An open letter to the British Judicial System.

You fail to see bicycles as vehicles.
So in theory

society and the media spectate and berate cyclists because of a minority who fail to apply certain rules, such as red lights

doesn't matter. If I'm not riding a vehicle I can do what I like on the road.
 
Logic.Al":gaijebex said:
society and the media spectate and berate cyclists because of a minority who fail to apply certain rules, such as red lights

so? cars and buses go through red lights - just go to where market street meets the ring road in watford and i guarantee you will see that happen within a couple of minutes - shocking.
 
When I was the only witness to the the accident where a speeding motorist killed my cycling 6 year old sister, the Dutch police told me I at 8, I couldn't possibly know if he was speeding. He didn't brake, so no skid marks, but he did swerve, knock over a lamp-post, and roll his car. It was a 50kph zone. Not speeding? He was not charged of any offense. My sister, apparently, was dead before she hit the floor.

This image has haunted me for over 26 years. It left me with post traumatic stress disorder, and intimacy issues. I finally asked for help this time last year, and am much better for it.

I agree our system is f**ked up, but it's not the only one. The car is king for some reason.
 
Pyro Tim":2g8y3sq6 said:
When I was the only witness to the the accident where a speeding motorist killed my cycling 6 year old sister, the Dutch police told me I at 8, I couldn't possibly know if he was speeding. He didn't brake, so no skid marks, but he did swerve, knock over a lamp-post, and roll his car. It was a 50kph zone. Not speeding? He was not charged of any offense. My sister, apparently, was dead before she hit the floor.

This image has haunted me for over 26 years. It left me with post traumatic stress disorder, and intimacy issues. I finally asked for help this time last year, and am much better for it.

I agree our system is f**ked up, but it's not the only one. The car is king for some reason.

Yup, the whole thing stinks. And the bunch who whinge about the odd soul on a bike jumping a red light seem to also be the sort who cry foul upon getting legitimately nabbed by a speed camera. :roll:

David
 
An interesting letter Mr. Pratt, but I wouldn't want him round for Christmas :roll:

I don't see his point about being failed by the British Judicial System. Road safety is the responsibility of each and every road user. All road use has an element of risk, generally more so for pedestrians and cyclists, but also for motorcyclists, car and lorry drivers. Each time we travel on our roads we have to accept there is a risk involved.

I've seen plenty of stupid car and lorry drivers, but also stupid cyclists and pedestrians. The kid who thinks its clever to cycle around at night with no lights is as stupid as the driver using their mobile phone. Unfortunately, you can't legislate against stupidity.

If we don't or can't enforce the road laws we already have, there's no point in introducing more.

"You fail me, and you fail others, because you are not there to protect us".

Far better to accept personal responsibility and be aware of our own and others safety than to expect to be protected by the Judicial System.
 
I think the point that he's trying to make is that so many road users neglect to consider the safety of other road users, especially more vulnerable ones like cyclists.

The Judicial system could be used to reinforce the idea that everyone should have a duty of care and personal responsibility for the safety of themselves and others.
Unfortunately in many cases, as highlighted in the letter, this is far from true.
 
Pyro Tim":2ezfixbh said:
I agree our system is f**ked up, but it's not the only one. The car is king for some reason.

That reason being that the people get rich from oil.
 
Robbied196":1nshqwpp said:
An interesting letter Mr. Pratt, but I wouldn't want him round for Christmas :roll:

So much for goodwill to all men at this time of year then, real spirit of christmas stuff there. :LOL:

Makes good reading, sadly everyone who uses the roads needs to be like minded and this will never happen, just as some of the comments on here prove, some of the examples cited in the letter should have a cycling forums member jumping up and down with rage and sending copies to their mp and local newspaper but no......
 
To put it in a better context, I received £12,500 compensation for a criminal act that has left me scarred for the rest of my life

The phone hacking 'victims' received compensation from barely covering costs (but into 6 figures) to £1 million plus. OK there were some prominent 'victims' but balance just doesnt scan right with me and the whole system sucks.

Its the Judges themselves that appear to be daft.
 
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