slowpoke

i hope the perp AND cops concerned experience some cosmic justice. I really really hope your brother heals up soon

how horrific i will certainly be keeping htem in my thoughts

What many of you are missing the point of is: YES, the cyclist OVERREACTED. BUT that does not change the fact that the woman was in fact wrong if you actually read her description of the incident. It is also clear in said description that she has/had no concept of the fact that she was in fact wrong. UNFORTUNATELY if everyone adopts the attitude that "oh it's a woman and kids so say and do nothing" she will never learn UNTIL SHE HAS KILLED SOMEONE. If she had veered at the cyclists and then apologised the chances are the dude would NOT have got as aggro as he did. As a biker i have many incidents of people (including those with bicycles on bikeracks or in the car) almost wiping me out. if they apologise "no problem". if not i will pull up next to them and raise my hand palm upwards in a "what was that for???" manner. WHETHER OR NOT IT'S A WOMAN WITH KIDS because otherwise how will they learn? I am sure that the guy who killed Adam has a similar story to this woman's one (go read the IOL, News24 and Pta News articles about the accident). THAT is what annoys me so much.

Thanks to you too Kletterer. I agree that one gentle approach won't reach all bad drivers but it's a start and if it even reaches just one and saves just one life that already makes the hard work involved worth it.

FowlStArt, please keep me in the loop - if i don't cyclle i can help out marshalling and if i have enough forwarning i can try arrange extra motorbike marshals

Thanks LeTurbo - you see folks, he saw, he acted...

LeTurbo, it has been mentioned here, it is public on FB, the "other" forum has had LOUD mention of it and it's been in the news. now granted some people (eg you) aren't on all those places and might have missed it very validly (topics here fly past quite quickly). but there are others who are aware but have done nothing YET (prod prod). then again there are others who truly don't care... about safety or doing anything about it

Persona, by reading hte woman's full story it actually appears that they were NOT "in a bundle" - she only half moved over (ie she had half the lane available). and please don't paint all roadies the same. i know of a good number right here on the hub who ride in single file even on double lane roads at 5 am when there are no cars around even if there are only 2 or 3 in the group. i have personally witnessed these roadies doing this regularly. they even stop at red lights at that hour with no other road users in sight.

oiy, canaris - have you donated yet on backabuddy??? your boet helped to escort Ray safely out of town....

so true cyclewife. also, (certain) people seem to deliberately ignore my (repeated) comment that the cyclist did go overboard, but that doesn't make the woman innocent. sign-up's hard work might just make drivers more aware of cyclists and save lives in that way. if it's just 1 life saved that is worth it. Ray's ride might just have made other people more aware of cyclists on the road. again, if it's just 1 life saved it's worth it. pointing out to a bad/negligent driver that they have erred might just make that driver more aware of cyclists on the road. yet again, if it's just 1 life saved it's worth it. sitting back and saying/doing nothing (or defending the bad/negligent drivers) doesn't even carry the possibility of making them more aware of cyclists on the road. no lives can be saved by silence or inaction.

Oom, true - you only get called names if you do something cos that's when people see what you're doing and maybe the name-calling is cos they are jealous/guilty

cyclewife, i hear you loud and clear, but go look at the thread about the beyer's naude incident - clearly people don't want to do anything to improve their safety - they won't speak out about what others are doing wrong let alone put their money into it and they call people who do speak out about it "aggressive" and "arrogant" and other names. it's the same few people who always put in the hard work or participate or contribute who have done so again this time. that is why i'll support Ray and Sign-Up etc but i'm very selective about who/what i'll put my life (and bike) on the line for these days.

quite right. he also clearly doesn't realise that if he's done any cycling event in gauteng between 2007 and june last year the chances are that i've put my life on the line for him.

DustSupp, hopefully yes, she will be more cautious in future. my point is that had she not been reprimanded (and again i reitterate it was excessive) she would have continued to do this. she also does not appear to feel any remorse and that disturbs me greatly - that she seems to feel (as does kranswurm) that she has done nothign wrong. i have stood in front of more taxis and trucks etc protecting cyclists than most people, and certainly more than most of you guys here. i have put my life on the line more times than i can count to protect riders. when cyclists then turn around and defend people who threaten them, it shows an utter disregard for the people who work hard to try ensure the safety of all road users. and to treat a life threatening "mistake in judgement" as minor is an insult to the person whose life was put in danger. shall we then all agree that there is no problem at all with malema singing his songs and that it's a minor mistake but does not require any intervention? as to "holier than thou" - i don't use my cell phone on the road (a tad difficult when wearing a motorbike helmet) i don't jump red lights and i take my responsibilities on the road very seriously. i don't know about you but i personally have a conscience and knowing what it feels like to lose good friends to mva's i never want to inflict that loss on other people so sure, i'm proud to be the recipient of your "insult".

