A cyclist has been convicted of "careless driving" in an Irish court after he hit the back of a car parked on a dual carriageway.
A cyclist has been convicted of “careless driving” under a law dating back 50 years after he rear-ended a parked car in Co Clare.
Ennis District Court was told the 36-year-old man rode into the back of the car and smashed the rear windscreen as an elderly couple sat inside.
Before he convicted Thomas Murphy, Moyhill, Cratloe, Co Clare, Judge Patrick Durcan said: “Sometimes cyclists seem to have the view that they are exempt from road traffic laws”.
Judge Durcan also said there was “increasing acrimony” between cyclists and motorists on the roads but he believed Mr Murphy was cycling “at considerable speed” when he hit the back of the car.
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The vehicle was parked on the side of the Ennis-Limerick dual carriageway when the collision occurred on New Year’s Eve 2013.
The driver of the car, pensioner Patrick O’Donoghue, Lahinch Rd, Ennistymon, Co Clare, said he and his wife had pulled in to get their bearings on the way to a night out for New Year’s Eve.
He told the court they were left “trembling with shock” when Murphy cycled into the back of the car, breaking the rear window.
“The glass came flying out to my feet,” he explained.
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“It was reckless cycling by the man. There was glass everywhere. It was frightening.”
He added the impact damaged the boot door and a back door as well as breaking the rear window.
The court was told visibility was good on the night, with Judge Durcan concluding Mr Murphy was not looking where he was going while riding his Trek racing bike.
“Mr Murphy was travelling at some considerable speed when he effectively rear-ended the parked car,” Judge Durcan said.
“If it was a child in a buggy or a young mother with a pram, God only knows what would have happened.”
He believed Mr Murphy, who had no previous convictions, had “seriously breached” his obligation to other road users.
“I’m absolutely satisfied on the evidence that Mr Murphy rode the bike in a grossly careless manner for a number of reasons.”
Mr Murphy, who denied a suggestion by Insp Tom Kennedy that he rode his bike without due care and attention, was convicted of careless driving under Section 52 (1) of a Road Traffic Act 1961 and fined €250.
The legislation deals with those driving “vehicles” rather than “mechanically propelled vehicles” and so can be applied to those on bikes or, for example, in horse-drawn carts.
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