By Louise Hickey
A driver who failed to see a cyclist and knocked him down, causing him a broken thigh bone and a detached retina, has been fined €350 by the courts on a charge of careless driving. However, the driver avoided any driving ban.
Peter Totten (36), Meadow Ave, Millmount Road, Tuam, Co Galway, drove onto a roundabout shortly after 7am on June 9th last year and hit the rear wheel of the cyclist’s bike, causing him to crash.
According to a report in the Connacht Tribune, which did not name the cyclist, Totten failed to see the cyclist. He drove onto the roundabout at the end of the Tuam bypass. He was driving home from a shift as a nurse at the time.
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Sgt Stan O’Grady told the court the cyclist was making his way out of Tuam, on the roundabout, when Totten hit the rear of his bike. The court was also told Totten failed to see the cyclist on the summer morning.
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Totten’s solicitor, Daniel McGrath, suggested it was a “dark, chilly, misty old morning” and that his client had just worked a 12-hour shift. Mr McGrath added “unfortunately, the cyclist didn’t have any reflective gear on”.
After the crash, Totten realised he had injured the cyclist and brought him home, with his bike.
Judge James Faughnan, of the District Court, fined Totten €350. He said he would not disqualify him from driving on the basis he pleaded guilty and had no previous convictions.
