Shocking incident between van driver and cyclists in Camps Bay

[pista]

 

Cycling South Africa is horrified and disgusted by the behaviour and actions of a group of cyclists towards a motorist in the Western Cape at the weekend, that has emerged in a video clip online.

 

Cycling SA condemns this type of behaviour in the strongest way possible and in no way condones or accepts this type of behaviour. This reaction towards a motorist cannot be justified in any manner whatsoever, whatever the circumstances. There is just no place for such behaviour in our sport.

 

Cycling SA is in touch with the cycling clubs who have been represented in the footage, and are currently trying to identify these individuals to institute immediate action, if they are affiliated to the organisation.

 

 

[Meezo]

Wow, just got off the bike now from a commute home, and it felt weird.

 

Almost like you can see the disgust and the rage in motorists faces. I can't imagine the rest of the club members that "need" to wear the club kit with pride (not arrogance)!

 

Sad day, very very sad day!

[DJR]

Cycling South Africa is horrified and disgusted by the behaviour and actions of a group of cyclists towards a motorist in the Western Cape at the weekend, that has emerged in a video clip online.

 

Cycling SA condemns this type of behaviour in the strongest way possible and in no way condones or accepts this type of behaviour. This reaction towards a motorist cannot be justified in any manner whatsoever, whatever the circumstances. There is just no place for such behaviour in our sport.

 

Cycling SA is in touch with the cycling clubs who have been represented in the footage, and are currently trying to identify these individuals to institute immediate action, if they are affiliated to the organisation.

 

If you are officially speaking on behalf of CSA, then you have just raised my opinion of CSA!

[HappyMartin]

 

Cycling South Africa is horrified and disgusted by the behaviour and actions of a group of cyclists towards a motorist in the Western Cape at the weekend, that has emerged in a video clip online.

 

Cycling SA condemns this type of behaviour in the strongest way possible and in no way condones or accepts this type of behaviour. This reaction towards a motorist cannot be justified in any manner whatsoever, whatever the circumstances. There is just no place for such behaviour in our sport.

 

Cycling SA is in touch with the cycling clubs who have been represented in the footage, and are currently trying to identify these individuals to institute immediate action, if they are affiliated to the organisation.

 

CSA??? I thought the PPA won this turf war. What has the PPA to say on the matter?

[Rata Del Spruit]

PERSONALLY IMHO

 

sa i very aggro, under extreme stress, financially ,emotionally, when my sister visited sa in october she said when she landed here after 6 years of being abroad she said she could see that the people were very highly strung,AND UNDER PRESSURE

obviously some more than others, there are many factors at play here but we are no more happy easy go people in general. as times WILL get tougher financially and the political climate will get more and more unstable, i see many more incidents similar to this happening, just the other day there was a road rage/cyclist shooting, people are wayyyyyy to highly strung and its not a motorist cyclist isolated issue, PEOPLE NEED CHILL and start showing respect for fellow humans

 

I think a contributing factor is the lack of law and leadership in our country. People feel like there's no justice. Every time a traffic light goes red three more people will still fly through, some of them on the cellphones. Nothing happens. People get bust drunk driving, nothing happens. People get caught for robbery, nothing happens. We feel like we need to take it on ourselves to show other people what's right or wrong, that we need to shout to sort things out because it's just chaos around us and nobody is doing anything about it. So this frustration boils over at the slightest thing, a person not indicating, a cyclist straying into the road, somebody texting on their phone in traffic and we go mental because we feel like if we don't nothing happens, the person won't learn their lesson, there will be no repercussions… nothing will happen. It's not a good situation.

[Eldron]

PERSONALLY IMHO

 

sa i very aggro, under extreme stress, financially ,emotionally, when my sister visited sa in october she said when she landed here after 6 years of being abroad she said she could see that the people were very highly strung,AND UNDER PRESSURE

obviously some more than others, there are many factors at play here but we are no more happy easy go people in general. as times WILL get tougher financially and the political climate will get more and more unstable, i see many more incidents similar to this happening, just the other day there was a road rage/cyclist shooting, people are wayyyyyy to highly strung and its not a motorist cyclist isolated issue, PEOPLE NEED CHILL and start showing respect for fellow humans

 

Nail on the head J.

