Minutes of a Motorcycle Addict

Agder Appeal Court has today convicted the female car driver who ran down and injured a young motorcyclist in Tønsberg, Norway, to jail and loss of drivers license. The verdict is a strong signal to all car drivers to be vigilant about motorcyclists.

The young rider was seriously injured after a car hit him and his bike in an intersection. The car driver was first acquitted but then sentenced to jail time in the appeal court. Photo: TB.no

In June last year, the young rider was run down by the car driver after she failed both to spot him and to obey the yield sign at the intersection where the accident happened. In March this year, the local District Court acquitted the car driver on dubious grounds - e.g. that a motorcycle was so hard to spot anyway.

This brought rage into the motorcycle community, not only in Norway but internationally. Media in several countries covered the story, and the riders' rights organisation such as the Norwegian Motorcyclists' Union (NMCU) and the Federation of European Motorcyclists' Associaton (FEMA) warned that the verdict would send a signal to the road users that you will be let off the hook if you crash with something smaller than a car.

Fortunately the District Attorney appealed the verdict, and today the Agder Appeal Court sentenced the car driver to 18 days unconditional jail time as well as loss of drivers' licence for 6 months.

This is a strong message to car drivers to keep a careful eye out for motorcycles.