Awful, sad. Totally unnecessary. To me it sounds like a) reckless driving, to hoot and overtake where the driver has little passing space, and B) negligence and culpability in that it was the back wheel that struck the cyclist, which means the back of the bus swung in before the driver had passed. I suggested elsewhere that some kind of fund be set up to pay for professionals to investigate and assist in prosecuting in cases like this. Maybe PPA could help here? If not doing it themselves, then setting up/funding a body to do so. In this instance the driver is employed by a company and the company is responsible for the actions of its staff. The company should face a civil claim. I don't live in Cape Town anymore but i have long-standing memories of the dangerous GA buses. Instead of suggesting that cyclists don't use roads like this one, how about banning these huge buses from them instead? Turn it round: it's not the cyclist here that causes the problem, it's vehicles that are inappropriate for these narrow roads coupled with reckless, negligent and in this case incompetent driving. I would also like to challenge GA to get involved with projects aimed at making the roads safer for all users. You could start by approaching the PPA and CoCT to see how you could get involved. To friends and family of the cyclist killed today, my condolences, but I really feel that is not enough. As a community (cyclists, runners, pedestrians, drivers -we're all one at some time) we need to change this.
