jules1976 Posted October 16, 2014 Share I was actually there when it happened; it occurred right in front of my car as it was facing the road while parked at the Engen garage in Boshoff Street, where it is a double lane. A large number of cyclists were getting ready to go to the start from there (just like myself). In order to go towards the start, one had to first cross the two lanes coming from town to get to the other side.A number of cyclists had already left and Ronnie prepared to do the same.I then heard the collision crash and saw Ronnie being flung through the air after being hit and then hit again as he came down.I hate any taxi on our roads as much as anyone but contrary to reports, the red taxi did stop immediately, pushing the bike, which was wedged in in front of his front wheels, while slowing down. Ronnie came to the stop about 30m from the spot where he was hit. The white bike with Top and Down tube broken in half came to rest in the gutter on the left in front of my car.It looked liked that the taxi was driving in the right hand lane on his side of the road in the direction back to the N3.From what I can make out, it seems that Ronnie tried to cross the street and pulled out in front of the Taxi when he got T-boned (not a head-on collision). He just must have not seen or looked out for the Taxi approaching from his right. The newspaper reports (Witness and Mercury) the next morning stated that the Taxi driver was not arrested and this seems to corroborate what I saw.It is a terrible loss and during the race I could not get those images out of my mind.We should all be thankful for still being around but I get highly pissed off when I see the vast majority of cyclists jumping Stop streets, red traffic lights, riding two or more abreast, generally not giving a Rats arse to the traffic rules and being rude to other motorists. We are our own worst enemies!no matter if Ronnie was at fault or the driver .....he is gone RIP Ronnie ....tragic ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlemPlem Posted October 16, 2014 Share no matter if Ronnie was at fault or the driver .....he is gone RIP Ronnie ....tragic ...Very true Jules, agree fully but I hate the hypocrisy about cyclists complaining about the lack of safety on our roads and then going out to break every rule in the book.Remember, most cyclists ridiculous conduct on the road reflects badly on all of us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules1976 Posted October 16, 2014 Share Very true Jules, agree fully but I hate the hypocrisy about cyclists complaining about the lack of safety on our roads and then going out to break every rule in the book.Remember, most cyclists ridiculous conduct on the road reflects badly on all of us!I see it on my way to church on Sunday mornings, riders cycling 2 abreast on the m4 heading from Umdloti towards Durban Central and I have to avoid them ! P1sses me off ! then we get those drivers who mow down cyclists !! .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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