Originally Posted by atbman

The question is not whether the details of the collision were properly investigated, but why the public prosecutor cam to such a barmy conclusion?

The fact that the driver wasn't speeding, or texting, or drunk or in breach of certain specific legal requirements is, and should have been, utterly irrelevant. If you collide with a highly visible vehicle which is showing flashing lights, then your driving falls so far below the standards of competence, concentration and responsibility, then you are criminally negligent.

The fact that human beings make mistakes is not relevant in the slightest, because the enormity of the mistake places the driver's actions totally outside any definition of acceptable error. It was not a momentary loss of concentration. If the laws of that state only allow for prosecution for very specific offences, such as those quoted in the story, then that law is grossly inadequate.

I have made mistakes, on bicycles, motor scooters, motorbike, cars, vans and small trucks and I am grateful in some of those instances, for the alertness of other road users. What I have not done, in 50+ years on the road, is not see a large vehicle, with lights flashing merrily away and driven into it.

Not to prosecute demonstrates a failure of will, intelligence and competence. What is the local/regional/state cycling community doing about it, if anything?