Cyclists 'left unprotected by police and courts' -
Home News, UK - The IndependentCyclists 'left unprotected by police and courts'
Drivers who claim they couldn't see bikes are too often believed, say campaigners.
Greater protection for cyclists on Britain's roads is being demanded after a former British heavyweight boxing champion was killed on his bicycle last week. Gary Mason, 48, died after a collision with a van while cycling in Wallington, south London. He is the second cyclist to die in the UK this year.
Eilidh Cairns was crushed by a lorry in Notting Hill, west London, while cycling to work in February last year. The driver subsequently pleaded guilty to having defective eyesight. He was fined just £200 and given three points on his licence.
Emma Chesterman, a friend of Ms Cairns, said:
"He admitted his eyesight was not good enough and gets £200 and three points on his licence. It does not seem fair. We are bewildered by the whole system that treats cyclists' deaths in this way. It seems to be the attitude that you are putting yourself in the way of danger and therefore it is your own fault if it happens to you, which is not the same as if it were a pedestrian killed."