A 60-year-old cyclist was left with knee pain and a shoulder injury after being knocked off his bike by a driver who moments earlier had given him
the finger, Glasgow Sheriff Court heard.
The Glasgow Times (link is external) reports Benjamin Lang was ultimately found guilty of careless driving, his second conviction of that nature,
and fined £500 as well as receiving nine penalty points on his driving licence, meaning he is now disqualified for six months.
The 31-year-old struck Alexander Graham as they moved off from a red
light on a road between Kirkintilloch and Bishopbriggs, in East Dumbartonshire, on 7 April 2019.
Mr Graham told the court that he had been cut up by Lang driving a white
car on the approach to the junction, causing him to have to regain his balance before moving back ahead of the stationary vehicle.
"The driver of the car who cut in front of me raised his middle finger towards me," the cyclist said in reply to a question from prosecutor Jessica McGowan.
"I gestured, shrugging my shoulders like what am I meant to do," Mr
Graham continued, explaining he had been left "upset" by the gesture.
Then, as the lights changed and he attempted to move off, "I got hit on the side".
"I was knocked off my bike and hit on the right leg...it was over very
quick, I was hit on the side of my leg," he recalled. "I have a problem
with my knee which was brought to the fore. I was shocked, when cycling I have adrenaline running, I couldn't believe what happened."
A witness said that the driver had accelerated away, overtaking another
car in the process. Mr Graham was helped before being taken to a police station by a passer-by to report the incident. The cyclist denied a suggestion from Lindsay Gaughan, defending, that he moved into her client's path.
"No...I didn't deliberately veer off into the car," he said.
Lang faced a charge of assault, as well as an alternative charge of
dangerous driving, but was ultimately found guilty of the lesser charge
of careless driving and fined by sheriff Joan Kerr.
Mr Graham told the court how the incident "brought to the fore" a
previous "problem" with his knee and that he has needed physio treatment
on that injury as well as one to his shoulder.
https://road.cc/content/news/driver-who-knocked-cyclist-fined-ps500-301649
SECOND conviction of careless driving and back behind the wheel after six months.
Disgraceful.
Console yourself with the realisation that his insurance premium has just rocketed out of sight.
It doesn't sound to me as if the alleged obscene gesture should have been the crux of the assault charge, the fact that the driver drove into the cyclist and then "accelerated away, overtaking another car in the process" ought really to be enough toshow assault, or at the very least dangerous driving; unless there is some mitigation which has been overlooked in this report careless driving seems exceptionally lenient.
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