hopefield Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 I was thinking of getting a jersey with "Dear motorist, please dont kill me." printed on the back. But I guess when he/she is close enough to read it, it will already be too late
Tubehunter Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 Jay, for the first time I have to admit, I'm scared now of going onto the roads......Not a nice feeling. I hear you loud and clear buddy! I also understand that fear. (I especially face it when I go surfing somewhere that has recently had a lot of shark activity!) But for me living a life not doing what gives you real joy, is not really living either...
nathrix Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 So what can we each individually do? Lets get some suggestions going! I'll kick off with these. Please add what you have thought of! 1. Tackle the mindset of all of the people in your circle of influence. Family, friends and co workers!Get them to somehow understand that no matter how badly behaved a cyclist can be, he\she will add less than 30 seconds to your trip but those could be the difference between the trip almost having any delay and someone's special person return home to continue living a life with them.2. Become super vigilant about your own interactions with cyclists on the road and don't allow anger or frustration to put their lives in any unnecessary danger if you encounter them in this state.3. .... People don't give a sh!t, regtig. The only way to change their mindset is to force them:Change the laws so to protect the safety of a cyclist with severe punishments if you hit a cyclist as a motorized vehicle is a very dangerous weapon (ak47 doesn't even come close) and more importantly, enforce these laws. This will be a very good start in the right direction. Our laws are outdated, cyclists are vulnerable and we are not being lawfully protected on public roads.
Ryan100 Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 My condolences to the family. There is nothing that I can say that can help, but I pray for strength the the family. This particular incident has got me thinking way more than I would like. Do I keep off the roads etc. But none of this would make much difference. So I have got to two things that I think WE should do. 1: If the PPA or cyclists in general start wearing an armband in support. Pick a colour as a group and stick with it. This wont change the past but maybe just maybe it will get some awareness. Can you imagine the Cape Town Cycle Tour with 30 000 people wearing a yellow armband (yellow is the colour that springs to my mind, but thats a whole can of worms) Maybe people will ask why they doing that and we can get more awareness. 2: Then what can I do. I think these accidents are a result of lack of respect for fellow road users. If you get in the car drunk, you show no respect for fellow road users, if you speed, cut people off etc etc etc, you showing a lack of respect. I am going to make a more conscious effort to show more respect on the road, even to taxis that drive me crazy O and I am getting one of those silly rear view mirrors for my bike. Again my thoughts are with the family. RIP to Johan, and all the strength to the family. And all the other families that have had similar things happen
Smurfy Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 So what can we each individually do? Lets get some suggestions going! I'll kick off with these. Please add what you have thought of! 1. Tackle the mindset of all of the people in your circle of influence. Family, friends and co workers!Get them to somehow understand that no matter how badly behaved a cyclist can be, he\she will add less than 30 seconds to your trip but those could be the difference between the trip almost having any delay and someone's special person return home to continue living a life with them.2. Become super vigilant about your own interactions with cyclists on the road and don't allow anger or frustration to put their lives in any unnecessary danger if you encounter them in this state.3. ....3. And dont forget to k.k out fellow cyclists who transgress the laws, dont have lights on especially at night.4. Need to get a rear go pro brackett............... Wont help my if the go pro is mounted on the front.
Tripod Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 Don't you guys think that a big part of the problem is misinformation? What are our rights on the road? Do the other road users know this? They see us as a nuisance in their way on their road! Maybe a info campaign to clarify this would help.
Disylizzy Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 RIP fellow cyclist. This really hits home, because like has been said previously, this is a very popular route for a lot of cyclists. I also consider(ed?) it a generally safe road. Stricter laws won't really help if it's not enforced. I think the biggest impact would be to change the mindset of people in general. And I think a type of shock campaign may make at least a few people think twice. Doing something similar to what Rapunzel suggested, and then also creating a list and bio of all people killed while cycling. What actually comes to mind is something similar to what people are doing campaigning against rhino poaching. Another option that could possibly be explored is to do a survey of what/why motorists are so against cyclists, and maybe doing something about their concerns, ie they think we don't belong on the road because we don't pay a license - so why don't we start something like paying R50 and having a 'license plate' of sorts displayed and create a campaign around that. This is just a preliminary thought. I think the biggest thing would be to look at all possibilities of going forward with this, and not saying any one thing is impossible without having a proper debate from both ends, and being receptive to each parties concerns/complaints and addressing the issue in as civilized a matter as possible.
