I don't understand this

[bigjim]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2511334/Author-killed-cycled-country-road-female-driver-dazzled-winter-sun.html
Miss Jones cautioned?

[meic]

Well she couldnt see him, her view was obscured, not her fault.
Even if it was because she put her hand over her eyes.

[661-Pete]

Most cars have sun flaps, don't they?

[gaz]

I wouldn't have expected any different an outcome from our legal system. I can't understand it either.

[Vorpal]

So sad. RIP Mr. Blore.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Well I will remember that line when I crash in the mist, my headlights were dazzaling me
Sad ............

[ArMoRothair]

The report in the Daily Wail is at pains to point out he wasn't wearing a helmet; obviously all his fault then.

[Postboxer]

The photo shows a very straight road, if that is actually the correct location, either the sun was in her face the whole time, so she should have been going slower, or it was sometimes in her face and sometimes not, in which case she should have noticed the cyclist ahead on the straight road. Seems to be pretty inexcusable.

[flat tyre]

I really don't understand the findings either. Surely, if you can't see where you're going you are supposed to slow down or even stop.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

I really don't understand the findings either. Surely, if you can't see where you're going you are supposed to slow down or even stop.

You would think so would'nt you

I must be loosing my marbles If you said that, what would the defence reply be .............Oh no charges so nothing to answer.....job done ....................

[thirdcrank]

I'm hardly up-to-date over cautioning policy, but two things have always been required ie there must be sufficient evidence to prove the offence,and the suspect must freely admit it. As I used to explain to people to whom I was administering a formal caution, it's an official form of disposal of a case as an alternative to prosecution, when it's felt that a prosecution is unnecessary or inappropriate.

Obviously, there are various reasons for administering a caution but when there's been a death, anything to do with the minor nature of the case must surely be ruled out. That only leaves things peculiar to the suspect. Plucking an example from fresh air, I think if somebody were to be terminally ill with cancer, a prosecution might be inappropriate.

I've known the CPS to take what I can only describe as a flexible approach to the cautioning policy requirements, but in a case such as this, if they thought that a jury would be unlikely to convict, then I should have thought that "no action" on the grounds of insufficient evidence would be the correct - but regrettable - course.

In short, I don't really understand it either.

I presume that either, the reason for the caution was not disclosed to the inquest, which seems unlikely because I'd have expected at least some report of protests from next-of-kin etc., or else there's been some sort of gagging order. I see that the linked report in the DM says they are not accepting comments for legal reasons.

[jonbott]

very sad incident

[reohn2]

Thread title:- I don't understand this
Nor me

[iviehoff]

There is precedent from an earlier case where a driver was dazzled by low sun and drove over a cyclist, and it went to full trial and the driver being acquitted. So in view of that, I think the police are limited in what they can do in this situation until someone rewrites the law.

Police cautioned Ms Jones, but brought no charges.

A caution means that the accused accepts they are guilty of an offence, but no sentence is applied. This goes onto your criminal record. It is not clear for what offense they were cautioned, it ought to be causing death by careless driving. Given that CDbCD doesn't usually merit a custodial sentence, maybe the police felt it was better to get a caution accepted rather than proceed with a case where there was a risk of an acquittal. But being the Daily Mail, it is possible that they used the word "caution" to mean "the policeman told him not to do it again".