ANOTHER CYCLIST KNOCKED OVER

[Will I AM]

R.I.P Craig Haskins may GOD look fondly on your family may he give them the peace, understanding and strenght to deal with this tragedy.

 

 

Rick you one in a million...GOD Bless you.

 

 

[splat]

The only solution is to sell your road machine and stay on your mountain bike in the mountains!! I have no regrets selling mine.

 

The sad thing is that Craig was on his mountain bike - I am guessing, on his way to Tokai.

 

I often ride to Tokai from my house as well. Its 7km and I think its a waste to drive. If you wanna stay out of harm/traffic's way, perhaps that's the thing to do then.

[andre_ct]

climbed OKW from tokia side this morning, and this incident was on my mind all the way up

[bustthesickness]

the driver is not charged with murder.

He is charged with Culpable Homicide (unlawful killing of another with an absence of an intention to kill. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent)

 

Here is the IOL article. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20090204125403314C134944

 

Condolences to his Craig's family. R.I.P

 

[Bike Mob]

 

climbed OKW from tokia side this morning' date=' and this incident was on my mind all the way up[/quote']

 

As did I and another friend...every time a car approached from the rear I veered to the edge, sometimes onto the gravel (also on mtb)

 

I was contemplating riding on the oncoming side so I could see the vehicles approach, as runners do.

 

[JohnnyReggae]

 

I was contemplating riding on the oncoming side so I could see the vehicles approach' date=' as runners do.

[/quote']

If I ride on the road this is what I normally do, and where possible I ride on the pavements. I do often get some wtf looks from pedestrians, but I'd rather ride into a pedestrian than be ridden over by a car.

 

[RickA]

Hi Patrick

 

I don't think Craig was on his way to Tokai, unless he was going to enter The forest at the top from Silvermine - he was headed up the front side of Ou Kaapse weg when he was hit.

 

I saw a number of guys riding there this morning on the way in to work, and I couldn't help but think - please God don't let anything happen to any of these guys.

 

Let's all hope something substantial comes out of the Mayor's meeting tomorrow (not just hot air). The story in the Cape Times this morning mentioned that something must be done for cyclists safety or the sustainability of events like the Argus etc could be in trouble!!

 

 

 

 

 

[harry1]

R.I.P. CRAIG .THIS  ACCIDENT EFFECTS ALL CYCLIST-I CANT EVEN BEGIN TO IMAGINE HOW DEVASTATED HIS FAMILY MUST BE.

[RickA]

I think I will be sticking to the dirt from now on, after seeing Craig's accident I just don't feel safe on the road anymore -

 

I have personally had some close calls with trucks passing very close and the suction effect being strong enough to seriously pull you offline towards traffic, cars and buses turning and cutting me off, taxis passing so close they have actually bashed my elbow with their wing mirrors not to mention some of those days when the South Easter is blowing strong enough to push you out into traffic - luckily nothing serious,  yet!

 

I think I will rather quit the road riding while the going is good - at least if you get injured offroad it is likely to be your own fault - not some twit in a car who isn't paying attention, or yakking on a cellphone, brushing their hair, putting on makeup or even worse - like some woman on the M3 one morning last week - eating a bowl of cereal while driving at 100Kmh !!! IDIOT

 

I'm frustrated that I can't do some of my normal training loops - Fish Hoek round to Tokai forest via Wynberg on main road then through the forest - Silvermine, Noordhoek peak and home via Ou Wapad (a nice 55 - 60Km ride) - but it is still possible to get lots of riding done driving to the forest, parking there and spending time riding up and down the various trails / singletracks, up to the mast and Noordhoek peak, round silvermine, bottom forest etc - not to mention going out to Jonkershoek, Lebanon etc

 

Wherever you ride - STAY SAFE

 

 

[Filamon]

My sincerest condolences to the family of Craig.  For what its worth... I'm sticking to my MTB for training and will only go on the road if its for a race.  The sad loss of life is sickening and the way in which Capetonians disrespect human life blows the mind. Is the Argus worth this price?

[parabola]

 

That is really just so sad! My sincerest condolences to his family, that is such a tragic and heartbreaking and definitely a shock for myself, only more of a reason for me to steer clear of the roads when riding to Tokai.

parabola2009-02-05 09:09:53

[Climate]

With a view to the meeting tomorrow and suggestions wrt improving the safety of cyclists, I think it was Spinnekop that mentioned a solution that has been adopted in Holland, where rumble strips are created under the yellow lines only. This modification to our roads should not prove overly expensive, but while keeping the shoulder available for cyclists, serves as a mechanism for getting the attention of a driver who is leaving the road ... brilliant!!!

[Wobbles]

To everyone out there on the hub - NB!!! - Please carry some form of ID when you go out riding - a Cell phone with an ICE (In Case of Emergency) no stored in contacts' date=' or get yourself an ICEID bracelet or one of the ER24 bracelets with your name / emergency contacts / Blood group / allergies etc - It could be very important and try not to ride alone !!

Cheers everyone, STAY SAFE !!
[/quote']

 

Condolences to Greg and his friends family. That is terrible news.

 

Rick - thanks for being so caring and thanks for the sage advice. I will paste them to our Clubs weekly Circular. 

[Nettie R]

the driver is not charged with murder.
He is charged with Culpable Homicide (unlawful killing of another with an absence of an intention to kill. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent)

 

Yeah, that opens another can of worms. Driver gets a car, deliberately without a licence to drive, willfully riding on a public road,  without the necessary knowledge and skill, knowingly he could cause harm to other road users because of his lack of roadworthiness.

I know the law does not work that way, but I wish the courts would interpret incident like this in that way.

 

[bustthesickness]

 

the driver is not charged with murder.

He is charged with Culpable Homicide (unlawful killing of another with an absence of an intention to kill. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent)

 

 

Yeah' date=' that opens another can of worms. Driver gets a car, deliberately without a licence to drive, willfully riding on a public road,  without the necessary knowledge and skill, knowingly he could cause harm to other road users because of his lack of roadworthiness.

I know the law does not work that way, but I wish the courts would interpret incident like this in that way.

 

[/quote']

Look man, I was just stating the facts bc someone said the guy was charged with murder. I don't for a second think the guy intended to kill a cyclist. Accidents happen and the guy will have to have the chilling memory of this with him for the rest of his life.

You are confusing intent with will. very different terms. Bottom line, yes the guy was unlicensed, but it was an accident.

 

[davem]

One of the aspects of driving in SA is that whenever a collision occurs we call it an 'Accident'. The morning radio traffic reports always refer to 'Accidents'. The term implies a lack of responsibility. 'It just happened'

 

Every collision has a cause for which someone bears responsibility, whether it be by willful intention or negligence or omission. Some have greater consequences than others.

 

Our attitude as road users (being cyclists and drivers) must change. Try refering to each collision as such, remove the word accident from your vocabulary. You will likely view that little bumper bashing you had recently or the red light you skipped (cycle or car) in a different light.

 

We all cry out (rightly so) for tougher treatment of criminals. As many people die on our roads each year as are murdered. I cannot control a potential criminal with murderous intent, but I can change my attitude to the way I use the road on my bike and in my car.

 

If traffic collisions are seen as an event that you are responsible for, perhaps the carnage will decrease.

 

I believe that this is an attitude we can change, this is a small step that will hopefully change the mindset.

 

When I read this thread, and keep coming back to it, my heart bleeds for  the family of Craig because of the great loss and because of the avoidability of the whole situation.

 

Despite the fact the the driver will pay a price both emotionally and in terms of the justice system, he didn't have to if had taken greater responsibility for his life.

 

This is truly sad.