33 months is a disgrace, it's attempted murder plus all the rest of the stuff, should have got 10 years minimum.

Absolutely. Why is using a car as a weapon in this country not deemed as serious as usin a knife or gun. Surely the 1 tonne plus of metal travelling at speed is a far more deadly weapon. And they proved he intended to hit him with the car, it was not simply careless driving...!

Ug - gonna go let my blood pressure come down methinks...

I can't add to the existing comments; I'm in complete agreement, but have to say something.

I'm stunned someone with a record like that, who's own mother is willing to testify against only gets 33 months.

I hope Mr. Smith has recovered fully from his injuries.

You've got to wonder what his sentence would have been if he'd caused similar injuries by attempting to 'wing' him with a shotgun!

well i hope he's good at playing that game in prison. you know the one where you have to pick up the soap bar in the showers. hehe

The b'stard should have got 15 years MINIMUM. Period.

Firstly, I hope Mr Smith makes a full recovery.

I really don't understand the rationale for this verdict. It would appear the justice system is determined to treat cyclists as 2nd class citizens. That a dominating bully can willfully cause harm to an innocent and then receive a mere 33 months is beyond comprehension.

This is part of a worrying trend where media personalities (i.e. Matthew Parris and James Martin) advocate malice towards cyclists; the courts then fail to condemn the actions of those actually injure.

Despicable waste of oxygen. I hope he at least serves his full sentence, which in itself is too lenient anyway.

The NHS would have just finished where he left off. Thank America's superior private healthcare system for those 15 weeks in hospital including 20 days in intensive care.

O WAIT...

What about his license? Is he going to be allowed to drive after a deliberate attempt to murder someone in a car?

I think if it was my Dad or family member that got hit I'd see about getting this case taken to a higher court! That is absolutly attempted murder and the driver should be hung for it.

The court has banned him from driving for just three years. Three years! As ever the law clearly believes that the supposed 'right' to drive takes precedence over keeping people like this off the road. Events like this are all too common and the response of the law is pathetic, especially when a cyclist is the victim. This case has a lot in common with that of Carl Baxter, the owner of a haulage company in Market Weighton near York who had previous convictions for ‘road rage’ offences. In 2003, whilst driving his 4x4, he deliberately ran over a cyclist and his 4-year-old daughter who was in a child trailer, crippling the cyclist and leaving his daughter in a coma with serious brain injuries. He was banned for just two years!

Cyclists aren't blocking traffic, they are traffic.

If a similar thing had happened here in the Netherlands the driver would have got no more than 40 hours community service and a small fine, so thank god that he got 33 months. Your life in the Netherlands is worth not much more than a couple of months wages should you be killed on the roads, think about that if ever you come here?

Ademort

This guy will get out in under 18 months and do the same again and again. They should take his kidneys, liver and any other usable bodily part and give them to more deserving people - I for one will NOT object!

10 years.

I agree with all of the afore comments, clearly the term imposed is too short and he is likely to get off early, particularly with the overloaded state of the prison system currently.

Only Saturday I was out on a trainning ride and whilst climbing a steep hill some red mist moron decided to pass me at 50mph (in a 30mph zone) as close as he could, even thou there were no oncoming cars and ample room to pass, nearly knocking me off. I'm sure all reading this will have similar tales to tell.

Harsher penalties and wider coverage in the general press highlighting the repercussions would be helpful and would hopefully deter these single minded people from acting like idiots.

I think we should go round slash the guys tyres if he decides to own another tin box.This is disgusting. And it appears that we're the ones in the wrong for being in the way ! Its attempted murder FFS

Think of it this way - 11 months for each offence - dangerous driving, theft of a £10k car and perverting the course of justice. Sadly, I expect that the courts would consider this a fairly stiff sentence for a person of apparent previous good character. He will probably be out in just under a year.

What an example to set to the rest of society! I have no faith in our justice system. None whatsoever. And I work for it :-(

i hope mr robertson get's rear ended in jail by some dude called bubba!! scum bag of the highest order!! i hope some one leaves him for dead some day on a road!!

