Especially as the cyclist went through a red light, and wasnt wearing a crash helmet!!
I’d say that was fair. There is no excuse for driving and texting.
How about this one then?
My son’s friend was killed last May when she was a passenger in her boyfriends car who was racing another car. Their car hit an oncoming people carrier and she was killed.
The driver got EIGHT MONTHS for causing her death…Is that fair?
Yes.
Regardless of the fact the bloke ran the red had she not been texting on her mobile she might have been able to take evasive action and possibly not killed him.
If she hadn’t been using her phone a jury would not have been given evidence to suggest she had contributed to his death by not concentrating whilst driving and sending a text.
A bit of a harsh view i know but yes I think it was fair.
If you are operating a road going vehicle then operat it pay attention to what you are doing, not as in the is case distract yourself with a phone.
It could have just as easily been a cyclist not jumping a red light or even one of us.
I have no simpathy for the driver and my condolences go out to the family of the cyclist.
Totally agree.
No that’s not fair because surely that’s also causing death by dangerous driving and in some ways even more willfull than using a phone.Hmmmm the measure you use to judge others… :ermm:
personally, if he was actually racing another car, surely he deserved to get allot more than just 8mths…
how do they work these things out though?
one person carelessly using their mobile gets 4 yrs, whilst another recklessly and deliberately racing another vehicle, only gets 8mths!
Serves them both right.
I agree with ya wrighty, the laws an ass no consistency to the punishments metered out
ahh, i wudnt say anyone deserves to die.
thats like saying any biker who dies deserved it if they were going over the speed limit…
Surely though, although the fact that she was txting clearly contributed to the cyclists death, the fact that the cyclist went through the red light, and also failed to wear a crash helmet also contributed to his death, but she still got 4 yrs?
Whereas, you sons friend who died, was as a direct result of dangerous driving from her bf, but he only gets 8mths?
I sort of agree with you Steve, although the fact that the cyclist wasn’t wearing a helmet I would say is irrelevant, he did ride through a red light so took a risk that was unnecessary and therefore has to shoulder some of the blame for his own death, which sounds a bit odd I guess seeing as how he paid the ultimate price, but you know what I mean. Personally I think she should probably have got 2 years, but if a custodial sentence is what it takles to make people realise how dangerous it is to use their mobile whilst driving then so be it.
As for the tw@t that only got eight months, that’s just feckin crazy and the judge should be ashamed of themselves, that lad should definitely have gone down for 4 years!
I have to say I with the sentence. For her part she wasn’t driving with full care and attention so yes the 4 years stands,
But I think responsibility cuts both ways, they may be vulnerable, but surely that means cycles must bear a greater responsibility for their own safety…
The assumption that “everyone else must pay attention to them” is leading more and more cyclists to disregard all rules, and this causes accidents. Why is that acceptable. Christ if a driver “caused an accident” they would be held responsible, just because the driver happens to be on a bicycle, they’re still a road-user… the law must be equally applied, otherwise no one knows where they stand…
Totally agree with you Toby, we all ride defensively, second guessing what every other road user is about to do to keep ourselves safe, more cyclists need to realise that they should be doing the same and not just expecting everyone else to treat them differently.
I saw an article on the BBC news last night about cyclists going through a crossing while the lolly pop lady was assisting kids to cross the road, they interviewed one guy, respectable looking chap in his 40’s, he said most times he stopped but sometimes you make a call and carry on, I’m sorry but if the lights red or someone is on a crossing you don’t ‘make a call’ you bl00dy well wait until it’s safe to go or the law says you can go!! 
crap sentences like that really f**king annoy me, no justice at all
This is going to seem a little blunt but:
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The driver got 4 years and a 5 year ban, causing death by dangerous driving. She was texting and this is even worse than talking as you have to look down the at the phone. Seen this on the roads and it amazes me every time. She got what she deserved.
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The cyclist, thinking that red lights didn’t apply to him decided to go throught it. He got what he deserved. Extremely harsh maybe but if he had obeyed the light he would be a live.
The sentencing could have been worse, and I think that the judge was taking into account the fact the cyclist went through a red light. It begs the questions if she had been paying attention would the cyclist died?
Both parties in this broke the law and have suffered extreme consequences as a result.
Having been run over twice by cyclists (as a pedestrian), once at a zebra crossing and once at a pelican crossing (went through a red light), I have an dim view of cyclist who routinely flout the law. You only have to spend a couple of minutes at almost any set of traffic lights in central London to see it in action.
Regretably, since using phones started to earn points, I see more and more drivers not lookign at hte road but looking down at the phone on their lap textign or emailing. I see at least half a dozen drivers doing that a day. it is so dangerous as I often see these drivers rolling through red lights at crossiings or drifting across lanes. It can’t be that hard to catch people doing this as I see it easy enough and in my limited riding in London.
I would be interested to know what this kid is like now as a driver. Has he learned from his mistakes? In my opinion the real crime would be if, having effectively gotten away with it, he still drives like a twat.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t agree with the sentence he got, especially considering other people have been rightly punished for longer, but I hope at least that he’s a darn sight safer on the road now.
He will probably be out in 3 months, that is no price for taking a life.He should be banned from driving for at least 10 years IMO
The cyclist should have stopped for the red light - texting or not, he’d still be dead from being hit by a car at 45mph which had right of way. I see too many cyclists jumping red lights all thinking they can get away with it - fair enough the driver was texting but if she wasnt she might have not hit him but then again…we’ll never know.
Texting, talking on mobiles, etc when driving is deserving of any consequences such as has happened here - FACT. As said by others here, I’ve experienced some ‘interesting’ close calls with just such careless drivers!
Cyclists ignoring the rules - especially red lights! - equally ‘deserving’ of the consequences of their actions I’m afraid. Harsh but true.
When I used to commute from Kent through to Isleworth taking on the South/North Circ and all it’s one-way delights, there was one instance that sticks in my mind: when taking a right on a one-way bit using the width of the road thus coming closer to the left-hand curb, only to find a cyclist decided to come sailing through from the left meaning I lost about a metre of the lane and had to take evasive action or hit him! His face told the story and my shouting added the soundtract… TW@T!!!
The highway code and this http://www.stoppingdistances.org.uk/simulator/Stopping_Distances.html say it take 23 meters to stop at 30mph in perfect conditions with no distractions. Obviously we don’t know the exact layout of the junction, viewpoints of the car etc etc but the likelihood (speculatively) of her hitting the cyclist had she not been speeding and not been texting are still potentially very high. While this is still no excuse for what she did in breaking the speed limit and texting I think it’s a bit harsh for the end of the report to say 'Sgt Alyson West, of Hampshire Constabulary, said the ruling would hopefully discourage others from using their mobile phones while driving. “Today’s sentence will not bring back Jordan Wickington. However, it will hopefully help to deter drivers who continue to flout the law by using their mobile phones while driving. The answer is quite simple - don’t use your mobile phone and drive. Nothing is so important that it can’t wait until you stop or arrive safely at your destination.” ’ Why is there not one mention that maybe cyclist shouldn’t jump red lights in future?