Tough Twin killed on bike

HughMann said:

PS. Tsv Bully do not allow "cut n paste" of text from their web
articles. Useing IE. Anyone know how to suck the text of locked
pages.

Use Ctrl + C instead of a right click. Took me all of .3 of a second to
work around their "protection" 😉

Tough' twin killed on bike
By JESSICA JOHNSTON
20jun06

AN ELDERLY Townsville man was killed when he was knocked off his
pushbike in Cluden yesterday morning.

Robert 'Bobby' Jackson was attempting to cross Racecourse Rd, when a
ute stuck his pushbike about 7.30am.

It was believed the 80-year-old Wulguru resident was on his way home
from the shop after buying milk when he rode in front of the passing
ute.

A Queensland Police spokesman said it did not appear as though Mr
Jackson was wearing a bicycle helmet at the time of the accident.

He was rushed to Townsville Hospital suffering serious head injuries,
and died a short time later.

The visibly distraught driver, a 25-year-old Townsville man, was
comforted by passing motorists at the scene.

The police spokesman yesterday said that while police were
investigating, it was unlikely the driver would be charged over the
incident.

Mr Jackson and his identical twin Norman celebrated their 80th birthday
in April.

The twins, who all agree were like chalk and cheese, shared some
admirable virtues. Like his brother, Bobby never smoked, drank alcohol
or gambled.

But there was no doubt the Jackson twins were born tough.

Bobby, a devoted horse-man, was a well-known character in local racing
circles.

He spent most of his life in the racing game as a jockey, trainer and
farrier.

He had never missed a Townsville Cup.

As a teen, Bobby spent seven months in hospital recovering from broken
legs, fractured pelvis, broken ribs and a broken arm after a riding
accident.

He survived snake bites and chronic asthma.

Bobby firmly believed the secret to his health was a teaspoonful of
olive oil every morning.

"I am as fit as a mallee bull, and all I have done is take the olive
oil," Mr Jackson often said.

He swapped his saddle for a bike seat and never looked back. Mr Jackson
often rode his bike from his Wulguru home to Annandale - and he could
still be seen riding to the local BP service station every other day.

But his long innings came to an end yesterday morning, near his beloved
Cluden racecourse.

Bobby is survived by his wife Enid, eight children, 24 grandchildren
and a handful of great grandchildren.

Townsville Traffic Branch officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Tony
Goddard said the state road toll stood at 142 at midnight on Sunday, 11
more than this time last year. Mr Jackson was the 13th to die on
Northern roads this year, which was three more deaths than the same
time last year.

HughMann said:

Headlines like this are becoming so common that I am afraid that the masses may become totally de sensitised to this sort of waste of life.

Almost becoming pase' to post this type of news unless there is some sort of outrage or agenda attached.

Condolances to family. I am sure that it will be a big Funeral and a very memorable wake as Bobby was a well known local horse racing identity.

Townsville Bulletin 20 July 2006

Hugh

PS. Tsv Bully do not allow "cut n paste" of text from their web articles. Useing IE. Anyone know how to suck the text of locked pages.

Full text:

AN ELDERLY Townsville man was killed when he was knocked off his pushbike in Cluden yesterday morning.

Robert 'Bobby' Jackson was attempting to cross Racecourse Rd, when a ute stuck his pushbike about 7.30am.

It was believed the 80-year-old Wulguru resident was on his way home from the shop after buying milk when he rode in front of the passing ute.

A Queensland Police spokesman said it did not appear as though Mr Jackson was wearing a bicycle helmet at the time of the accident.

He was rushed to Townsville Hospital suffering serious head injuries, and died a short time later.

The visibly distraught driver, a 25-year-old Townsville man, was comforted by passing motorists at the scene.

The police spokesman yesterday said that while police were investigating, it was unlikely the driver would be charged over the incident.

Mr Jackson and his identical twin Norman celebrated their 80th birthday in April.

The twins, who all agree were like chalk and cheese, shared some admirable virtues. Like his brother, Bobby never smoked, drank alcohol or gambled.

But there was no doubt the Jackson twins were born tough.

Bobby, a devoted horse-man, was a well-known character in local racing circles.

He spent most of his life in the racing game as a jockey, trainer and farrier.

He had never missed a Townsville Cup.

As a teen, Bobby spent seven months in hospital recovering from broken legs, fractured pelvis, broken ribs and a broken arm after a riding accident.

He survived snake bites and chronic asthma.

Bobby firmly believed the secret to his health was a teaspoonful of olive oil every morning.

"I am as fit as a mallee bull, and all I have done is take the olive oil," Mr Jackson often said.

He swapped his saddle for a bike seat and never looked back. Mr Jackson often rode his bike from his Wulguru home to Annandale - and he could still be seen riding to the local BP service station every other day.

