Pensioner who killed cyclist in road accident avoids prison

4:50pm Friday 12th October 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Ben Wilkinson, Crime Reporter. Call me on (01865) 425427

A pensioner who killed a cyclist in his cement mixer lorry has walked free from court.

Stephen Bateman previously admitted causing the death of church rector’s assistant Joanna Braithwaite by careless driving.

The 74-year-old’s cement mixer struck and killed Miss Braithwaite at about 9am on October 28.

But this afternoon at Oxford Crown Court a judge imposed an eight month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

For the full story, read tomorrow’s Oxford Mail.

Comments(17)

bart-on simpson says...
5:09pm Fri 12 Oct 12

Undoubtedly the most lenient legal way to kill a fellow human being is to use a vehicle - why?

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Paul M says...
5:20pm Fri 12 Oct 12

It would be a reasonable question to ask: should a 74-year-old be permitted to drive a car? Maybe, maybe not, but at least they should submit to regular medical tests. For example, to maintain a private pilot's licence requires a medical every 5 years until 50, then every 2 years from 50-60, every 12 months from 60-65, and every 6 months after 65. It is afull, comprehensive, examination.

To drive a commercial vehicle, especially an HGV? I'm sorry, I don't wish to be ageist, but there should be an age limit, well below 74, after which driving a HGV or a bus should be totally prohibited - period.

Poeple may dreive some satisfaction from seeing a killer driver jailed, but it doesn't bring back the dead. There will always be some killer drivers however tought the sanctions become. What we really need is to remove the problem at source - protect pedesytrians and cyclists from dangerous drivers by proper physical measures, and take bad drivers off the roads completely.

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Dilligaf2010 says...
5:55pm Fri 12 Oct 12

unfurkin' believeable!

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A34North says...
6:41pm Fri 12 Oct 12

Dilligaf2010 wrote:
unfurkin' believeable!
Not really Dilly as neither you or I or anybody else who posts here were sat in the court to hear the ins and outs of the case. Nobody should lose their life in such tragic circumstances and no gain will be made by jailing someone who no doubt will suffer the consequences mentally of what ever happened on that fateful day for the rest of his life. He pleaded guilty and thereby recognised he made a mistake; the girls parents acknowledged his guilty plea and accepted the courts decision. I think we should all do the same.

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seamusl says...
7:43pm Fri 12 Oct 12

Prison or other punishment is supposed to act as a deterrent, he is free and she will never know that feeling. what is there to stop others from being negligent. It does seem (google if not believed) that to kill a cyclist is not taken as seriously as other accidental deaths. At his age he should have known what the rules were therefore he must have ignored some. I feel HGV/Coach drivers should not be allowed beyond 65 which means Government retirement policy is unworkable for those in such employment

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Budowaah says...
10:32pm Fri 12 Oct 12

Don't worry about being ageist, PaulM, too often do these bloody 'ist words cloud rational thought and prevent sensible action. Not all old people are bad drivers, but you are more likely to be a bad driver if your reactions are slower, bones ache, have arthritic joints, eyesight is terrible and can't hold your functions. The onus is on the driver to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that they are fit to control a lethal weapon.

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Budowaah says...
10:36pm Fri 12 Oct 12

I believe ALL drivers should be retested every 10 years. A very basic retest however, more observational. Exactly like the PPL requirements, the gaps would decrease in increments past 55 until 90, or you are deemed unfit, whichever comes first. I also think more value should be given to advanced licenses, I have an IAM license and have spent many years specialist training in various kinds of vehicles in all conditions, it's ridiculous how many insurance firms don't even recognise all the extra training.

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aaabbb2 says...
10:47pm Fri 12 Oct 12

Who precisely was the judge who decided that it was okay for a criminal to kill this person?

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Lord Palmerstone says...
8:48am Sat 13 Oct 12

Look up the regulations on HGV health checks. They're pretty thorough. I think I'd prefer older drivers to 21 year old "men" with flat heads , an L -Reg Honda Civic with tinted glass all round and those silver bits round the lights, oh and a vacuum cleaner tube coming out the back.
This was very sad and unfortunate but you should pause to think that until very recently death by careless wasn't imprisonable and that Nulabour's modelling of our criminal law on Taliban mores is not to everyone's taste.

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Lord Palmerstone says...
4:47pm Sat 13 Oct 12

aaabbb2 wrote:
Who precisely was the judge who decided that it was okay for a criminal to kill this person?
You might carelessly bump into someone on the street and they might fall and suffer a bleed in the brain and die. That's careless, not intentional or reckless. So, you should do 5 years for manslaughter? Maybe the Judge is just a tad brighter than you; oh perish the thought. Have you never been careless in your life?

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seamusl says...
5:48pm Sat 13 Oct 12

You might carelessly bump into someone on the street and they might fall and suffer a bleed in the brain and die. That's careless, not intentional or reckless. So, you should do 5 years for manslaughter? Maybe the Judge is just a tad brighter than you; oh perish the thought. Have you never been careless in your life?”

Carelessness is completely different from what amounts to criminal negligence, from the original reportage the driver was attempting a manveuver that at best was ill thought out for a person of his alleged experience and as we unfortunately now know turned out to be fatal. If I knock into somebody either on foot or on a bike the odds are that I will end up in A/E if I am driving a vehicle the odds are dramatically reversed. Of course he didn't intend any harm, with a little more thought there would have been none.

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iklhik says...
9:39pm Sat 13 Oct 12

Alleged experience? He'd driven 2 million miles without an accident.

Fact is, this was a tragic accident and both the judge and family of Ms. Braithwaite recognised that drivers are human and make mistakes. In this case the mistake cost someone their life. Hopefully it will be a lesson to everyone - drivers to take extra care when reversing in case you miss something; and cyclists that drivers of large vehicles have massive blind spots and can't always see you. I'd encourage everyone - especially the cyclists I see in Oxford undertaking large vehicles - to watch this video: -

http://bit.ly/UYfU8L

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seamusl says...
9:50pm Sat 13 Oct 12

Totally agree, but (there's always a but) shouldn't a vehicle of that size had a banksman (I believe they are called)

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seamusl says...
9:50pm Sat 13 Oct 12

Totally agree, but (there's always a but) shouldn't a vehicle of that size had a banksman (I believe they are called)

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seamusl says...
9:50pm Sat 13 Oct 12

Totally agree, but (there's always a but) shouldn't a vehicle of that size had a banksman (I believe they are called)

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seamusl says...
9:50pm Sat 13 Oct 12

Totally agree, but (there's always a but) shouldn't a vehicle of that size had a banksman (I believe they are called)

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davyboy says...
5:43pm Sun 14 Oct 12

seamusl wrote:
Totally agree, but (there's always a but) shouldn't a vehicle of that size had a banksman (I believe they are called)
certainly a banksman would be required if the vehicle was reversing on site, but not if on an ordinary road. however, there should have been a working reversing horn, at the very least. i don't recall the full facts of this case, and if he even was reversing. as to his age, after the age of 65, you need a stringent medical every year, including an eyesight test, to keep your HGV entitlement, so he was clearly in good health. yes, a lorry or bus has large blind spots, and all other road users need to be aware.

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