A stunt driver for Channel 4 TV who described his driving proficiency as “advanced” was found guilty of causing serious injuries to a cyclist by careless driving, fined £300 and banned from driving for year, after he repeatedly denied his involvement in the collision despite a witness claiming otherwise.
61-year-old Stuart Penman was riding his custom-built carbon Look bike which cost over £6,000 and was a retirement present, as he approached a mini-roundabout from from Oakfield Street, Kelty in Scotland on 13 October 2022 at around 2pm, when he was hit by a Luton van driven by 56-year-old James Cunningham of Edinburgh.
Penman said that he was riding between speeds of 5 and 10mph while wearing a hi-vis helmet with an LED flasher on at the front, and described the conditions as “dry and fair”.
He said: “As I proceeded across the roundabout I thought, ‘he has not seen me’. I just knew he had not seen me, so it was a case of do I stop and he is over the top of me or do I accelerate?
“He caught me at the back of the bike, spun me round and I was lying outside The Kings (pub), facing the direction I came from. It spun me round, flew me up into the air and I came down heavily on the right shoulder.”
Penman, a retired project manager, was taken to hospital with a broken shoulder blade, road rash and bruising to his hips. He added that the bike wasn’t insured and was no longer in a reparable condition, but a new one wa paid for after he contacted a “no win, no fee” company.
The Courier reports that Ellie Garvie, an events manager, who was driving behind Mr Penman, said that after he slowed naturally at the roundabout, the van came from the left and she thought “he has not seen the cyclist”.
She said: “The van [driver] just continued over the roundabout. There was a collision with the cyclist.”
Mrs Garvie recalled Cunningham being shaken and upset afterwards and him saying “I did not see him, I did not see him.” She said she stayed with Mr Penman and other members of the public phoned for an ambulance.
However, Cunningham told the court that there had been no collision, and that he saw nothing coming when he looked right at the mini-roundabout.
He said he stopped the van on the roundabout about halfway across as a cyclist came “flying” down at speed before trying to correct the bicycle but ended up falling as his bike slid along the ground.
A police officer who attended the scene of the collision was questioned by the defence lawyer about why she did not inspect the accused’s van for damage. Cunningham also repeatedly voiced concerns about police not inspecting his van for damage at the time.
The officer said she did not know why she didn’t inspect the van, and agreed that it would have been a good idea.
Sheriff Krista Johnston convicted Cunningham of causing serious injury by careless driving by failing to take proper heed of his surroundings and failing to slow down for a cyclist travelling ahead of him.
The sheriff said she found the prosecution witnesses to be credible and reliable and rejected Cunningham’s evidence where it differed. However, Cunningham interrupted to say this was “impossible” and “crazy” and was warned about potentially being in contempt of court.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Mr Winning argued the conviction was at the “lower end” of the careless driving scale, suggesting a “momentary lapse”.
He stressed there was no question of excessive speed on Cunningham’s part and stressed his client responded in the way most people would by being shaken and upset.
Sheriff Johnston banned Cunningham from driving for a year and fined him £300.
Earlier this week, two of Shetland’s most renowned and successful cyclists claimed that there is “definitely less tolerance” shown by drivers towards cyclists on the Scottish archipelago in recent years, putting people on bikes in increasing danger, just weeks after an MSP raised “concerns” in the Scottish Parliament over e-bike tours in the Northern Isles, arguing that cyclists are “more focused on the scenery than the road and other traffic”.
In May, a survey done by Cycling Scotland found that over a quarter of motorists in the country didn't know driving dangerously around cyclists could lead to driving ban or prison sentence.
Meanwhile, 58 per cent of drivers said that knowing they were being filmed would change their behaviour around people cycling, while 62 per cent said the risk of killing someone would make them drive more safely.
According to new Police Scotland data, on average four people a week in Scotland suffer serious, potentially life-changing injuries in collisions involving motorists while cycling.