Hi folks,
Doesn't the Highway Code say that drivers should always
be able to stop in the distance they can actually see
to be clear?
As if we didn't know this again shows that the courts, as
well as many drivers and police, believe in one basic
principle; that the public highway should be considered
to be the private domain of the users of motor vehicle
users and all others users venture there entirely at
their own risk...
GRIEVING FATHER CALLS FOR CHANGE IN THE LAW By Jacqui
Walls, PA News
A grieving father whose daughter was killed as she crossed a
road called for a change in the law today after a
motorcyclist walked free from court. Georgina Toomey, 11,
was on her pink bicycle outside a holiday resort in
Lincolnshire when she was struck by the motorbike and thrown
into the air.
Alan Heath, 26, was cleared by a jury of causing death by
dangerous driving and the court decided not to proceed with
any further charges. Her father John said he was angry that
justice had not been done over his daughter's death and that
the motorcyclist had not even apologised over the tragedy.
He said: "Sadly, we believe that in this court case, along
with a number of other high-profile cases where children
have been killed by drivers, justice and the law were
separated. "We say this demands a significant change in the
law. We have not sought revenge - nothing done by the court
would have eased our loss and the sadness we feel. "The only
anger we feel is that the accused did not even have the
decency to say he was sorry for killing our daughter. "What
we hoped to achieve was a decision that would make other
drivers think about the risks they posed to children and to
exercise more caution on the roads. "Regrettably, this case
has had the opposite effect. The decision of the court
amounts to a licence for every mad b*****d in Lincolnshire
to continue with total disregard."
The trial at Lincoln Crown Court heard Georgina was
cautiously following her older friend across the road in
Ingoldmells, when the motorcycle came round a bend. The
youngster, from Peterborough, was flung into the road as the
motorbike struck her bicycle and despite the efforts of
paramedics, she died from her injuries. The jury heard the
motorcyclist had overtaken at least one vehicle shortly
before the accident in May last year on the A52 Skegness
road. Heath, of Elizabeth Drive, Chapel St Leonards,
Lincolnshire, told the court he knew the corner was
potentially dangerous. But witnesses said he was riding over
the speed limit.
He denied causing death by dangerous driving and was found
not guilty last month following a four-day trial. The
prosecution found they could not proceed with a further
charge of careless driving for legal reasons. The father-of-
three added: "While supporting the right to trial by jury,
we are unable to comprehend the verdict reached. "It flies
in the face of the evidence of impartial witnesses. "Last
year it was our daughter and this year it will be somebody
else's daughter." Georgina, who was a member of the St
John's Ambulance cadets, had asked for her organs to be
donated following her death and her heart was used in a
transplant to save a young boy, her father said. The Walton
Junior School pupil wanted to become a barrister when she
grew up and was just waiting to start secondary school when
the tragedy happened.