goofs Posted January 21, 2007 Posted January 21, 2007 The authorities must also start to take more action. They can put up signs cautioning motorists of cyclist's particulary in this area and enforce harsher punishment for offenders. If this sort of thing had happend in Europe, USA or Australia there would be a national outcry. I would like to see sterner action taken whereby offenders vehicles are confiscated, sold and the proceeds go to fund further road safety for cyclists. 2 deaths, 2 days is just too much.
Delgado Posted January 21, 2007 Posted January 21, 2007 Thanks a heap guys! I believe we will betray our fallen friends if we don't do something!! We could peraps chip in and buy 2 wreaths and lay them at the fatal spots.
Daisy Posted January 21, 2007 Posted January 21, 2007 Chatting to the guys after the ride' date=' one of them know the tow truck guys very well. Apparantly the legal limit is something like 0.06 whatever per ml. This Idiot was at 0.8. Now, I bet my life on it that by tomorrow morning this prick has got his hands on the docket and will be out and free to kill again next week. [/quote'] Chunky, are you sure about this? We arrived within minutes (less than 5) after the accident happened, and the driver was definitely in great shock, but I'm not convinced he was drunk. I actually know the person that was killed, and his family is tremendously traumatized. He started cycling in December to get fit and enjoy the sport. On the morning of the accident he went out early (5.30) so that he could be back in time for church. It's very sad, but what we should remember is that God has a devine plan for our lives. Perhaps what we should consider is that (unfortunately) this driver was the means for God's plan to be fulfilled. I agree that the drivers are not focusing on the road and us cyclists are the ones taking the brunt of this, and I fully support the protest ride. And I am just as upset about how his life was taken away.
Chunky Posted January 21, 2007 Author Posted January 21, 2007 Hi DaisyYes it is correct. The guys from the towing service gave Jorge Faria a call while we were at the circus yesterday. They said he was being rrested for drunken driving.
scotty Posted January 21, 2007 Posted January 21, 2007 Also travelling at such a speed in the yellow line. There was quite a distance between where the wheels were and where the frame was.
amateur Posted January 22, 2007 Posted January 22, 2007 We were also there a minute or two after it happened and the damage to that car and the distance between were it hit the cyclist and were it finally stoped was indication that he could not have been doing less than 160 km/h. That is just ridiculous. My entire day was stuffed after that,we continued our ride but no-one really felt like it and most felt like going home, the ride was quiet and no-one had much to say. One of the guys actually said that he thinks he will stop cycling after seeing that, He has a wife and kids at home and can't bear what it will do to them if he simply does not return home one morning. Ofcoarse at the scene some of the cyclist wanted to rip this guy to shreds, but we were saying the reality is that he could have carried on, at that speed none of us would've been able to stop him. He got out the car and ran back up the road as fast as he could. Plus knowing that he had been drinking he could've ducked and he didn't! It's just so sad and needless, we only heard about the guy on Saturday at the circus halfway through our ride on Sunday. We did that route on Saturday morning as well and had one close call with a truck. That road has alot of space on the sides, due to the number of cyclists that use it and the number of incidents had, can't they extend it a bit and make a proper cycling lane??????
widget Posted January 22, 2007 Posted January 22, 2007 Its obviously an emotional subject when a cyclist gets injured or killed, but the reality of it is that people are killed every day in tragic circumstances all over the world in cars, boats,trains,trucks, taxis, airplanes,the weather,balloons,microlights,mountaineering,ice skating,snow boarding,skate boarding, shark attack................you know what I mean.!! I am NOT saying its right or fair or we should just dismiss it, what I am saying is that "sometimes bad things happen to good people" and we need to be prepared for this spiritually and mentally. We could all stop cycling on the road and take up darts, but would it change things?..................... not really, I dont want to die anymore than the guy who never gos on the road on a bicycle, but nothing will stop people drinking and driving, its a failure of society and even the harshest measures will not change this. I shall keep them and their families in my prayers - its all I can do.
Lance Posted January 22, 2007 Posted January 22, 2007 This is another tragedy! I don't have all the details with regards to Graham Coopers accident but my buddy was hit by a car last week (he only suffered a broken hand)...and in this case he was simply not visible enough. We have to do more to be more visible to motorists. I am going to find something that'll light me up like a Christmas tree for my next road ride.
drumworx Posted January 22, 2007 Posted January 22, 2007 Unbelievable!!! I think a protest ride is a fantastic idea.
cyclemania Posted January 22, 2007 Posted January 22, 2007 This weekend was a very sad for cycling. I was honestly rattledby what I saw yesterday and even more when I was told about the death of GrahamCooper the Sat. But I have to add that the riders rode dangerously yesterdayand at one stage rode across the yellow line and both the normal traffic lines.It was nerve-racking. There we riders riding in the middle of the road and whenthe cars would hoot at them they would just respond with a middle finger. Thatdoesn't help our situation. Unfortunately the ones pulling on the short end isthe riders who rider behaved. The rude middle finger showing riders are theones who carry on unhurt..... That makes the death of these riders hard andunforgiving!
TNT1 Posted January 22, 2007 Posted January 22, 2007 Damn straight cyclemania. The morons who ride their bikes like that probably get into their cars after the ride and drive recklessly, and dangerously around other cyclists. But that's life I guess, you get stupid people. Put them in a car, on a bicycle, it doesn't matter, some people are just selfish narrow minded and intolerant of others, and have no respect for how their actions affect those around them. Stupid.
carnac Posted January 22, 2007 Posted January 22, 2007 Another cyclist was knocked down and killed on Sunday, on Swartkoppies road, also in the South.
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