Does saying "sorry" help?

[mattheus]

Please do not quote me as evidence of something when it is abundantly apparent that was not what I was saying. You know - if you read the words like "He should have stopped..." that tends to indicate that my view is that he should have stopped.

Yes but your ther text.....
So do you think saying sorry makes it OK?

Read my post. That is what I mean.

Life exists in shades of grey, some things are no susceptible to binary Yes/No answers...

Well exactly.
M(r) Squares seems to be picking a fight with his binary views of the world. Does he think he's Paxman??

[Jdsk]

Life exists in shades of grey, some things are no susceptible to binary Yes/No answers...

Did I miss anything?

I was called away but I've now finished beating my wife. ; - )

Jonathan

[Antbrewer]

Quote ''Some hypocrisy going on from certain posters on this thread.
If it had been a car/motorbike/HGV/van/bus driver he would have been vilified on here but it's OK because he's a 'cyclist'?
No.
It doesn't work like that.'' unquote
Totally agree..

[Tangled Metal]

Writing an apology is a first step I think Bonefish said after his straight forward statement about the cyclist should have stopped. It is that first step comment I have a problem with. First step was staying on scene. Apology is not a step I see as worth much some time after you've left the scene of an accident involving you and another person who has had serious injuries resulting in stitches to the grave.

I have the uneasy feeling that you could interpret that as a kind of sympathy for the cyclist that shouldn't be warranted. I know BF is a more reasoned and reasonable person to excuse even slightly a person because they're a cyclist. I'm not sure I think the same as a few other posters on here.

My first reply was a tad sensitive to the annoyance I feel when I get the impression posters might be heading to or have arrived at being an apologist to poor example of a human being because they are a cyclist.

[Tangled Metal]

If you will indulge me I think Iwill state what we do know from that one bbc article.

21 year old cyclist hits a young child
It happened on a pedestrianised street, photo shown on the BBC page of the street that looks pedestrianised.
It happened on 1st May
The article reporting that the police had reported that the cyclist had handed himself was from a day ago on 21st June. Does that mean it took him over a month to get a conscience and report himself/apologise?

Is this correct summary?

[Tiggertoo]

Poor moral conduct by the cyclist for not stopping immediately to render aid to the child and accepting the consequences of his irresponsible cycling behaviour. All the rest was just covering his backside.

[PH]

If you will indulge me I think Iwill state what we do know from that one bbc article.

21 year old cyclist hits a young child
It happened on a pedestrianised street, photo shown on the BBC page of the street that looks pedestrianised.
It happened on 1st May
The article reporting that the police had reported that the cyclist had handed himself was from a day ago on 21st June. Does that mean it took him over a month to get a conscience and report himself/apologise?

Is this correct summary?

I think that's mostly right, it omits that before he handed himself in the police had issued an appeal with a pretty clear photo of a cyclist they wanted in interview.

[reohn2]

If you will indulge me I think Iwill state what we do know from that one bbc article.

21 year old cyclist hits a young child
It happened on a pedestrianised street, photo shown on the BBC page of the street that looks pedestrianised.
It happened on 1st May
The article reporting that the police had reported that the cyclist had handed himself was from a day ago on 21st June. Does that mean it took him over a month to get a conscience and report himself/apologise?

Is this correct summary?

I think that's mostly right, it omits that before he handed himself in the police had issued an appeal with a pretty clear photo of a cyclist they wanted in interview.

Nuff said.
Seems as if someone thought they'd got away with it,until they thought they hadn't.

[Tangled Metal]

The pedestrianised street bit is significant I think. Leaving the scene of an accident is one thing you don't do but IMHO cycling on pedestrianised street is also a big thing that you shouldn't do as well. I just think you can't give him the benefit of the doubt about anything when you put together even what little we do know.

I wonder just how bad a cyclist's behaviour has to be to be completely indefensible by all? I don't think this guy is there but he's closer to that end I reckon.

[pwa]

Seem to think it's OK to leave but then say sorry.

I don't read any of those as saying that leaving the scene was OK. I see people saying that they don't know what happened, and speculating about the reason why he did.

And I read Tangled Metal's as saying that it wasn't OK.

Jonathan

Yes which is why he isn't quoted as he and R2 seem to be the only ones who don't think it's OK

The question I posed was does saying "sorry" help. I didn't ask whether it made things completely okay, and neither I nor anyone else thinks it does. The comparison is with doing something wrong and not saying sorry.

I now have further information, which is that the delivery cyclist had been caught on camera and an image had been released by the police. So his motive for turning himself in was (as TM anticipated) probably just a damage limitation exercise, and his written apology could be seen in the same way. Which makes it worth less.

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wale ... y-24246589

Of course it is still possible, if unlikely, that the cyclist did feel some remorse when he found out that the young lad needed treatment for cuts. But if I were the lad's dad I would probably tend to think the apology was cynical rather than sincere.

The pedestrianised shopping centre of Cardiff is a place where I have felt, in the past, that some delivery cyclists weave between pedestrians with insufficient care, so the fact that the incident happened doesn't surprise me at all. It is the proverbial accident that was waiting to happen.

[PedallingSquares]

Poor moral conduct by the cyclist for not stopping immediately to render aid to the child and accepting the consequences of his irresponsible cycling behaviour. All the rest was just covering his backside.

My thoughts exactly from reading post #1.

[PH]

The pedestrianised shopping centre of Cardiff is a place where I have felt, in the past, that some delivery cyclists weave between pedestrians with insufficient care, so the fact that the incident happened doesn't surprise me at all. It is the proverbial accident that was waiting to happen.

It is an issue. Many of these collection points were established when the only concern was passing footfall, now up to 50% of their business comes from the delivery platforms. I do some of this and try and stay out of the pedestrianised city centre, getting off and walking just takes too long. It is changing, some of the big concerns now have collection only facilities, usually on industrial estates where the access is better (And probably the business rates are cheaper), or where appropriate those orders are collected from the out of town restaurants*. When that becomes the norm it might be the end of delivery by bike, it's already getting harder, other than access to the city centre many deliveries are already more efficient motorised.

* Yes I know some might object to McD's and KFC's being referred to as restaurants but I couldn't think of another word.

[mattheus]

The court of CUK forum has spoken.
This young man is clearly guilty of a most heinous crime. His "apology" only makes things worse! The sentence is inevitable: Cut them off!

[Antbrewer]

Phew! That's all done and dusted then.
I thought for a scary moment that that there was a hint by some of 'hit and run' being okay.

[Jdsk]

I thought for a scary moment that that there was a hint by some of 'hit and run' being okay.

I haven't seen anything of the sort in this thread. Neither explicitly nor as a hint.

Jonathan