So 6 Points For Using Your Phone But Only 3 If You Hit A Bike ????

I just can't understand what the to#ser must have been doing to miss a bike that close. Lucky the rider walked away with just a broken elbow.

They need to take into account how much more serious this could have been before dishing out these pathetic penalties and fines.

 

It is called the Halo affect.

Look at the shadows. The sun is behind the rider, the headlight is on the bike and the bike becomes hidden behind the Halo meaning that he is blind to the van driver for a while, or the driver cannot accurately judge speed and distance of the approaching bike.

It is a common cause of crashes at junctions often associated with SMIDSY incidents.

As far as penalties are concerned?

Matters such as the evidence, + the anticedents of the defendant and previous driving record, whether he pleaded guilty at first time of asking, what was said during the interview under caution, what other issues were raised at the time any independent witness evidence.

On top of that, I have also mentioned the Halo affect which the Magistrates may have deemed as mitigation depending on how the Police worded the Precis.

The van driver did not carry out a deliberate act in that he decided to turn across the path and wipe out the rider on purpose, but someone who uses a hand held mobile is making a deliberate act and is therefore deemed to be carrying out a premditated act.

Many people criticise lenient penalties in fatal crash cases. As harsh as it sounds, you have to take the fatality out of the equation because nobody in 99% of cases goes out with the intention of killing someone and which is why in 1988 section 1 of the road traffic act was changed from death by reckless to death by dangerous as it is a much easier test. With reckless driving you had to prove a state of mind which was nigh on impossible.

With regards to the penalty being less harsh than someone caught speeding?

The van driver made an error of judgement for whatever reason. The phone user and speeding rider is regarded as blatantly sticking 2 fingers up at the law.

We have all suffered minor lapses in concentration got away with it and though "Phew", anyone who says thay haven't is a liar. But for the grace of whoever go all of us at some point in time. In respect of speeding, we have all done it knowingly and if caught, that is the risk, same with using a hand held, it is a deliberate act.

At the end of the day in this particular case, the riders personal injury claim will be straight forward as liability will/should have been admitted very quickly, and if his solicitors are switched on, then the defendants insurers will also have paid for private medical treatment to get the rider back to full fitness as quickly as possible to mitigate their losses.

 

Its one more aspect of safe / defensive riding to take onboard ... looking at where the sun is in relation to other drivers / riders. Fighter pilots used the sun quite effectively to hide themselves on purpose.... if you can hide a plane... a bike is going to be easily lost in the glare of the sun. We all know what its like to stare into the winter sun and that video and TC's commentary has brought the sun into my list of things to consider when gauging another driver / riders potential action.

 

Or maybe they took pitty on him for having to drive round in a sh#t tin can LDV!

 

In the video posted by the rider he says that he thinks the van driver was on the 'phone so if he's correct it might explain why he didn't see him in time. We all make mistakes though and at least he stopped and tried to help.
I wish the driver who got me like that had been so nice.

 

Better still just assume everyone at a Junction is going to pull out on you, even people who are looking at you pull out on you, because they are not looking at you, they are looking through you and do not see you.
As for the Sun especially when you get older when looking at the sun you cannot see anything ahead, and the recovery time is far longer, but then again why would you pull out if you cannot see.

 

It may not be a case of did not see. Remember that when we scan, our eyes take snippets and our brain fills in the rest. With the sun it's worse, you squint and could be the biker may have just blended into the background as a shadow, so it appeared as if the road was clear.

 

Yes, but the driver made some crucial errors. He pulled across from the left hand side of his lane, didn't stop rolling, and from what I can see didn't signal either.

 

I'm not excusing the driver. I'm just pointing out possible dangers we face when riding. I have never really thought about the sun behind me, assuming that if I see them, they should see me.

I am just glad that one of the posts has highlighted this to me so I can add it to my knowledge of defensive riding.

 

Can I ask a question? What difference would a signal have made?

I deal with an equal number of crashes caused by improper signals given at the incorrect time with the wrong meaning of intent. In this situation a signal by the van would have made no difference in my opinion.

I would be interested to know why you think that no signal from the van is significant.

 

A signal probably wouldn't have made a difference, but surely the combination of all three of his errors may have.

 

Agreed, anything that extends our knowledge. Hope you don't think i was having a pop

 

But it wouldn't have stopped the van turning and give the distance between the van and the bile at the point it commenced its turn, it would have made no difference at all as the rider still would have had insufficient distance to see and react.

 

I understand where you are coming from, but most drivers these days give a signal of achievement and in any case at the last second prior to turning, and unless the rider made a concious observation link between seeing a signal and then registering the the thought that the vehicle might actually turn, the closing speed still would have been significant.

The reality is that most riders (and drivers) assume that a vehicle turning right is going to wait and give priority to approaching traffic as they are required to do, and how many riders actually roll of the throttle on the approach to a junction unless they actually intend to turn themselves?

But the flashing of an indicator really means nothing from a safety and liability stand point, and the rider still had a right to assume that the van driver would afford him priority.