A cyclist has been fined £2,200 after killing a teenage pedestrian causing media outrage. Should cyclists face tougher penalties for breaking the law or are they being unfairly vilified?
Jason Howard, 36, was found guilty of dangerous cycling after he knocked down 17-year-old Rhiannon Bennett, causing her fatal injuries.
Reaction to the case highlights growing anger at the behaviour of cyclists.
The pedestrian campaign Living Streets, suggests that dangerous cyclist should be sent to prison.
Rhiannon's father, Mick Bennett, said the fine was "laughable" and called for the introduction of a new charge of "death by dangerous cycling".
His feelings were tragically echoed today by the family of a cyclist killed by a lorry, whose driver was fined £275 for careless driving. Glenn Syder's widow described the fine as "ludicrous".
And yet it is cyclists who have become the new chief source of road rage.
"So morally superior do they feel towards car drivers they neglect to reflect on their own arrogant and thoughtless behaviour," says blogger StroppyBird summing up an anti-cycling view that is frequently repeated on the letter pages of local newspapers. "Shooting's too good for them" says Solihull Online.
The backlash is perhaps a reaction to the increase popularity of cycling. As more people take to their bikes, more cyclists break the law. Even top politicians have been caught out dodging red lights and riding the wrong way up one-way streets.
David Cameron and Boris Johnson were lucky the columnist Jeremy Clarkson wasn't coming the other way. He infamously threatened to mow down cyclist who jump the lights.
Responsible cyclists are fed up with the image of cyclist being tarnished by such incidents. More than 2,500 have signed a Stop at Red petition, agreeing to comply with traffic laws in the hope of improving the image of cyclists.
Would that help, or is the real scourge of the streets the car?
Blogger Rooksmoor says: "If British culture was more defined by the cyclists (and walkers) of this country not only would it be safer and healthier, but finally we might begin to reduce the level of hatred that the average Briton has for the ordinary people they encounter every day."
