[Red Herring]

OK, lots of emotional language both on here and in the article, including the words use to summarise at the end. Lets look at reality shall we? Once upon a time many many years ago if you offended someone they were considered quite within their rights to call you out to a duel and this sometimes led to one, or both, of you being killed. Fortunately as a society we evolved a bit and this practice became frowned upon, and eventually made illegal, and today fortunately it only happens now and again, usually between drunken louts outside the kebab shop on a Saturday night.

Unfortunately human nature hasn't actually kept up with the expectations of society and people are still inclined to completely lose all sense of reason and perspective when they feel insulted, and this may well be a case in point.....

Take one motorcyclist riding up the motorway quite quickly (his average was over the speed limit, work out for yourself what he was probably doing) and he comes up behind a car on an otherwise quiet motorway pooling along in the centre lane (the photo) or the fast lane (the drivers admission) and it doesn't take a huge amount of imagination to suspect there is every likelihood he felt the need to communicate his displeasure towards the driver. Maybe he just passed a bit close, perhaps he cut across in front of him, perhaps he used that well known hand signal suggesting the driver should be in lane one, I don't know, but I'd be very surprised if he did nothing, especially given what then went on to happen.

I'm not making any excuses for the car driver, and I'm certainly not suggesting what he did is anything other than an outrageous act for which he most certainly should be locked up, but I am offering an explanation as to why what went on probably did, something which seems to have been completely overlooked in the article. It may also go a long way to help understand the sentence dished out. This wasn't a premeditated act (in that the driver didn't set out to kill the rider that day), it is an act of violence that happened when an otherwise mundane and innocent event was allowed by both parties to escalate out of hand.

Personally as an ex copper and an active motorcyclist I see people driving like complete idiots on a daily basis but I'm pragmatic enough about it to recognise that my responsibility now is towards myself and my family. Some may consider that selfish, tough, I've done my bit, now i just want to stay alive and getting involved in any kind of argy bargy against anything with more wheels than you is only going to end one way.