£800 fine for tractor driver who killed Brenda Kerry

A 20 year old man who caused the death of a very popular CTC member near Newton St.Cyres last year has been fined£800 with a one year ban.
When he overtook her on the A377 on a narrow section of road, he gave her an estimated 45cm of space, causing her to lose control and fall off of her bike with fatal inhuries.

Express & Echo report

£2,500 fine for cyclists who don't ring!

The latest bit of "cyclist bashing" reporting in the national press has suggestions of fines of up to £2,500 for riders who don't fit and use bells on their bicycles.

Cyclists can already be hit with fixed penalty notices, fines of between £500 and £2,500 or have their driving licence endorsed if they are found guilty of dangerous riding, ignore red lights or ride on the pavement. But now Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman has said it would be 'sensible' to extend the rules to bells mounted on the handlebars.

Teenager dies at Kingsteignton.

The area has been shocked by the death of a teenage cyclist in Kingsteignton. He was on his bike in Rydon Lane , and no other vehicle was involved.
It's understood that the 13 year old boy was practicing on a BMX bike when he fell on to a kerb.
The boy was a pupil at the nearby Teign School.

Discharge for 159mph speeding PC:

A policeman who drove at 159mph on a motorway has been found guilty of dangerous driving and given an absolute discharge.

Pc Milton said he was familiarising himself with the vehicle( ! )

More from BBC website

£80 fixed penalty for driver who abused Torbay cyclist.

A regular Torbay cyclist was at the receiving end of verbal abuse near Bickington whilst out riding. When he stopped to take down the number of the vehicle the driver threatened to set his dogs on him.
The matter was reported to local police who have since visited the driver and issued him with an £80 fixed penalty notice.

More news on cyclist who refused to cycle "in the gutter"

An update from Roger Geffen - CTC's Campaigns & Policy Manager

Dear all, I have to apologise: we were wrong even to mention "obstruction" in our original press release. Daniel Cadden was charged with, and convicted of, "inconsiderate cycling", NOT "obstructing the highway".
Although the grounds for his original arrest were that the police officer thought he should be cycling in the gutter (the officer even described it as a cycle lane, despite being far too narrow and having no cycle lane markings), when it came to trial, the police accepted that the cars behind Daniel Cadden could not have overtake him legally (i.e. without crossing the double white lines) however far to the left he had been cycling, due to the narrowness of the lane.
The District Judge therefore found him guilty of inconsiderate cycling on the grounds that he should have been using the cycle track on the opposite side of the road. The District Judge took no notice of John Franklin's expert witness evidence of the risks and delays involved in crossing the road twice, the risks the cyclist would impose on pedestrians if he were to ride on the cycle track at anything like the same speed as that which he was travelling at on the road, the state of the cycle track, etc etc. Of course, this makes the outcome of the case even more directly relevant to our Highway Code campaign. We were concerned that this sort of thing would become more likely if the DfT were to make the changes proposed in the consultation draft.
What the Cadden case shows is that the spread of off-carriageway cycle tracks is already making it more likely, even with the Highway Code as it stands. This is exactly why the DfT needs to move in the opposite direction, to make it clear to drivers, police officers and Judges alike that cyclists are entitled to use the roads regardless of the presence of cycle tracks, and that they are entitled to ride out wide on the road if they are in a situation where they feel it would be dangerous to allow drivers to overtake them.
I have now made this point to one of the DfT officials who will be dealing with the Highway Code (Claire Spink, who is now in charge of walking and cycling policy). She has to liaise with her colleagues in Road Safety section. Although she was understandably guarded in her comments (given that no decisions have been taken), I got the impression that she was sympathetic to what we are calling for. However, it can't be taken for granted that her road safety colleagues will be persuaded so easily. At this stage, with the consultation now closed, we just have to await the outcome of their internal deliberations.

120 turn out for Cycle Club Anniversary

120 members of the Devon CTC met at Starcross on April 30th, exactly 75 years after the club was founded at the same location.
There was a special Anniversary cake made by Rob Swayne and a cream tea.
It was a great gathering of the membership with members ages ranging form 10 to 80!