But his long innings came to an end yesterday morning, near his beloved Cluden racecourse.

Bobby is survived by his wife Enid, eight children, 24 grandchildren and a handful of great grandchildren.

Townsville Traffic Branch officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Tony Goddard said the state road toll stood at 142 at midnight on Sunday, 11 more than this time last year. Mr Jackson was the 13th to die on Northern roads this year, which was three more deaths than the same time last year.

Hughmann said:

Headlines like this are becoming so common that I am afraid
that the masses may become totally de sensitised to this sort
of waste of life.

Quoted message said:

Almost becoming pase' to post this type of news unless there
is some sort of outrage or agenda attached.

I'd actually say exactly the opposite. Cyclist deaths only rate a mention in the paper because they're reasonably infrequent, and thus novel.

The over-reporting of cyclist deaths is (IMHO) the main reason people think that cycling is a horridly dangerous (and thus terribly foolhardy) thing to do.

If they devoted a the same number of column inches to each of the 1200 odd people who get killed in cars, the 250 odd pedestrians, and the 200 odd motorcyclists, then there wouldn't be any room for any other news.

Cheers,

Suzy

suzyj said:

I'd actually say exactly the opposite. Cyclist deaths only rate a
mention in the paper because they're reasonably infrequent, and thus
novel.

Yes.

Quoted message said:

The over-reporting of cyclist deaths is (IMHO) the main reason people
think that cycling is a horridly dangerous (and thus terribly
foolhardy) thing to do.

Yup. And you have to wear a helmet so it must be dangerous.

Quoted message said:

If they devoted a the same number of column inches to each of the 1200
odd people who get killed in cars, the 250 odd pedestrians, and the
200 odd motorcyclists, then there wouldn't be any room for any other
news.

What if they devoted the same space to the 5000 people a year who die in
hospitals from medical accidents? If you have an accident and are injured,
don't go to a hospital. Hospitals are very dangerous places.

Theo

Theo Bekkers said:

Quoted message said:

The over-reporting of cyclist deaths is (IMHO) the main reason people
think that cycling is a horridly dangerous (and thus terribly
foolhardy) thing to do.

Yup. And you have to wear a helmet so it must be dangerous.

I've knocked my head on the ground several times during minor crashes,
I did it again the other night when I sprained my ankle. A decent
knock, even if no cars are involved, is enough to kill a person -
observe all the incidents of people getting punched and then hitting
the ground and dying. I'm all in favour of scrapping compulsory helmet
laws. From a Darwinian point of view I think humanity could really
benefit from it. :-P

Travis

quote='suzyj'Hughmann said:

Headlines like this are becoming so common that I am afraid
that the masses may become totally de sensitised to this sort
of waste of life.

Quoted message said:

Almost becoming pase' to post this type of news unless there
is some sort of outrage or agenda attached.

I'd actually say exactly the opposite. Cyclist deaths only rate a mention in the paper because they're reasonably infrequent, and thus novel. [/QUOTE]

When I read the headlines my first thought was "oh no not another cyclist" I dont feel that they are now rare because of the amount of media coverage and its "immediacy". In Townsville we often hear of incidents in, say, Perth within hours.

I have not kept a score but cycling deaths reported in the last year just seems to be a lot more often than "reasonably infrequent". Perhaps the media have penetrated my brain and all the reports are in continuous loop replay.
Also our daily "Bully" reports every cyclist incident that happens within coo-ee of here. A child falling off a bike and being uninjured in some far off village can get 6 column inches. They have quite a fixation in telling everyone that cycling is dangerous and constantly seek to reinforce that opinion.

Quoted post said:

The over-reporting of cyclist deaths is (IMHO) the main reason people think that cycling is a horridly dangerous (and thus terribly foolhardy) thing to do.

If they devoted a the same number of column inches to each of the 1200 odd people who get killed in cars, the 250 odd pedestrians, and the 200 odd motorcyclists, then there wouldn't be any room for any other newsCheers,

Suzy .

Exactly where I was coming from.

Cheers

Hugh

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The over-reporting of cyclist deaths is (IMHO) the main reason people
think that cycling is a horridly dangerous (and thus terribly
foolhardy) thing to do.

Totally road toll (such the wrong word, its makes death just the price
we pay) for victoria alone is 130 ish year to date, that's almost 1 per
day. Nationally we have less than 1 cyclist per week.

PiledHigher

Travis said:

I've knocked my head on the ground several times during minor crashes,
I did it again the other night when I sprained my ankle. A decent
knock, even if no cars are involved, is enough to kill a person -
observe all the incidents of people getting punched and then hitting
the ground and dying.

Two things:

* If you're unconscious before you hit the ground then you hit the ground
very hard as you are not able to brace your fall. This might explain the
David Hookes, get punched and die phenomenon.

