Van driver avoids jail for punching cyclist unconscious

A van driver who knocked a cyclist unconscious in a road rage attack has been spared jail.

Jack Rawlins, 30, deliberately pulled in front of the victim "to teach him a lesson" when the cyclist bumped his wing mirror in Bristol.

Rawlins then got out of his van and punched the 56-year-old man in the face, knocking him unconscious.

He was given a suspended jail sentence on Tuesday after admitting dangerous driving and assault.

The victim, a business analyst, had been cycling through Bedminster on 12 February when he indicated to Rawlins to give him more space.

His hand bumped Rawlins' wing mirror, Bristol Crown Court heard.

The defendant turned the van around and followed the cyclist, pulling in front of him in nearby Weymouth Road and knocking him off his bike.

Rawlins, a painter and decorator, then got out of the van, along with his passenger, and punched the victim in the face before driving off.

The victim was left with concussion and severe bruising to his ribs which caused him headaches and trouble breathing for months after the attack.

The father-of-three continues to cycle, but said he was anxious on the roads and that his wife suffers panic attacks if he returns home late.

Speaking after the sentencing, he told the BBC: "There is a big problem of 'othering' of cyclists, they are seen as less than human.

"If something happens to someone's car or something it is seen as more important than the health and wellbeing of the cyclist, which I think is really worrying.

"Any kind of infraction of the highway code from cyclists is met with rage from people who may do plenty of things outside the highway code as well, but because it's a cyclist they see that differently."

The incident was recorded on the cyclist's helmet camera, and Rawlins, of Raleigh Road, Southville, Bristol, was tracked down through his employer, whose contact details were printed on the van.

He told police he had followed the victim "to teach him a lesson" for "punching" his wing mirror.

The court heard Rawlins had a previous caution for a similar attack on a cyclist, and had anger management training as a teenager.

He received a two-year sentence suspended for two years and was ordered to complete 150 hours unpaid work, as well as pay £920 in costs and compensation.

Judge Moira Macmillan also ordered him to complete an anger management course, telling him: "This is your opportunity to address your anger and find different ways of dealing with it."

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