British Cycling and Scottish Cycling have made representations to the Lord Advocate for Scotland, Frank Mulholland QC, urging him to appeal the sentence of Gary McCourt who was sentenced to just 300 hours of community service and a five-year driving ban for causing the death by careless driving of Audrey Fyfe in Edinburgh in 2011.
Mrs Fyfe, 75, died after she was hit from behind by Gary McCourt at a junction.
She was the second cyclist whose death was caused by McCourt. He was found guilty of death by reckless driving after 22-year-old George Dalgity was killed in Edinburgh in 1985. In that case Gary McCourt failed to stop, was driving without insurance and without a licence.
“All too often the criminal justice produces the wrong results when people are hurt or killed on the road. Sentences like this send out the wrong message about how we expect people to behave on the roads and how we value the right of people to travel safely,” British Cycling Policy and Legal Affairs Director Martin Gibbs said.
“This sentence was at the lower end of the scale available and it is clear that justice has not been done for Mrs Fyfe and her family.
Along with other stakeholders we have been pushing for a comprehensive review of how the criminal justice system operates when people are hurt when cycling. As this case illustrates, fundamental changes are needed.
Related:
British Cycling Policy and Legal Affairs Director Martin Gibbs' letter to Frank Hulholland QC
