Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

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thelawnet
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Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

Post by thelawnet »

https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey ... a-16044345

The roundabout in question

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.37996 ... 384!8i8192

It's a fairly nasty one as St Peter's Way is a 50mph dual carriageway off the M25 but most people do more, and the police do put camera vans there sometimes to catch the inevitable speeding at 70mph+.

It doesn't seem much of a punishment, as there's a £160 PCN due for overstaying your parking meter for 2 minutes or whatever.
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Very similar sounding to my collision on the A45...
I wasn’t wearing a magic hat though, so didn’t suffer massive injury - or maybe it was that I was in a ‘bent, or just dumb luck...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
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pwa
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Re: Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

Post by pwa »

If I were in the position of the guilty party, the police officer, I would see the fine as a trivial matter and be much more concerned about the seven points. And more concerned again about the proposed disciplinary proceedings. Add to that any shame, embarrassment, or remorse (we don't know), and we can say with confidence that he will not have got off lightly when this all plays out.

But it is disappointing to say the least that a police officer working with traffic is so dangerous behind the wheel.
atlas_shrugged
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Re: Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

Post by atlas_shrugged »

There should be much more encouragement of traffic police to travel to work using active travel means. Ditto for magistrates and judges who try motoring cases. For too long we have seen special free car parks in town centres being available to civil servants when the rest of the working population have to scrounge for limited metered parking spaces.

The target should be to have civil servants being early adopters of active travel targets.

The benefit of this policy would be that the police / magistrates / judges would have much more sympathy for cyclists and walkers subjected to bad and dangerous driving.
londoncommuter0000
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Re: Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

Post by londoncommuter0000 »

thelawnet wrote:https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/motorist-who-left-cyclist-coma-16044345


Surprised the cyclist didn't get nicked for assaulting a police officer.
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Lance Dopestrong
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Re: Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

Post by Lance Dopestrong »

Blame the HR departments that keep giving police officer jobs to people of questionable judgement, behaviour and character.
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Bonefishblues
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Re: Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

Post by Bonefishblues »

Lance Dopestrong wrote:Blame the HR departments that keep giving police officer jobs to people of questionable judgement, behaviour and character.

Yes, let's do this. After all, we all know it's HR which has the decision making responsibility for hiring. It must be easy to identify someone who will make a driving error like this a number of years into their employment. Fools, all of them.
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Lance Dopestrong
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Re: Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

Post by Lance Dopestrong »

It was not an error. It was a result of inappropriate driving behaviour and technique.

And he's far from the only one...
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Bonefishblues
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Re: Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

Post by Bonefishblues »

Lance Dopestrong wrote:It was not an error. It was a result of inappropriate driving behaviour and technique.

And he's far from the only one...

So we find someone to blame, yes. I know, not his managers, colleagues, or others, let's simply put the tab on HR. That's going to help, for sure, you've gone straight to the nub of the issue.
Tangled Metal
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Re: Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

Post by Tangled Metal »

If driving is a key part of the police officer's job I'm certain they get such motoring convictions noted and indeed discipline applied through the job even if it was not work related (on the job). If they're on the job I know they get disciplined.

I know of a high speed pursuit vehicle driver who was bricking it following a collision with a mate that left them unable to work for about 4 weeks. Totally the police officer's fault and totally desperate to avoid a second "letter" on his file I think my mate told me the officer said. Secondhand I know but if an officer is actively trying to get his victim to lie about what happened, I guess there's more than a little jeopardy for the police driver.

BTW how can you tell of a motoring accident was a momentary error or not? There's some definites being posted here and I doubt the reports of this case give enough for them. Not read them so I'm taking the view that there's no definites over what the driver was thinking, looking at, whether it was a mistake or not.

BTW how is the cyclist? Is he /she recovering from injuries?
Bonefishblues
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Re: Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

Post by Bonefishblues »

Tangled Metal wrote:If driving is a key part of the police officer's job I'm certain they get such motoring convictions noted and indeed discipline applied through the job even if it was not work related (on the job). If they're on the job I know they get disciplined.

I know of a high speed pursuit vehicle driver who was bricking it following a collision with a mate that left them unable to work for about 4 weeks. Totally the police officer's fault and totally desperate to avoid a second "letter" on his file I think my mate told me the officer said. Secondhand I know but if an officer is actively trying to get his victim to lie about what happened, I guess there's more than a little jeopardy for the police driver.

BTW how can you tell of a motoring accident was a momentary error or not? There's some definites being posted here and I doubt the reports of this case give enough for them. Not read them so I'm taking the view that there's no definites over what the driver was thinking, looking at, whether it was a mistake or not.

BTW how is the cyclist? Is he /she recovering from injuries?

Never mind the cyclist, they have been forgotten in the rush to conclusions drawn from little or no evidence, as is often the case. See also the BMW cutting a junction and hitting the cyclist, and many more.
Tangled Metal
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Re: Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

Post by Tangled Metal »

Bonefishblues wrote:
Tangled Metal wrote:If driving is a key part of the police officer's job I'm certain they get such motoring convictions noted and indeed discipline applied through the job even if it was not work related (on the job). If they're on the job I know they get disciplined.

I know of a high speed pursuit vehicle driver who was bricking it following a collision with a mate that left them unable to work for about 4 weeks. Totally the police officer's fault and totally desperate to avoid a second "letter" on his file I think my mate told me the officer said. Secondhand I know but if an officer is actively trying to get his victim to lie about what happened, I guess there's more than a little jeopardy for the police driver.

BTW how can you tell of a motoring accident was a momentary error or not? There's some definites being posted here and I doubt the reports of this case give enough for them. Not read them so I'm taking the view that there's no definites over what the driver was thinking, looking at, whether it was a mistake or not.

BTW how is the cyclist? Is he /she recovering from injuries?

Never mind the cyclist, they have been forgotten in the rush to conclusions drawn from little or no evidence, as is often the case. See also the BMW cutting a junction and hitting the cyclist, and many more.

That's why I asked about the cyclist. Forgotten about the cyclist?
Bonefishblues
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Re: Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

Post by Bonefishblues »

Tangled Metal wrote:
Bonefishblues wrote:
Tangled Metal wrote:If driving is a key part of the police officer's job I'm certain they get such motoring convictions noted and indeed discipline applied through the job even if it was not work related (on the job). If they're on the job I know they get disciplined.

I know of a high speed pursuit vehicle driver who was bricking it following a collision with a mate that left them unable to work for about 4 weeks. Totally the police officer's fault and totally desperate to avoid a second "letter" on his file I think my mate told me the officer said. Secondhand I know but if an officer is actively trying to get his victim to lie about what happened, I guess there's more than a little jeopardy for the police driver.

BTW how can you tell of a motoring accident was a momentary error or not? There's some definites being posted here and I doubt the reports of this case give enough for them. Not read them so I'm taking the view that there's no definites over what the driver was thinking, looking at, whether it was a mistake or not.

BTW how is the cyclist? Is he /she recovering from injuries?

Never mind the cyclist, they have been forgotten in the rush to conclusions drawn from little or no evidence, as is often the case. See also the BMW cutting a junction and hitting the cyclist, and many more.

That's why I asked about the cyclist. Forgotten about the cyclist?

There was a cyclist? :lol:
Tangled Metal
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Re: Traffic cop fined £485 after pleading guilty to careless driving after putting cyclist in coma

Post by Tangled Metal »

Don't know, I didn't see one if there was.

If you have just hit me or close passed me such that SMIDSY APPLIES, then I'm sorry but you're not my mate. Surely it should be SIDSY?
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