* Travelling at speed (such as on a bike) doesn't mean you hit the ground
harder as your speed in the forward direction doesn't increase your speed
in the "head-straight-to-ground" direction. So a person falling while
standing is hitting the ground approximately as hard as a person travelling
at 30 kmh.

Therefore, falling over after being punched is far more likely to cause head
injury than falling off a bike.
--
What was I thinking?

On 2006-06-21, Baka Dasai (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

Travis said:

I've knocked my head on the ground several times during minor crashes,
I did it again the other night when I sprained my ankle. A decent
knock, even if no cars are involved, is enough to kill a person -
observe all the incidents of people getting punched and then hitting
the ground and dying.

Two things:

* If you're unconscious before you hit the ground then you hit the ground
very hard as you are not able to brace your fall. This might explain the
David Hookes, get punched and die phenomenon.

* Travelling at speed (such as on a bike) doesn't mean you hit the ground

^^^^^ necessarily

Quoted message said:

harder as your speed in the forward direction doesn't increase your speed
in the "head-straight-to-ground" direction. So a person falling while
standing is hitting the ground approximately as hard as a person travelling
at 30 kmh.

Of course, under quite a number of circumstances, some of your
horizontal motion can be translated into the vertical plane. If you
rotate over the handlebars, for example, or if the bike flips because
the front of it gets caught in the wheel well of a car.

Or if you get ejected into the air, then you will be effectively
falling from a larger height, which translates to a higher velocity.

Not to mention that the friction that comes with sliding your head
across the ground is enough in itself to cause quite substantial
injuries that may lead to unconciousness.

I was pretty damned close to unconciousness myself, and suspect I did
slip in and out.

--
TimC
Beware of bugs in the above program. I proved it correct,
I did not try it. --- D. E. Knuth

In article said:

HughMann wrote:

Tough' twin killed on bike
By JESSICA JOHNSTON
20jun06

AN ELDERLY Townsville man was killed when he was knocked off his
pushbike in Cluden yesterday morning.

Robert 'Bobby' Jackson was attempting to cross Racecourse Rd, when a
ute stuck his pushbike about 7.30am.

It was believed the 80-year-old Wulguru resident was on his way home
from the shop after buying milk when he rode in front of the passing
ute.
...
He was rushed to Townsville Hospital suffering serious head injuries,
and died a short time later.

The visibly distraught driver, a 25-year-old Townsville man, was
comforted by passing motorists at the scene.

The police spokesman yesterday said that while police were
investigating, it was unlikely the driver would be charged over the
incident.

The report makes the collision sound like a simple accident, but,
whatever the cause, shouldn't the driver be charged with something?
After all, someone was killed by a car.

Quoted message said:

... [biography snipped]...
Townsville Traffic Branch officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Tony
Goddard said the state road toll stood at 142 at midnight on Sunday, 11
more than this time last year. Mr Jackson was the 13th to die on
Northern roads this year, which was three more deaths than the same
time last year.

--
K.A. Moylan
Canberra, Australia
Ski Club: http://www.cccsc.asn.au
kamoylan at ozemail dot com dot au

PiledHigher said:

Totally road toll (such the wrong word, its makes death just the price
we pay) for victoria alone is 130 ish year to date, that's almost 1 per
day. Nationally we have less than 1 cyclist per week.

Cycling is, by comparison to driving, a relatively "safer" activity. We can get down to the hard data analysis of incidents vs distances travelled later if you wish..

Precluding the obvious need of the media to sensationalise cycling crashes, other possible reasons why the cyclist 'community' reacts differently to road incidents maybe due to not widely held, yet positive overall attitudes. We’re not as desensitised as most of the road using public. We refuse to believe dying on the road is a “normalised” activity.

Recall this speech from Brendan O’Connor about Reconciliation?
"...To see one’s history, warts and all, is not, as some would have it, to wear a black armband but to be true to oneself. We have more to fear from a blindfold than a black armband, as ignorance will impede our progress to becoming a greater nation and a better society..."

i.e: I’d sooner prefer to discuss the issues over pretending all is fine & dandy.

quote='Damian'HughMann said:

PS. Tsv Bully do not allow "cut n paste" of text from their web
articles. Useing IE. Anyone know how to suck the text of locked
pages.

Use Ctrl + C instead of a right click. Took me all of .3 of a second to
work around their "protection" 😉

[/QUOTE]

DITTO

(highlight it and use edit function to copy, dont right click....same goes for cyclingnews pics...if using XP easy to just let the image activate the XP save graphics and click them instead of right clicking...)

... sad news nonetheless

Something else I wanted to add - most of us reading this thread (or a.b) are probably experienced cyclists. