have thought have that before you deliberately run somebody over.

https://www.facebook.com/Mega.Paul

[esuhl]

Wow. Attack someone with a knife, and you'd get several years behind bars. Attack them with a ton of metal, and you get a slap on the wrist.

The most worrying thing, though, is the length of the ban... 18 months?! That's totally unacceptable.

What are the chances that, in 2 years time, he'll be driving just as dangerously as he always did. having learnt nothing at all?

[Oldjohnw]

Not sure what it has to do with BMW. A Ford in the wrong hands is also lethal.

[Cunobelin]

Unfortunately there are rules about custodial sentences, so there was probably no choice for the Judge in that matter, also often the driving ban is limited

He has had his car confiscated as well, which will hit him financially

My read on this is totally different.

The question we should be asking is how a person with a medical history like this was driving in the first place, and what can be done to prevent him getting back behind the wheel

[profpointy]

Why the f is this remotely considered a driving offence rather than at theserious end of assault. You'd get a stiffer sentence for even carrying a knife never mind stabbingg someo r

[kwackers]

Whilst the guy didn't knock me off I once had an incident where a BMW driver tried to go through a pinch point I was using (I had precedence) forcing me to the kerb.
Despite being in the wrong he then turned round and pulled alongside me to inform me what he intended to do with the bike.

Fortunately I caught it all on video but unfortunately because there was no actual contact the police were so uninterested I didn't even get a reply from my complaint.

(Looking at that video, the quality is appalling! Bike cameras have moved on somewhat.)

[pwa]

It sounds as though the guilty person has a condition that renders him not responsible for his actions. So I don't feel that incarcerating him is an answer. But the real question for me is whether he will ever be fit to drive. Won't he always be a danger to himself and those around him?

[squeaker]

The question we should be asking is how a person with a medical history like this was driving in the first place, and what can be done to prevent him getting back behind the wheel

Quite!

[reohn2]

The question we should be asking is how a person with a medical history like this was driving in the first place, and what can be done to prevent him getting back behind the wheel

Quite!

+1
Incredible that he'll be allowed back on the road in 18months with no need to prove he can drive safely and within the law after serving two driving bans and and admitted mental health issues that seem to have a bearing on the offence.
Unbelievable!

[ChrisButch]

I've noticed that judges in such cases, as in this one, now frequently use the phrase 'vulnerable road user' when sentencing. It seems to crop up too many times to be coincidental. Something new in the sentencing guidelines, perhaps?

[fastpedaller]

It sounds as though the guilty person has a condition that renders him not responsible for his actions. So I don't feel that incarcerating him is an answer. But the real question for me is whether he will ever be fit to drive. Won't he always be a danger to himself and those around him?

My Daughter is currently working in a mental health centre, where the patients are offenders and some have learning difficulties. It seems that some will never be returned to society, and are kept there for the safety of themselves or others. If the offending BMW driver is likewise suffering from a similar condition (even to a lesser extent) he has proved (by his actions) that he shouldn't be allowed to drive. His act was attempted murder, and the sentencing should reflect that and prevent as much as possible a repeat of the same. I wonder what the outcome would have been if the victim had (if able) retaliated by physically assaulting the assailant? I suspect he would have been jailed, but the man deliberately using his car as a weapon isn't treated thus. Further words fail me

[De Sisti]

Can't understand what the make of car the driver was in has to do with this.

[kwackers]

Can't understand what the make of car the driver was in has to do with this.

It's much easier to feel a sense of entitlement in a 'posh' car than it is in a ten year old Fiesta.

Why not collect the numbers? There's some interesting data analysis to be done here.
Suppose it turns out that 'posh' cars are really involved in more incidents like these than they should be, what then?

Be nice to think that entitlement had nothing to do with the vehicle owners perception of the vehicle they were driving but if it were true then it would be at odds with every study that looked at social status and how we perceive it, what drives it etc.
We're ape derived social animals, our view of ourselves in the social hierarchy, the groups we belong to, how we view the out groups etc is massively important to us and affects everything we do and think.

Of course we're pretty good at self deception too. You'd be hard pushed to find anyone who admits to such stuff but then such behaviour is often under our own radar.

[pete75]

Can't understand what the make of car the driver was in has to do with this.

It's much easier to feel a sense of entitlement in a 'posh' car than it is in a ten year old Fiesta.

Why not collect the numbers? There's some interesting data analysis to be done here.
Suppose it turns out that 'posh' cars are really involved in more incidents like these than they should be, what then?

Be nice to think that entitlement had nothing to do with the vehicle owners perception of the vehicle they were driving but if it were true then it would be at odds with every study that looked at social status and how we perceive it, what drives it etc.
We're ape derived social animals, our view of ourselves in the social hierarchy, the groups we belong to, how we view the out groups etc is massively important to us and affects everything we do and think.

Of course we're pretty good at self deception too. You'd be hard pushed to find anyone who admits to such stuff but then such behaviour is often under our own radar.

I wonder how old the BMW involved was. EVerything written about the driver suggest fairly low income and there are lots of banger priced BMW cars for sale.

[kwackers]

I wonder how old the BMW involved was. EVerything written about the driver suggest fairly low income and there are lots of banger priced BMW cars for sale.

My limited experience of people watching suggests it's not the value, merely the perceived value.
For some the badge is all that's needed.