Tubehunter Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 People don't give a ****, regtig. The only way to change their mindset is to force them:Change the laws so to protect the safety of a cyclist with severe punishments if you hit a cyclist as a motorized vehicle is a very dangerous weapon (ak47 doesn't even come close) and more importantly, enforce these laws. This will be a very good start in the right direction. Our laws are outdated, cyclists are vulnerable and we are not being lawfully protected on public roads. Nath, but who stands a better chance in your circle of influence? Do you really think the government will be able to chip away at the mindsets of your family, friends and co workers you have with greater effect than the time you already spend with them if you're highlighting this issue? We gotta start somewhere and I know for myself that if I'm successful in changing just one of my crews views, who knows, it could be the guy that may have likely found himself in this situation somewhere down the line and hopefully it's a life spared when that encounter happens!
gogo@ Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 People need to be forced/prodded/encouraged to walk, run, CYCLE - to get OUT of the comfort zone that is the car, to SEE what it's like to be on the other side of half a ton of metal! I know so many people who just drive everywhere. They may as well be paralyzed. And more than a few of these think a) I'm crazy riding a bike and b ) nothing but cars belong on the road.
Skubarra Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 Another option that could possibly be explored is to do a survey of what/why motorists are so against cyclists, and maybe doing something about their concerns, ie they think we don't belong on the road because we don't pay a license - so why don't we start something like paying R50 and having a 'license plate' of sorts displayed and create a campaign around that. This is just a preliminary thought. The irony of the whole cyclists don't have licenses argument is that the main determinant of your license cost is the weight of your vehicle. So say, if you pay R400 in the Western Cape for a 1000kg vehicle (I'm thumb sucking a bit here), a fair annual fee for a bicycle would be about R4 (which I would be more than happy to pay directly to anyone using that stupid argument if that would shut them up)
Disylizzy Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 The irony of the whole cyclists don't have licenses argument is that the main determinant of your license cost is the weight of your vehicle. So say, if you pay R400 in the Western Cape for a 1000kg vehicle (I'm thumb sucking a bit here), a fair annual fee for a bicycle would be about R4 (which I would be more than happy to pay directly to anyone using that stupid argument if that would shut them up) This was just a suggestion, throwing a number out there. All I was trying to get at is that most people on the roads think that cyclists don't belong on it because they don't pay for a license.
Skubarra Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 This was just a suggestion, throwing a number out there. All I was trying to get at is that most people on the roads think that cyclists don't belong on it because they don't pay for a license. Sorry Lizzy, my rant is not aimed at you - just at people using the cyclists don't belong argument. I think R50 a year is a small price to pay to end that perception (although I just know how that idea will go down in the broader cycling community)
Da Vinci Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 RIP fellow cyclist. This really hits home, because like has been said previously, this is a very popular route for a lot of cyclists. I also consider(ed?) it a generally safe road. Stricter laws won't really help if it's not enforced. I think the biggest impact would be to change the mindset of people in general. And I think a type of shock campaign may make at least a few people think twice. Doing something similar to what Rapunzel suggested, and then also creating a list and bio of all people killed while cycling. What actually comes to mind is something similar to what people are doing campaigning against rhino poaching. Another option that could possibly be explored is to do a survey of what/why motorists are so against cyclists, and maybe doing something about their concerns, ie they think we don't belong on the road because we don't pay a license - so why don't we start something like paying R50 and having a 'license plate' of sorts displayed and create a campaign around that. This is just a preliminary thought. I think the biggest thing would be to look at all possibilities of going forward with this, and not saying any one thing is impossible without having a proper debate from both ends, and being receptive to each parties concerns/complaints and addressing the issue in as civilized a matter as possible.I'm keen on that shock Campaign......
Klipspringer Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 My condolences to the family. May he RIP. I use that road often. I think a rumble strip on all yellow lines will help. A car's wheels will then make a noise as soon as it crosses the yellow line (the ideal is a cycle path away from the road like in Table View, but that is probably not realistically likely to happen soon). This also warns the cyclist when he leaves the yellow line. This is not to difficult to do & will create jobs (now the politicians are hopefully listening).
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