Accomplished bike racer, marathon runner and NHS midwife Julie Dinsdale, whose leg had to amputated at the roadside after she was run over by a Tesco delivery driver has given evidence to the The All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group inquiry into Cycling and the Justice System.

Following the incident Dinsdale appeared before the Group to give insight of the police’s attitudes to driving offences involving cyclists and provide testimony relating to her experience of bringing both civil and criminal proceedings.

Dinsdale praised the Metropolitan Police's investigation of the collision of which she was the victim, after the force had come in for criticism during an earlier session.

However she criticised the court’s decision to fine the driver just £625 along with adding five points to his licence after he pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention.

She also expressed shock that he was allowed to continue driving in the run up to the trial and subsequently continue working as a delivery driver following his conviction.

Having brought a successful civil action against Tesco and the driver who hit her, she suffered further difficulties when the compensation she was awarded was initially withheld by the insurance company.

She described how this, combined with the slow pace of the initial criminal prosecution, caused serious delay to her rehabilitation.

During the session she also spoke about the need for stronger sentencing as a deterrent to careless and dangerous driving.

With the driver that hit Dinsdale convicted of driving without due care and attention, the Parliamentary Cycling Group discussed the possibility of creating a new and more serious offence of causing injury by dangerous driving.

Her partner, noted American mountain bike designer Keith Bontrager, also gave evidence.

He concurred that the current system is not doing enough to deter driving crimes against vulnerable road users and characterised the situation amongst road users in this country as adversarial, noting ‘it doesn't feel like that in Copenhagen or Amsterdam.’