Magistrate labels road rage motorist 'moronic bogan' after cyclist assault

Instead of offering assistance to a cyclist he hit with his car, Angus Beirne got out and beat him up. Photo / News Corp

A Queensland motorist who collided with a cyclist, then got out of his car to beat him up, has been labelled a "moronic bogan" by the magistrate who sentenced him.

Angus Edgar Beirne, a former competitive lifesaver, pleaded guilty to assault in Maroochydore Magistrates Court yesterday, the Sunshine Coast Daily reported, where he was told his conduct was, "road rage, pure and simple".

The court heard the 27-year-old was travelling along a Sunshine Coast road just before 8am on January 10, when the victim sideswiped the driver's door mirror of his car with his bike.

According to Beirne's defence lawyer, he thought the cyclist did so intentionally and got out of his car to turn on the man.

"The defendant got out of his vehicle and started yelling at the cyclist and running towards the cyclist," police prosecutor Sergeant Rick Pallister told the court.

"The defendant said something like 'who the f*** do you think you are? You just hit my car. What the f*** do you think you're doing mate?'"

Beirne then apparently demanded an apology, which the cyclist refused to give.

When the cyclist told Beirne he had been driving on the wrong side of the road, the security guard began throwing punches, hitting him in the face, mouth and chest.

Beirne's lawyer Paul Hamilton said there was no explanation for his client's conduct.

He described his behaviour as "a complete aberration".

Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist agreed his conduct appeared out of character, after reading his character references.

"You turned into a street and you turned into a moronic bogan for some reason," Stjernqvist said.

"(A) person of even temperament and good character would have jumped out of the car and (asked) 'are you OK', not immediately embarked upon a tirade like you did."

Stjernqvist fined Beirne $3000 and ordered him to pay $500 in compensation to the cyclist.

The man did not suffer serious injuries, but, the magistrate pointed out that he, "suffered the indignation of you levelling a tirade and physically abusing him in public".