Hit and run driver who left cyclist in road allowed to continue driving

Impulsively and foolishly put something on your Facebook page that offends Daily Mail readers, send an abusive tweet, or wear a T-shirt with a tasteless and repellent slogan and Britain’s magistrates and judges will have no qualms about sending you to prison for many months, even for a first-time offence.

But recklessly crash into a cyclist and leave them lying in the road while you drive away hoping never to be caught and the British judicial system will treat you very leniently indeed. If you are caught you not only won’t automatically go to jail, you may even be allowed to continue driving, like this motorist:

A WOMAN has pleaded guilty to failing to stop after her car collided with a cyclist. Stephanie Crotty admitted injuring Alister Sykes and causing damage to his bike while driving a blue Volkswagen. The 26-year-old from Yeats Close, Royston, was ordered to pay £400 after failing to report the accident on the A505 near to the entry to the northbound Letchworth Gate A1(M) junction slip road in September. Crotty was also given seven points on her driving licence when she appeared at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court on Friday. 

Meanwhile a London borough where SUSTRANS collaborates with a car-supremacist local authority to ‘encourage cycling’ by handing out loyalty cards to cycling shoppers has been revealed as the sixth worst borough in London for hit and runs:

Figures obtained by the Greater London Authority show that during 2011 there were 147 hit and runs in the borough.