 

When you put a bunch of rats in a cage and add stress they attack each other - humans do the same thing. SA really is just a big stressed rat cage at the moment.

 

At the risk of going all gooey and soft - this is exactly the time we should be looking out for each other - instead it's all handbags and walking sticks.

 

Thehub is a fine microexample of this road rage incident. Every thread is picked to pieces, judged and OP insulted. To a lesser degree each one of us is part of that savage pack.

 

Ironic innit?

[Eldron]

I think a contributing factor is the lack of law and leadership in our country. People feel like there's no justice. Every time a traffic light goes red three more people will still fly through, some of them on the cellphones. Nothing happens. People get bust drunk driving, nothing happens. People get caught for robbery, nothing happens. We feel like we need to take it on ourselves to show other people what's right or wrong, that we need to shout to sort things out because it's just chaos around us and nobody is doing anything about it. So this frustration boils over at the slightest thing, a person not indicating, a cyclist straying into the road, somebody texting on their phone in traffic and we go mental because we feel like if we don't nothing happens, the person won't learn their lesson, there will be no repercussions… nothing will happen. It's not a good situation.

 

Another great post

 

Sad but great.

[mhbotha]

Dave Bellairs was speaking on cape talk earlier on behalf of Cycle Tour Trust and said they are looking to institute bans from the tour against the cyclist / cyclists involved who can be clearly identified.

 

Hopefully this happens in time for the 2014 event still.

[carbon29er]

CSA??? I thought the PPA won this turf war. What has the PPA to say on the matter?

I've posted a number of responses, starting very early on page 1. And I guess if you read them you can sense my outrage.

 

Officially PPA has required the clubs to make written statements by lunch time tomorrow before handing it to the PPA disciplinary committee for a decision.

 

And I believe there will be a response from the clubs as they do operate within the PPA framework.

 

I'll post more when it happens, rather than preempt due process.

[xdoomx]

It might help to try and step back a little and try not see confrontational situations like this as an 'us vs them' scenario. It's not 'cyclists vs motorists'.

The actions of this group so nicely identified for us by their spandex does NOT by any means represent the ideals and values of any another person, just like the behaviour of one taxi driver does not represent that of all other taxi drivers (who is also a motorist).

Just like we've created the 'taxi driver' persona to represent the 'cars vs taxis' war. Not all taxi drivers are crap right?

 

South Africans LOVE making excuses and shifting blame by playing the race card, the gender card, the political party card, and now the motorist card, creating separation by association whenever possible.

 

These dudes smashing a driver are NOT part of your gang, because there is no gang. They don't "represent cyclists" or "give cyclists a bad name".

There are bad cyclists and good cyclists..

good drivers and bad drivers.

 

Life rolls on. Be the best you can be and ride like everyone's watching (cos they are).

Edited March 3, 2014 by xdoomx

[Rifi]

I have been following this post for most of the day and looked at all the comments/posts.

 

In no way do I agree with what has happened.I am bow my head in shame not only for the actions but also because of the name of the club "Muhammadeyah". The most pious, loving and caring man to walk this face of the earth, our beloved prophet, Nabi Muhammad SWA looked for 72 reasons before doubting the next person. You should carry the name of your cycling club high, and replicate the manners of what is your cycling jersey... "Muhammadeyah".

 

A note to all Muhammadeyah's cyclist, remain humble in everything you do, this was they character of our beloved Nabi Muhammad SWA.

 

PS. I am not turning this into a religious debate, merely just depicting the cycling club name and how it relates to Islam.

 

Lastly, I see that on the Alfa Body Works Facebook page that there are a few disgruntled users slandering them. This is not necessary. I am almost certain that Alfa Body Works is just as disgraced and they will take action.

 

PS Again: No, I am not a MC2 rider and not affiliated to Alfa Body Works at all. Just an innocent reader that needed to say something.

[droo]

It might help to try and step back a little and try not see confrontational situations like this as an 'us vs them' scenario. It's not 'cyclists vs motorists'.

The actions of this group so nicely identified for us by their spandex does NOT by any means represent the ideals and values of any another person, just like the behaviour of one taxi driver does not represent that of all other taxi drivers (who is also a motorist).

