oi, get outta the way
To my mind there are only a few very select places where an individual is allowed to fully vent their spleen using whatever choice vernacular jumps to mind, whilst remaining out of the reach of the long arm of the law. A football stand is one of them and perhaps a pub car park after chucking-out time. The other place is the Queen’s highways and byways provided the torrent of verbal abuse is directed at some poor unsuspecting cyclist. Spring has yet to be sprung and our group rides can still be counted on one hand but already the number of ‘verbals’ outweigh the number of rides, and by some considerable margin.
What is it that ‘gets the goat’ of some motorists to such an extent that they feel compelled to wind down their windows and hurl abuse with such vitriol at us? OK, occasionally cyclists do cycle two-up and in a big group they could take up the room of…er…a couple of cars. On roads with dubious quality tarmac it’s probably not wise to ride in the gutter and they have been known to swerve out to avoid falling into a crevasse sized pot-hole. And God forbid, I’ve even seen one cyclist pull out to overtake another one. Is that it? Surely you’re not telling me if doesn’t have anything to do with stretched lycra, ripped calf muscles and a penchant for amphetamine and steroid? Thought not.
As is usually the case in these increasingly common instances, I move from anger to relief, to contemplating exactly could have happened if the driver had used his three ton truck to force me into the nearest ditch, or onto the opposing lane of fast moving traffic. Recently there appears to have been a worryingly high number of cycling fatalities, caused by the coming together of said cyclist with a larger, less moveable object. British boxing champion, Gary Mason is the latest in an already long 2011 list that includes RAAM champion, Jure Robic and young up-and-coming UK professional, Lewis Balycki. And what’s almost as distressing as this are the reports on the actual sentences being passed on the convicted drivers.
The maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving in 14 years at her majesty’s pleasure. The minimum however is only two. At the top-end the penalty seems OK and, in my mind appears to reflect the crime, but in reality you hardly ever see these sentences applied. Fact. Hardly anyone gets prosecuted for death by dangerous driving as the counsel for the prosecution apparently assume they’re not going to get a conviction for this and opt for the supposedly easier option of causing death by careless driving. This carries a minimum of three years but is also, far less punitive at the top-end.
The key words of distinction are ‘careless’ versus ‘dangerous’. And given the way the legal system works, by focusing on the act rather than the consequences, the punishment is for retuning the radio or lighting another fag at an ill-judged moment, as opposed to killing someone. What’s particularly galling is that all of us motorists are seen as undertaking so little responsibility when getting into a car. We’re doing something bl**dy dangerous and we should be expected to do it with a modicum of sense and responsibility. Not as dangerous as cocking a leg over your trusty two-wheeled steed though.
