An Aberdeen University student has been ordered to pay a cyclist £300 compensation after admitting knocking him over near Inverurie last year.
The cyclist suffered a broken pelvis when Kian McCredie clipped the rear wheel of his bike on a blind bend near Chapel of Garioch.
The 20-year-old business management student appeared in Aberdeen Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to the charge of careless driving on June 22, 2022.
Fiscal depute Sean Ambrose told the court McCredie, from Stuartfield, had been driving his red Vauxhall Corsa southbound on the single-track road between Chapel of Garioch and the Bennachie Centre at around 11.25am.
Mr Ambrose told the court the incident had happened on a sharp blind bend in the road, which had poor visibility due to overgrown vegetation on the verges.
He explained there are painted “slow” markings on the road and a sign which reads “skid risk” due to there being a gravelled section of the carriageway.
The court heard that the cyclist heard a vehicle approaching from behind which overtook him before the sharp corner.
However, McCredie was following in a second car and overtook the cyclist on the blind bend.
‘He made the wrong decision to overtake on the blind bend’
“The front bumper of the car hit his rear wheel,” Mr Ambrose said. “[The cyclist] was ejected from his bicycle and slid short distance across the surface of the road.
“[McCredie] immediately stopped and asked how he was, and they exchanged details.”
The injured man declined medical assistance at the time and tried to make his way home, the court heard, but he was in substantial pain. However, he later sought medical help and discovered he had broken his pelvis.
McCredie’s defence agent Caitlin Pirie said her client was unemployed and is in his second year of business management at the University of Aberdeen.
Ms Pirie told the court McCredie had held a driving licence for two years and had been following behind a work colleague as he was working in a low paid temporary job for the summer.
“He quickly considered and made the wrong decision to overtake on the blind bend,” Ms Pirie explained. “He stopped and offered to phone for an ambulance and he gave his details.”
Sheriff Margaret Hodge said McCredie’s “inexperience” had played a large part in the accident and suggested he had “learned” from it.
She endorsed McCredie’s licence with six penalty points and fined him £350 – also ordering him to pay compensation of £300 to the cyclist.
