Bicycle group concerned over road rage decision

The Bicycle Advocacy Group has expressed deep concern that a bus driver recently found guilty of dangerous driving whilst on a mobile phone was not also prosecuted for the attempted injury of a cyclist.

The group said that a witness had confirmed that the driver had swerved his bus in the cyclist’s direction.

“The group is concerned that unfortunately this sends completely the wrong message that aggressive and bullying behaviour towards vulnerable road users is in some way acceptable. The courts failure to take action therefore sets an extremely dangerous precedent.”

The group said this was not an isolated case. The group, it said, often received reports of other people on bicycles being subjected to bullying behaviour on the public road, further underlining the need for a presumed liability law to protect all vulnerable road users.

A 41-year-old bus driver from Zejtun was jailed and banned from driving after a court heard how he attempted to run over a cyclist.

Thomas Spagnol, a bus driver at Schillaci Garage, had been charged on account of a road-rage incident which took place on the morning of 9 July 2014 near Targa Gap in Mosta.

Spagnol was driving a bus in the direction of Burmarrad when he ran a stop sign, narrowly missing a cyclist who was heading in the same direction.

The cyclist, Graham Borg, followed him and caught up to the bus further down the road. When the cyclist tried to speak to the accused about this near-miss, the accused swerved the bus in his direction, mounting the pavement. Luckily, the cyclist was unharmed.

Spagnol admitted to having stopped late when joining the roundabout, but denied the offensive maneuvering. He claimed to have let the cyclist pass “as there was a pothole” and said it was impossible for the cyclist to have caught up with him or to communicate with him because the doors close automatically.