The Grimsby Telegraph: Crackdown after cyclist is prosecuted for hitting boy (5) on path
Wednesday, March 03, 2010, 06:30
IS it safe to cycle on our roads?
Today the Grimsby Telegraph is asking for your views on the subject, after Humberside Police pledged to clamp down on those riding illegally in pedestrianised areas and on footpaths.
The warning followed the prosecution of the Grimsby man, who was ordered to pay £750 in compensation to the family of a five-year-old boy, who he mowed-down as he cycled along the pavement.
The youngster – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – was left needing reconstructive surgery as a result of the incident and will be scarred for life.
David Cox, 29, of Cromwell Road, Grimsby, was found guilty of cycling without consideration, and of assaulting the five-year old.
Presiding magistrate David Stenton told Cox that he could have killed the boy.
He said: “By not cycling on the road you put your own safety ahead of others, and the consequences of this could have been much worse. People have been killed by cyclists in similar incidents.”
However, Cox told the court he had only been riding on the path as he did not feel safe on the road.
He said: “I have lived in the area all of my life and I know that the road is dangerous, so I always cycle on the path.
“A friend of mine was killed on the crossing on the road, so I don’t want to ride on it.”
The boy’s mother is now calling for more to be done to clamp down on the problem– and harsher punishments to be handed to those flouting the law – but what do you think?
