Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Ray Dare - van driver sentencing and judge's comments

A good(?) article on the VTTA facebook page (you should be able to look at it without a Facebook signon.   We miss you Ray...

Here is the text, as I understand the link doesn't work for some.

Almost a year ago, 91 year old Ray Dare of the Kingston Phoenix Road Club was killed as he approached the finishing line of the Group’s 10 mile event. On 15 June, the defendant was found guilty and sentenced to 24 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years, ordered to do 200 hours of Community Service, and to undergo Restorative justice (when he speaks to the victim’s family under supervision of the police liaison officer if they wish to speak to him). He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months
The judge asked to be assured that Ray Dare’s family understood the difference between this offence and the more serious offence of causing death by dangerous driving and noted that Ray Dare’s family had written to the court saying they did not wish “two families” lives to be wrecked by the incident. The Judge praised Ray Dare’s family for taking such an attitude and said they were obviously an exceptional and very decent family although he would decide the sentence himself based on all the circumstances.
The Judge took account of the Defendant’s early plea of guilty, his genuine remorse and the fact that he was unlikely to commit any similar offence again. He had been a professional driver for many years and knew the area. The Judge stated that as a local judge with a family of cyclists, he was personally aware that the A41 was regularly used for such cycling events and they were invariably well signed and marshalled and that on the evidence that was the case on the day of the event in July 2017. Other witnesses had seen signs and marshals and the Judge said that he was “astonished” that the Defendant, when interviewed in August, said he had not seen any signs or marshals despite having driven both ways on the dual carriageway. The Defendant was seen by other drivers to pass at least one other rider just before the collision and he claimed he had seen Ray Dare ahead of him when he was close to the “rumble strip” but had failed to pull out. Other witnesses spoke of Ray Dare riding well and steadily. The point of impact was calculated by an expert as occurring approximately two metres from the edge of the carriageway. The van driven by the Defendant had struck the rider almost in the centre of the vehicle so the Defendant had not moved out to allow room to pass the cyclist. The bicycle had been trapped under the front of the vehicle which pulled off and stopped in a layby, Ray Dare was thrown up onto the windscreen and over the vehicle. Despite immediate assistance he died at the scene.

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