Hi Everybody The incident in Kalk Bay this morning happened right next to me! I am still pretty shaken by watching the whole thing. At around 7am I was waiting in the queue of cars on my way through to fish hoek when the cyclist came toward me on his way to Muizenberg. A Golden Arrow bus approached him from behind and hooted at him. I saw the bus overtake the cyclist, and when the bus had passed I saw the cyclist lying on the ground. I jumped out of my car, thinking maybe he was still alive, but as I got closer, I saw that he was dead: his helmet was completely crushed. Obviously the bus' back wheel had ridden over his head. The bus stopped and the driver came to the scene and called his authorities. The cyclist was a young man (early 20's I would say) dressed in cycling gear. My thoughts on the incident: 1. The cyclist (whose ID I do not know) died instantly - there was no pain or suffering because from the time that I saw him as the bus passed him, to the time he lay dead on the ground, was less than 2 secs. Thank God he didn't suffer. 2. Although the bus wasn't speeding, it was in my opinion going too fast for overtaking a cyclist on such a narrow road. The driver didn't show caution as he rushed pass the cyclist. 3. I feel that for the time being cyclist should not be allowed on that stretch of road. It's just too narrow and even the best driver would struggle to pass a cyclist. A cyclist's route can be designed through the back-streets of Kalk Bay until the roadworks are done. Also, cyclist should take the initiative and try and plan another route - you are actually putting your lives in the hands of a bunch of strangers, many of whom don't have a great track-record when it comes to thinking of others. Sad but true. 4. I would also like to add that, as someone who passes that way daily, I have often seen cyclist riding NEXT TO each other, instead of single file! If you are a cyclist using that route, please ensure that you ride single file and tell your fellow cyclists to do the same! As we have seen today not all motorists watch out for cyclists. 4. My heart goes out to the young man's family who had to receive such tragic news today. If anyone finds out the ID of the man, please post here. I would love to be able to tell his family that he didn't suffer.