Just like we've created the 'taxi driver' persona to represent the 'cars vs taxis' war. Not all taxi drivers are crap right?

 

South Africans LOVE making excuses and shifting blame by playing the race card, the gender card, the political party card, and now the motorist card, creating separation by association whenever possible.

 

These dudes smashing a driver are NOT part of your gang, because there is no gang. They don't "represent cyclists" or "give cyclists a bad name".

There are bad cyclists and good cyclists..

good drivers and bad drivers.

 

Life rolls on. Be the best you can be and ride like everyone's watching (cos they are).

 

Most on this forum think much the same, all BS aside. The problem is that the rest of the motoring world (yes, there I go being all divisive...) don't see it the same way.

 

Our sport needs ambassadors, and sadly there are not many flying that flag on the roads.

 

It's one of the main reasons my road bike lives under a layer of dust in the garage.

[Guest DieBees]

Can someone maybe post a link to the clip? I cannot view it on my phone.

[Samman]

Ok well I saw this now on Face book and jumped onto the Hub to see what’s being said.

Being a motorist and cyclist myself, I have come to realise that there is a syndrome that both motorist and cyclists suffer from--

Every motorist thinks that the minute they get into their cars that they are invincible and can do anything they like, rules are not for them, they’re protected by the metal shield they sit in and use the power of that vehicle to extend their power.

The mentality is that they are in control – formula one race driver?????

 

Then you get the cyclist, gearing up in his lycra suit, shoes and helmet, with the latest aero dynamic glasses, the latest bike modified to be the lightest two wheels in biking evolution, thinking its fast, only based on the condition of his legs anyway, but none the less thinking he is there to prove one thing, he is the fastest out there a true athlete.

 

The problem with all this,

• A car to get you from A to B --- whatever your style
  
• Cycling to keep fit, enjoy and take it easy while enjoying the simplistic of a bicycle- if you were that good you’d be riding the---Tour de France
  

 

Just all get along inevitably you both a motorist and cyclist---- chill and live longer

[GLuvsMtb]

I think a major cause of the issues we face of this nature have to do with a total lack of enforcement of any laws that do not pertain to the collection of income tax, but in this case it's road rules.

 

A large proportion of drivers (of cars, taxis, motorbikes, bicycles, wheelchairs and shopping trolleys) do whatever they like on the roads, first and foremost because they have no consideration for anyone but themselves, and secondly because they know that there's almost no chance that they will be taken to task. The traffic department is more concerned with matching the inflation of speeding fines to the inflation of doughnuts that they are with maintaining law and order on the roads.

 

The result is frustration - cyclists ride 4 abreast on narrow roads, motorists jump traffic lights while on their phones, taxis drive on the wrong side of the road (or pavement) to beat traffic - all knowing that there will never be consequences to be faced from the law.

 

The next logical step is vigilantism - kangaroo courts form and dish out their version of justice to offenders - and the one guy that gets caught, most likely for the most trivial "offence", will pay for all those that have gone before him.

 

I'm not in any way condoning the behaviour here - if anything I applaud the delivery oke for not running them all over. If some p*ephol had tried to shove a bike in my window I'd have done my very best to insert it somewhere where a good surgeon would have had a hell of a time removing it. I also unfortunately don't have a solution to it all, aside from maybe taking all that frustration out on the next traffic cop you see either not doing his job, or as more often happens, breaking more laws than the average taxi.

 

But I guess what I'm trying to say is that idiots will be idiots. The best thing to do is to just ignore them, and hope that Darwin sorts them out. They're really not worth getting your blood pressure up over.

 

(That said, if you do find one out alone on a dark night and you happen to have a shovel on you...)

We share the same sentiment. The City definitely has a responsibility to increase their presence on this route in the weeks leading up to the Argus. Fact remains that the Argus is a huge revenue driver for CT and the hospitality industry and if the City is not careful, something like this will escalate into a national row politically. Putting 10 motor bikes out there to monitor all road users will do a lot to enhance safety and compliance from everyone.

[Gerlach]

Damn!!! i'm going to print all this stuff and make a book and sell it!!! This is going to be good read!!! :whistling: