Cyclist down Camps Bay

[Mook]

Alcohol abuse and distraction are probably the major causes of incidents where cyclists are hit by vehicles, yet the general stupidity and blatant disregard of traffic safety rules by motorists blows the mind.

Returned from the south coast via the Hugenot tunnel earlier today. The traffic along the N2 was next level. Apart from speeding in heavy rain at times, reckless overtaking on blind rises and turns, I counted 7 cars northbound inside the tunnel without headlight switched on.

Our problem goes far deeper than alcohol abuse. Disregard for driver, vehicle and other road users is endemic.

Between George and Paarl ...... I noticed only 2 highway patrol beemers stationary along the road.

[nonky]

15 hours ago, Mook said:

Alcohol abuse and distraction are probably the major causes of incidents where cyclists are hit by vehicles, yet the general stupidity and blatant disregard of traffic safety rules by motorists blows the mind.

Returned from the south coast via the Hugenot tunnel earlier today. The traffic along the N2 was next level. Apart from speeding in heavy rain at times, reckless overtaking on blind rises and turns, I counted 7 cars northbound inside the tunnel without headlight switched on.

Our problem goes far deeper than alcohol abuse. Disregard for driver, vehicle and other road users is endemic.

Between George and Paarl ...... I noticed only 2 highway patrol beemers stationary along the road.

One should never forget that half of the drivers never had a driving lesson or passed a test, as they simply purchased their driving licenses or bribed the testing officer.

Baleka Mbete, former parliament speaker, was caught with a fraudulently issued license.  She was not charged, suspended or even reprimanded.  

The rot goes ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP.

[michaelbiker]

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2025-12-26-if-cyclists-are-willing-to-fund-project-idries-the-state-has-no-law-enforcement/

[Andreas_187]

4 hours ago, michaelbiker said:

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2025-12-26-if-cyclists-are-willing-to-fund-project-idries-the-state-has-no-law-enforcement/

This is too early for April fools

[Andreas_187]

An SUV was cruising along the whole Blouberg beachfront at 35km/h with 8 cars patiently following. I overtook all of them and witnessed no impatience.

If that was a bicycle holding them up at 50km/h there would have been shouting, swearing and general madness unfolding. No fund-me scheme will fix this

 

[Zebra]

1 hour ago, Andreas_187 said:

No fund-me scheme will fix this…

A credible person (Nic Clelland) with practical, time-bound ideas (6 month test…), an identified route, and proposing using an existing methodology, to be applied to a new ‘initiative’, has put a plan on the table - your dismissal is your opinion, but it feels too strong ; “NO …scheme will fix this…”

Any solutions you have to try and make a difference?

In 2007, in New Zealand, Clelland was appointed chief of staff to Auckland mayor John Banks.^[15] Returning to South Africa in 2009, then Western Cape Minister of Transport, Robin Carlisle, appointed Clelland as his chief of staff where he conceptualised and launched the government's Safely Home road safety campaign that, ultimately, achieved a 25.9% reduction in fatalities in two and a half years.^[16][17][12]

 

Cheers

Chris

[Prince Albert Cycles]

7 hours ago, michaelbiker said:

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2025-12-26-if-cyclists-are-willing-to-fund-project-idries-the-state-has-no-law-enforcement/

Well conceptualized and written .  We can all moan and groan like we did , myself included after Idries’s passing or try and do something to prevent further tragedies.

[milky4130]

2 hours ago, Andreas_187 said:

An SUV was cruising along the whole Blouberg beachfront at 35km/h with 8 cars patiently following. I overtook all of them and witnessed no impatience.

If that was a bicycle holding them up at 50km/h there would have been shouting, swearing and general madness unfolding. No fund-me scheme will fix this

 

I think the problem that pisses off motorists more than a single cyclist taking up a lane is when cyclist ride 2 or more abreast.

[Andreas_187]

33 minutes ago, milky4130 said:

I think the problem that pisses off motorists more than a single cyclist taking up a lane is when cyclist ride 2 or more abreast.

But they seem happy enough to sit behind a coach on Chappies doing 15km/h.

I doubt the scheme will work because motorists see red when they see a cyclist. It's the same in Australia.

It used to be the same in inner city London until they made everyone drive at 20mph and enforce it with average speed cameras. Now they are more worried about losing their licence than cycists.

A 30km/h speed limit on Chappies and Victoria road will fix things quickly but that requires speed cameras everywhere 

[milky4130]

1 hour ago, Andreas_187 said:

But they seem happy enough to sit behind a coach on Chappies doing 15km/h.

I doubt the scheme will work because motorists see red when they see a cyclist. It's the same in Australia.

It used to be the same in inner city London until they made everyone drive at 20mph and enforce it with average speed cameras. Now they are more worried about losing their licence than cycists.

A 30km/h speed limit on Chappies and Victoria road will fix things quickly but that requires speed cameras everywhere 

I can’t imagine they are happy, probably fuming inside that they can’t overtake. With a cyclist they will take a gap and probably clip you with their mirror.

[Andreas_187]

6 hours ago, milky4130 said:

I can’t imagine they are happy, probably fuming inside that they can’t overtake. With a cyclist they will take a gap and probably clip you with their mirror.

Actually, I've noticed they fly up Chappies from Hout Bay but then go slow going downhill towards Noordhoek while they look at the ocean and take photos at 20km/h

[Eugene Oppelt]

Othering is a useful psychological device to distinguish groups of people from your group. 
The dark side or bias filter that comes with othering is that the those from another group is separate from me and different. Thus, inferior to me and deserves to be treated without dignity, respect or (in the world of cyclists and motorists) given the necessary road space and patience. Now add an intoxicant like alcohol and a holiday lifestyle of sleep debt.
The ‘opposite’ of othering is humanising, curiosity instead of judgement and ubuntu.

Be safe out there, Peoples/

Edited December 28, 2025 by Eugene Oppelt

[Headshot]

Seen on Ou Kaaps this morning around 0625 by a mate meeting me for a ride at Tokai was an erratically driven Merc that caused the following vehicles to hang back to avoid his antics. Possibly a drunk as a skunk tool behind the wheel and another statistic waiting to happen.

[Thomo]

11 minutes ago, Headshot said:

Seen on Ou Kaaps this morning around 0625 by a mate meeting me for a ride at Tokai was an erratically driven Merc that caused the following vehicles to hang back to avoid his antics. Possibly a drunk as a skunk tool behind the wheel and another statistic waiting to happen.

I used to think that waiting until 6:00 (and later) to ride and avoiding certain areas decreased your risk, but seems DUI happens 24/7 and everywhere. ☹

[capediver]

23 minutes ago, Thomo said:

I used to think that waiting until 6:00 (and later) to ride and avoiding certain areas decreased your risk, but seems DUI happens 24/7 and everywhere. ☹

Not just DUI, also just DGAF....

[MintSauce]

On 12/27/2025 at 7:20 AM, michaelbiker said:

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2025-12-26-if-cyclists-are-willing-to-fund-project-idries-the-state-has-no-law-enforcement/

Like Mr Clelland, I was also on the scene of Idries Sheriff’s homicide, no more than a minute or two after it happened. I was there to hear someone say excitedly “we still have a pulse”, I was there a few moments later when they covered his body, and I was there when they handed a phone to his riding buddy and told her “It’s his wife on the line”. I’ve driven many, many thousands of kilometers in my life and as a result, have had to witness the aftermath of fatal vehicle accidents a couple of times. This one understandably hit hardest.

Earlier this year my brother and I spent 3 weeks riding our bicycles in Europe, for a total of some 50 hours. Most of this time was spent on tight and twisty mountain passes. In all that time, in spite of being passed by literally hundreds of cars, we did not suffer a single close pass— not ONE. What we got, were motorists waiting patiently behind us, even when to my mind, it was relatively safe to pass.

I was reminded of sitting in a taxi in Amsterdam in 2011 discussing bike culture with the driver. When asked why drivers were so aware of and cautious around cyclists, he said simply that if they hit a cyclist, they were at fault. He explained that in the Netherlands, the law stipulates that if a motorist hits a cyclist, the onus rests on the driver to prove his innocence.

This I believe is largely the intention behind the 1 meter passing law— it is not possible to hit a cyclist if you’re 1 meter from him, hence the onus falls on the motorist to prove that he was not at fault. The crucial missing piece of the puzzle here is accountability and accountability rests with the enforcer. Until motorists are held accountable, the behavioural change we need will never materialise. No amount of stay-wider stickers or shirts or ads will do it.

The fact is, the authorities are either too busy or simply don’t care, which leads me to my favourite quote from the piece— “There is something deeply wrong about a society where people have to pay to avoid being killed on public roads. But there is something far worse about continuing to die while arguing about whose responsibility it is.”

You’d have to be pretty stubborn to not see the benefits a well-managed city improvement district, like the kind mentioned in the article, makes to a suburb. I for one am happy to pay the extra levies. He provides a clear set of ideas of how this model could be transferred to ensure accountability is enforced and cyclists can be made safer. He clearly speaks with some knowledge and experience. It’s beyond me how someone cannot see the value in at least trying and, if his suggestion works, you’d have to be brain-dead to not see the value.

As for the argument of whose responsibility it is? We can continue that discussion once we’ve dealt with the more important issue of stopping people dying needlessly.

Edited December 28, 2025 by MintSauce
Spelling correction