The driver of a bus that ran over an Oxford University student has been found guilty of careless driving but kept his licence.

Paul Willis, 48, was driving an Oxford Bus Company bus along the Cowley Road, in Oxford, on May 26, 2004, when St Catherine's College student Emilie Harris, 20, pictured, fell off her bike and into its path.

Although the bus swerved there was not enough space in the road to avoid Miss Harris. She was pronounced dead at the John Radcliffe Hospital 30 minutes later.

Seconds earlier Willis had been talking to off-duty colleague Henry Stuart as he drove along Cowley Road.

Willis, of Witney Road, Long Hanborough, was yesterday convicted of careless driving and talking to Stuart while driving.

District Judge Brian Loosley said Willis's standard of driving had fallen below that expected of a reasonable, competent and prudent driver.

He said Willis failed to appreciate the potential bottleneck ahead as he approached Miss Harris and should have realised it would squeeze the space around the cyclist.

He said there was not enough space for the bus to avoid running over Miss Harris and therefore Willis should have made the decision to hold back.

Mr Loosley said: "Mr Willis committed a serious error of judgement but unfortunately one that any one of us could be guilty of when we go out on the road.

"Over the years I have had to deal with cases of careless driving where death occurs and it is never easy.

"Family and friends expect me to pass a harsh penalty but I know the defendants have suffered for the past two years and will continue suffering for the rest of their lives pondering this."

Willis was given eight points on his licence and fined £500 for careless driving and £50 for talking while driving the bus. He must also pay £500 costs.

Stuart, 53, of Mather Road, Barton, Oxford, was also found guilty of breaching public service regulations for speaking to Willis and fined £50 plus £50 costs.

However Mr Loosley said after seeing the bus' CCTV photographs he was convinced the conversation between them had finished at least three seconds before the accident and did not play any part in causing it.

Willis would have been disqualified if he had received 12 or more points on his licence and Mr Loosley added: "I have thought long and hard about the issue of disqualification.

"This was a serious error of judgement, but bearing in mind Mr Willis is a man with an impeccable driving record and the impact a disqualification would have on him I have decided to endorse eight points on his licence."

After the trial at Wantage Magistrates' Court, Sgt Peter Jell, of Thames Valley Police's roads policing department, said: "Our investigation has clearly shown that Mr Willis could have and should have backed off that would have given him more time to act when Emilie fell off her bike.

"The problem we have is that we were never able to establish why Emilie fell off. The lesson here is that people must be prepared for the unexpected happening in front of them."

Oxford Bus Company spokesman Phil Ashworth said a disciplinary hearing would now be held.

The parents

Emilie's parents, Martin and June, were not at court yesterday but made the following tribute: "Emilie was outgoing, intelligent with a zany sense of humour and a wide range of interests. Her loss was devastating to us and has transformed our lives. The veil of sadness associated with her loss is permanent.

"Emilie had been made charities representative for her college the week before she was killed.

"Together with Emilie's friends from college we have set up a charity called Emilie's Charities to support, in Emilie's name, projects of which Emilie would have approved, involving poor children in developing countries.

"Although we had attended the preliminary hearings for this case, when the date of today's hearing was set, unfortunately we had already made arrangements and have been visiting one of the orphanages being supported by Emilie's Charities.

"We trust that the result of this trial will be an increased awareness of road safety for cyclists in Oxford such that tragic losses such as that of Emilie do not occur in the future."

The safety scheme

The decision to go ahead with a £1.6m traffic calming scheme in Cowley Road, came just five days after the death of Emilie Harris.

County council figures showed that Cowley Road had the highest accident rate per kilometre of all shopping streets in Oxfordshire.

There were 104 reported accidents in the five years to August 31, 2003 - which is about one every two weeks with about 40 per cent after dark.

Cyclists were involved in 46 of the reported accidents and 20 per cent of the accidents involved serious injuries.

The improvement scheme, which was completed in November last year, included a 20mph speed limit.

Other cyclists have died, or been seriously injured, in road accidents in Oxford in recent years.

Rachel Barker, 30, was killed by a lorry turning left at the Botley Road/Cripley Road junction in 2000.

And Lisa Harker, 37, lost her unborn child and almost her life beneath the wheels of an 18-tonne lorry, as it turned left into Roger Dudman Way, at its junction with Botley Road in April 2004.

Mrs Harker, of Botley, Oxford, was 17 weeks pregnant, after five years of trying for a baby, but the baby did not survive the impact.

New laws

By the end of the year, there could be a new criminal offence of causing death by careless driving, which would carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Currently the maximum penalty for careless driving is a £2,500 fine and the possibility of losing your licence.

The new offence will be brought in if there are no further amendments to the Road Safety Bill.

For the more serious charge of causing death by dangerous driving, the courts can impose a sentence of up to 14 years, an unlimited fine and a driving ban.

The reaction

James Styring, chairman of Cyclox, the cycling campaign group for Oxford, said the group would not comment on the sentence.

He added: "Emilie Harris's death highlights the need for all road users to be extremely vigilant.

"Oxford is busy and congested, and potentially dangerous situations present themselves all too frequently.

"Cyclists often report near-misses with vehicles, including buses, and complain that vehicles pass too quickly and too close. Drivers must always be patient and give cyclists a wide berth.

"Drivers, particularly professional drivers who are on the roads all day, find it stressful driving among so many bicycles.

"Cyclists must make sure that they cycle in a safe position and are able to look comfortably over their right shoulder."

Alan Strickland, president of Oxford University Students' Union, said: "In Freshers' Week, we do a lot of work on student safety. We focus on personal safety, and that includes advice about safe cycling in Oxford.

"It's important that students take a step back and realise they will be cycling on busy roads."