HE WILL ONLY DO ABOUT HALF OF 33 MONTHS, BE OUT ON GOOD BEHAVIOR, SOME ONE WANTS TO GO TO HIS STABLES AND BURN THEM DOWN!! BY THE INJURIES MR SMITH RECEIVED HE MORE THAN CLIPPED HIM !! SAME OLD PATTER TO POLICE DINT SEE HIM, HE WAS IN MIDDLE OF ROAD BLAH BLAH BLAH. SOME DRIVERS THINK ITS`S FUNNY TO COME VERY CLOSE TO A CYCLIST NEARLY KNOCKING US OFF. I HOPE MR SMITH SCREWS HIM FOR A LOT OF MONEY BCF CLAIM I HOPE. I HAVE SAID THIS ALL ALONG THAT YOU CAN LEGALLY KILL SOME ONE IN A CAR AND GET 18 MONTHS IN PRISON!!

i agree with the above comments. the problem is that they don`t get seen by the people handing out the sentences. judges get ferried around in cars, you cannot expect them to mix with the riff raff on bikes. this type of case should only be dealt with by people who ride on the roads to give them some idea of what its like. trouble is it sounds too sensible.

I'm upset!!!!!

Firstly - I think that young drivers should only be able to drive power limited cars with little acceleration. This works well for motor cyclists and has been a proven technique in developing driving skills and awareness.Then part of any basic driving course should involve experience of cycling which has to be taken and passed.

Why is it that drivers tend to take so much care when there is a horse to pass and not when there is a bicycle?

I feel it's basically a cultural hatred of cyclists. Cyclists are not even seen as people they are culturally identified as less than human. Worse than second class - They should not be on the road. Walkers, horses, tractors, lorrries are all OK but not cyclists.

Importantly there should be more public information services highlighting that automible drivers have a responsibility to give a wide birth to cyclists just like other vehicles and road users.

Also people are pretty thick. They actually need to be told why it's not a good idea for a cyclist to ride in the gutter and why they ride towards the first third of the road. Pot, holes, rough and dangerous surfaces - need to make sure you are seen. And the need to make sure that drivers don't try and squeeze past and give a good distance.

Personally I never mind a driver giving me a beep as they think I am to wide as this means I have been seen and they can't squeeze past. However, there will always be some lunatic who is simply a stupid young man, driving on hormones with no respect for anybody else and no empathy.

Once it was made clear and discovered that he tried to clip the cyclist on purpose his charge should have been changed to attemped murder and not a driving charge and then maybe a higher sentence could be given. I wonder if this could be done in a civil court or by mass action? A precedent needs to be set.

Tom - and now I'm ranting inanely.......

33 Months for ATTEMPTED MURDER!!!!

Sorry but i am lost for words.

Far too lenient. Bring on strict liability to make motorists think.

There was an article on the news a couple of nights ago which seemed to imply that the minimum sentence for murder committed with a knife was 15 years, while if committed with a gun it was 20 years. Couldn't quite get my head around a justice system which believes that the chosen weapon makes a difference to the seriousness of the crime like murder! But clearly it does and if you want a nice light sentence your weapon of choice should obviously be the car!

Bet he drives a BMW or an Audi?

Thats some clip when the numberplate needs replacing !!

Sounds like an allround BAD EGG to have evidence given by his ma too !

Appalling.

Agree with the other comments about the driving ban. If he had shot someone, would they give him his shotgun licence back after 3 years?

If Mr Smith (66 ffs, 66!) had not been found bleeding profusely on the road, presumably by a responsible motorist, this mutant would've been facing manslaughter. He's clearly had a spoiled upbringing (check out the stables' website), but chapeau to his old dear giving character evidence against the a-hole. I'm with those of you proposing a vigilante group to track him down when he's out, he's scum and deserves extreme persecution. In the meantime, I hope Mr Smith makes a full recovery and can make it back on to two wheels.