So a pedestrian on a pavement is obliged to step aside when they see a cyclist approaching. That is the cyclist has the right of way?
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It may or may not have been noted from previous posts that my wife is a wheelchair user. Anyway, she is and has been for around 30 years. Often uses the power wheelchair on our local footpaths.
Of course. like anywhere else, there are cyclists on the footpath. The procedure when one approaches is to move to the inside of the footpath and stop. If I’m there, I’ll either go to the front or rear of the chair so that we’re single file.
This ideally shouldn’t be needed and it is an annoyance. Even so, it is always possible for the chair and the cyclist to pass on by. Legalities aside, no way would either of us ever drive a cyclist into the road or try and spoof them in any way. That would just be so dangerous for them.
I wonder how a cyclist of any age would behave when faced with such aggressive behaviour as Mrs Ward was. I think it will certainly will cause a wobble or a possible few moments of indecisiveness. Not necessarily because the person is old and unsuitable for riding a bike.
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The cyclist has an ability to slow down and stop. Many cyclists these days seem to forget that’s what the brakes are for.
Some have also forgotten what the lights are for. I had a deliveroo cyclist weaving all over the road in the dark last night. He seemed to be lost but perhaps he just didn’t have enough common sense because he thought he could be seen in the dark. He nearly ran into me when I was walking across the road to my car. Of course I didn’t know that he was there because it was so dark .
There will always be bad cyclists, motorists, pedestrians and scooter/wheelchair users. We can only hope to handle difficulties in a way that doesn’t cause physical harm to ourselves or whoever is in the wrong.
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From what i have read of the case so far, the cyclist was already indecisive and in full wobble mode, before she encountered Auriol Grey.
This leads me to believe that the focus has been deliberately moved away from the cyclist, toward Auriol, and for a specific reason, and confirms my suspicions about the cyclists involvement in this tragic case.
If that is the case, I guess Mrs Grey, due to her lack of sight, wouldn’t have known how Mrs Ward was cycling. Stable or wobbly, she was involved in sending her into the road and a horrific death.
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Not at all mart.
What this confirms is that the cyclists own actions, and erratic behaviour,sent her off the pavement and into the path of a car.
I don’t see how you can have that point of view. I guess you’ll be thinking the same. Never the twain shall meet.
I guess the thing is if the deliveroo had gone into me and then losing his balance as a result fallen into the path of a car and died would I be guilty of murder for being in the road, even though he didn’t have his lights on and I couldn’t see him until the last minute? It was a near miss & I swore at him as he swerved by me. I wasn’t waving my arms because I don’t have palsy and was carrying a shopping bag. Every incident I have makes me more annoyed the next time it happens, it’s as though some cyclists are going through the motions in a trance oblivious to other road users. Perhaps Auriol had a lot of near misses before this happened?
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I’d say that’s a different situation altogether. You didn’t head for the cyclist waving your arm and shouting a rude word.
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I’m pretty saddened by the refusal of some to acknowledge some basic facts of this tragic event.
Fact 1 - You cannot see the cyclist prior to the pedestrian ‘approaching’ her. Therefore you can’t determine if her cycling up to that point was unsteady or erratic - so any such claim is false or pure conjecture. Forget claims that she night have been drinking - that’s just made up rubbish. Malicious as well.
Fact 2 - The cyclist is 77 years old. Unlikely to be anything other than cautious in her cycling. Definitely not someone that anyone should threaten. And most likely, ok this is conjecture but reasonable given her age, someone who would move away from a threat.
Fact 3 - The pedestrian does move towards the cyclist at the point the cyclist is about to pass. You can see that clearly in her foot movement that she moves towards the cyclist and her raised hand at the point the cyclist is closest. It is a fair assumption that this is what startles the cyclist enough to veer off the pavement.
Fact 4 - The pedestrian was shouting “get off the pavement” (with swearing) as she approached the cyclist. It is therefore clear that her intention was to get the cyclist to exit the pavement. Her arm actions confirm that and the direction she wanted the cyclist to take. She got her way.
Fact 5 - The cyclist may have known that this section of pavement was not dual use and decided to cycle on it anyway - because she was a 77 year old woman and fearful of traffic. The fact that this is still breaking the law means she was deserving of punishment but only in line with the law she broke. Such as a stern reprimand. No more. She was not speeding, she was not behaving without due regard to others, she was not a young lout cycling on the pavement. The pedestrian decided that she would mete out more severe punishment - by her threatening arm actions and by stepping towards the cyclist.
Overall, that looks like the pedestrian is at fault and the cyclist is merely guilty of being on the pavement.
I’m not going to change anyone’s mind here and there are some who very clearly have determined that the cyclist was the only one at fault. But the court and the judge agreed with my summary and found the pedestrian guilty. I think that is pretty compelling.
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And now it has been decided there are grounds for appeal.
Don’t forget that Courts and judges sometimes get things wrong.
I must remember the next time i say a rude word and wave my arm, that i may be sentenced to a few years in prison! 
Only if you are involved in causing a death along with it.
I don’t think any new evidence has surfaced so my personal thoughts remain pretty much unchanged:
However just wanted to say please don’t make unfounded claims - there is no evidence the cyclist was intoxicated.
Just to comment on her ‘wobbling’ - I think it’s also fair to say the reason she was was because she was confronted in that manner, and, from looking at the video, pushed/nudged into the road.
This does however raise a legitimate concern about whether people should only be cycling in public areas if they are fit enough to - as it could be argued that a younger or fitter person could have easily just slammed the breaks and the cycle would have come to a standstill, something that probably wasn’t possible because of the age and strength of the cyclist. Even with this in mind though, the actions of the pedestrian definitely played a part - as mentioned by lots of others she could have just stood to one side to let her pass then shouted at her afterwards.
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Indeed if that is the case true, but not in Auriol’s case,
What i find sad here is that so much sympathy for a 77 year old woman, who incidentally appears to have caused her own demise, but zero sympathy for a 50 year old severely disabled woman who has been unlucky enough to suffer ill health for her entire life.
Pretty awful when you think about it.
There was a large driveway the cyclist could have pulled into if she was thinking straight. It is only just out of shot. On the one hand you can say that Auriol is pushing her, on the other she is going straight into Auriol for reasons unknown to anyone but her.
Probably because the victim was far more likeable and Auriol falls outside the traditional stereotype of a woman. Anyone who has worked with or looked after individuals with learning or developmental disorders will recognise certain traits that are typical in Auriol. In the old days she would have lived out her life in an institution.
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I do feel sympathy for Mrs Grey’s conditions and can see that life hasn’t treated her favourably. Perhaps that is the reason for her anger, intolerance …or call it what you will. On the other hand, nobody can expect to go unchallenged when involved in somebody’s death. There has to be judgement and consequences, which there was. All factors considered in Court before the sentence was given.
To me, that should hold good but I think sympathy will be shown on appeal. Whether it should be or not is what we debate here. Polarized opinions abound but it will all make no difference. The Court will do what it does. We and the families of both women will have to abide by it agreed or not.
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So the cyclist could have been going to fast for her capabilities.
Not so easy if you have disabilities.
If you look at the picture in post 565 taken seconds before the incident you will see how narrow the pavement is with the lamppost protruding from the fence.
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