kranswurm, if knowing and adhering to the law is being a "paragon of virtue" then i am proud to be such. if pointing out the law and transgressions of which risk injury/death of others is "arrogant, aggressive and lacking in basic manners" then i am happy to be labelled such. no wonder so many cyclists are being killed - cyclists such as you approve of their rights being infringed upon and their lives jeopardised with impunity and you then defend the transgressors by calling anyone who points out their errors names. the woman stated "she moved half-way out of the lane to pass - so clearly the cyclists weren't "hogging" the lane or she'd have had to move the whole way. again, as i've said before the reaction was excessive but had the woman apologised (which she clearly did not do) for endangering the cyclist in the first place (which she clearly did do) he may never have reacted the way he did.

"National Road Traffic Act, 1996 National Road Traffic Regulations, 1999 Chapter X : Rules of the road and matters relating thereto Part I : Rules of the road 298. Passing of vehicle 1) Subject to the provisions of subregulation (2) and (4) and regulation 296, the driver of a vehicle intending to pass any other vehicle proceeding in the same direction on a public road shall pass to the right thereof at a safe distance and shall not again drive on the left side of the roadway until safely clear of the vehicle so passed" from:http://www.acts.co.za/rt_nrta/index.htm under Regulations and then Rules of the Road and Matters relating thereto and then Passing of vehicle Yes, bicycles are considered vehicles. that is why we are not allowed to ride in the yellow line and why we have to stop at red lights, etc

and reading the explanation of her side - she WAS in the wrong - she should have braked and not swerved back left into other traffic - what would she have done had she been overtaking a car or taxi? ziegie, might i suggest that you and her go and read the National Road Traffic Regulations Act of 1996 as amended in 1998 9available at www.transport.gov.za or www.acts.co.za) and familliarise yourselves with the law and overtaking anyone, including cyclists. might i also refer you to the iol and news24 and pta news reports that give the "witness" explanations of what apparently caused THE DEATH of a talented youngster? YES, the aggression was overboard - but did she even try to apologise?

DustSupp, ok, so we can safely take it from your reaction here that when you or your wife or your kid DIES and the killer says "oh sorry" you are going to say "never mind, it's FINE". a "mistake" would be getting lost. a "mistake" would be parking under a tree that falls. killing a person due to selfish actions (eg talking on the cell, doing your makeup, not paying attention to the road) is not a mistake - it is reckless endangerment and deserves to be punished, even if just being told off. and the least a person could do when endangering a person due to lack of consideration for their rights is APOLOGISE and NOT complain about being told off.

As I said' date=' I don't condone the behaviour. But - assuming she did something to cause the reaction - surely she should have thought of the effect a dead cyclist through her windscreen would have had on her children in that case? I have found that nowadays just as many women are dangerous, testosterone laden maniacs as men. Saying "but she's a LADY" just doesn't cut it on the roads anymore... (And I'm certainly not saying anyone's wife is a testosterone laden maniac either...) [/quote'] ok, i've been following this thread and this comment sums up my view. yes, we don't know what lead up to the behaviour, but i sure would like to know the cyclists' side of the story - was she on her cell phone? was she sms'ing? was she doing her make-up? did she almost drive over him from behind? did she almost veer into him from the side? did she almost harm him with utter impunity? as a cyclist and a biker i have learnt that the average SA driver only considers vehicles bigger or with more wheels than theirs as having any rights on the road. and kids learn by watching their parents. so if she did something wrong and the cyclist let her get away with it, then there are more bad drivers on their way. by his actions (albe they harsh) the kids will grow up scared enough (hopefully) to not emulate their mother.

Oom, pm BrighterLights. pricey but guaranteed you won't notice that the sun isn't shining - you will be forgiven for wearing your dark glasses at night.

no man, and all this while Ray Chaplin is busy with the National Cyclist Safety and Memorial ride!

R.I.P. Adam. My deepest sympathies to Bruce and Angela and all the rest of the family and friends

shop - northcliff cycles rides - northcliff cycles (saturday = road and sunday = mtb)

DangerDassie and BigS, what was really embarrassing was that there were more motorbike safety officers than there were cyclists!!!