Motorists vs Cyclists.... again

[DieselnDust]

24 minutes ago, splat said:

I am sure that the stats don't exist, but it would be very interesting to compile a list cyclists injured or killed by motorists. I imagine that the vast majority of the cyclists were taken out while just riding along. I know that I was. My wife was too. Lights front and back, on the left of the road (inside the yellow line if there was one). Not riding two abreast. Not jumping traffic lights or stop streets. Not doing all the things that irritate other road users. 

And I don't just mean here in Cape Town or South Africa, but around the world.
The UK, Europe, Australia and the US all have websites reporting this kind of stuff. It's a world wide issue. Some places are better than others, but we are not alone here.

So was my friend Chris Attwood, just riding along when a drunk driver hit him from behind. The force of the impact killed him before his limp body hit the ground. The driver fled and hid the car at a panel beater. He didn't pay the price, my friend did.

[DieselnDust]

26 minutes ago, splat said:

I am sure that the stats don't exist, but it would be very interesting to compile a list cyclists injured or killed by motorists. I imagine that the vast majority of the cyclists were taken out while just riding along. I know that I was. My wife was too. Lights front and back, on the left of the road (inside the yellow line if there was one). Not riding two abreast. Not jumping traffic lights or stop streets. Not doing all the things that irritate other road users. 

And I don't just mean here in Cape Town or South Africa, but around the world.
The UK, Europe, Australia and the US all have websites reporting this kind of stuff. It's a world wide issue. Some places are better than others, but we are not alone here.

In most of those places the driver gets prosecuted. There may be a suspended sentence with a hefty fine. Here they just get inconvenienced by court postponements for years till its thrown out for lack of evidence. Being dead is a lack of evidence.

[Wannabe]

Contents edited to remove any possible incriminatory information

 

  

Edited August 19, 2021 by Wannabe

[Pure Savage]

1 hour ago, Wannabe said:

His bike is a write off. Luckily he's just shaken and bruised, no lesions. Quite sure it's going to hit him a bit later. Only issue is that it is his TT bike, and he has a race in a months time.

 

How did I not see this, he has gotten a lot of help from the cameras, they are checking the colour and the car type. 

He also needs a new IM sticker!!

Edited August 19, 2021 by Pure Savage

[Wannabe]

2 hours ago, Pure Savage said:

How did I not see this, he has gotten a lot of help from the cameras, they are checking the colour and the car type. 

He also needs a new IM sticker!!

I managed to assist him with a bit more information. He will be reporting to SAPS tonite.

[Pure Savage]

 

All these drivers blocking the road and making my slow down and pass them... worst. They should drive on the highways where there are only cars.

[jackievs]

On 8/18/2021 at 2:21 PM, cfcjim said:

He's right you know:

From https://bicyclesouth.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/SOUTH-AFRICAN-RULES-OF-THE-ROAD.pdf

Duties of driver of motor vehicle when passing cyclists 2.
(1) The driver of a motor vehicle who passes a cyclist on a public road must— (a) exercise due care while passing the cyclist; (b) leave a distance between the motor vehicle and the cyclist of at least one metre; and (c) maintain that distance from the cyclist until safely clear of the cyclist.
(2) Despite any solid barrier line or other road traffic sign prohibiting encroachment upon the right hand side of the road, the  driver of a motor vehicle on a public road may, where the roadway is not wide enough to comply with subregulation (1)(b) or (c)  when passing a cyclist, encroach on that part of the road to his or her right, but only if— (a) it can be done without obstructing or endangering other persons or vehicles; (b) it is safe to do so; and (c) it can be done and is done for a period and distance not longer than is necessary to pass the cyclist.
 

Post it where motorists van read it... lets hope the FAF drivers among us pay attention!

 

[Pierre Nieuwoudt]

It is a criminal offence to leave the scene of a traffic accident you were involved in before talking to the police (  if you are not in need of medical care ).

The accident should be reported to the Camps Bay police station as soon as possible and the person reporting it should get a reference number for the report.

It is a very easy matter for the police to track the owner of the vehicle from license plate numbers and that is what they will do.

Also vitally important to get a police report number for any insurance or medical aid claims that needs to be made later 

[Pierre Nieuwoudt]

Sorry Wannabe ..     I now see your note that the incident will be reported tonight.............do not let the police draft the affidavit that goes in their report file,

They often write the affidavit themselves to try to be helpful and then ask the complainant or witness to merely sign affidavit....often with bad consequences later on when it is found that the affidavit is not perfectly correct.

Rather sit quietly somewhere and prepare an affidavit and map of the accident scene before visiting the police station

[ChrisF]

What a lovely morning to ride .... LOTS of cylists out riding.  With large sections of the Tygerberg trails even more MTB's on the road than normal.

 

One constant ... both roadies and MTB's riding equally bad on the roads ....

 

 

Two cyclists next to each other, just after a blind turn .... thank heavens the 18 wheeler didnt flatten them ....

