Blame Free Road Use....

Text driver jailed for bike death

A motorist who was texting on her mobile phone when she hit and killed a cyclist has been sentenced to four years in prison.

Jordan Wickington, 19, died from head injuries when he went through a red light and was struck by Kiera Coultas's car in Southampton in February 2007.

Full Story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7270751.stm

Am I the only one who is outraged that nobody seems to give a damn Wickington was going through a red light at the time of the accident? Whatever the driver did wrong, he died because he went through a red light.

She was guilty of appalling bad driving, and should be punished for it, but isn’t she just being used as a scapegoat here, when the person who died was guilty of equally appalling behaviour?

What kind of signal does this send to the growing number of cyclists out there who seem to have the impression that they can do whatever they like on the roads, are not subject to the rules everyone else has to follow, and are always the ‘victim’ in any accident?

Cyclists are the only road users who are not subject to any form of testing, age restrictions licensing procedures or road tax. Yet more and more roads are being made potentially more dangerous for other road users as they are effectively narrowed to accommodate cycle lanes.

Isn’t it time cyclists stopped getting a free ride?