 

 

LONE cyclist owning the lane in Durbanroad, entering Durbanville .... pulling away at the next robot he nearly side swipes an Eskom bakkie .... the bakkie was already next to him when he swerved to the right ....

 

 

Another couple of near incidents along Adderly ...

 

 

Nee wat, fiets ryers gooi naam weg .... 

[Jewbacca]

15 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

What a lovely morning to ride .... LOTS of cylists out riding.  With large sections of the Tygerberg trails even more MTB's on the road than normal.

 

One constant ... both roadies and MTB's riding equally bad on the roads ....

 

 

Two cyclists next to each other, just after a blind turn .... thank heavens the 18 wheeler didnt flatten them ....

 

 

LONE cyclist owning the lane in Durbanroad, entering Durbanville .... pulling away at the next robot he nearly side swipes an Eskom bakkie .... the bakkie was already next to him when he swerved to the right ....

 

 

Another couple of near incidents along Adderly ...

 

 

Nee wat, fiets ryers gooi naam weg .... 

Yeah but this behaviour doesn't influence how cyclists are perceived or treated, remember? ????

[DieselnDust]

5 hours ago, ChrisF said:

What a lovely morning to ride .... LOTS of cylists out riding.  With large sections of the Tygerberg trails even more MTB's on the road than normal.

 

One constant ... both roadies and MTB's riding equally bad on the roads ....

 

 

Two cyclists next to each other, just after a blind turn .... thank heavens the 18 wheeler didn't flatten them ....

Inside the yellow lane or both to the right of it?

 

LONE cyclist owning the lane in Durban Road, entering Durbanville .... pulling away at the next robot he nearly side swipes an Eskom bakkie .... the bakkie was already next to him when he swerved to the right ....

What is the situation/context? 

Another couple of near incidents along Adderly ...

What is the context here other than cyclist blaming?

Nee wat, fiets ryers gooi naam weg .... ???huh

I'm sorry you hate cyclists so much

[Andreas_187]

7 hours ago, ChrisF said:

What a lovely morning to ride .... LOTS of cylists out riding.  With large sections of the Tygerberg trails even more MTB's on the road than normal.

 

One constant ... both roadies and MTB's riding equally bad on the roads ....

 

 

Two cyclists next to each other, just after a blind turn .... thank heavens the 18 wheeler didnt flatten them ....

 

 

LONE cyclist owning the lane in Durbanroad, entering Durbanville .... pulling away at the next robot he nearly side swipes an Eskom bakkie .... the bakkie was already next to him when he swerved to the right ....

 

 

Another couple of near incidents along Adderly ...

 

 

Nee wat, fiets ryers gooi naam weg .... 

I wouldn't have enough hours in the day to start listing the bad car drivers I encounter every single time I am out on the roads on the bicycle, motorbike or car

[Mojoman]

13 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

I'm sorry you hate cyclists so much

Just the ones in the Cape I think....????
(thats a joke before the easily offended folk on here kick off!)

Edited August 23, 2021 by Mojoman

[peetwindhoek]

Saw this on another platform... Yikes!

[eala]

On 8/12/2021 at 12:06 PM, Paul said:

and the FACT is also that many drivers take risks to get past lone cyclists who's only "crime" was daring to ride on the road. 

If you are cycling next to someone, you will have drivers squeeze past you because "well f*** them they think they own the road". If you are cycling by yourself and staying as far left as possible, you will have drivers squeeze past you because "oh well there's a gap and I'm taking it." It doesn't matter. The attitude is I'm going to get from point A to point B as quickly as I can and I don't give a flying f*** who's in my way. That is the driving culture here. You can do all your riding by yourself and obey all the road rules and it will not change that.

I realized that after a few thousand kilometers bike touring in Europe. After cycling in some of the busiest city's like Paris and Berlin, then riding over the narrow mountain passes in the French Alps and Spanish Basque country. Drivers respect cyclists. They will sit behind you until it is safe to pass, no matter how long it takes. It took me a while to get used to this. The first few days I was extremely self conscious and it felt as though I was impeding the drivers stuck behind me in traffic, but after a while you get used to the fact that someone is not going to risk your life to save on a few seconds of drive time. In the mountains it is common courtesy to wave the drivers behind you through if you can see it is safe for them to pass and there are no oncoming cars around the corner. I am SURE there are exceptions to what I have just said and of course bad drivers are not something that is unique to South Africa, but once you have cycled in a few different places you are able get the full picture.

We can theorize for ages about why these things are the way they are, but I will say that the behavior of cyclists here is a small and insignificant part of it and it does not even come close to justifying the amount of abuse we are subjected to on our roads. 

PS: Take it easy on Mr. Pure Savage, I reckon you would feel the same if you were recently run over and left in a ditch on the side of the road.

This thread can just stop hear .This is the truth and will stay the truth until Government takes cyclists seriously and changes laws and applies them diligently and that will eventually change road use culture .You only need one idiot to kill you on the road 

Edited August 23, 2021 by eala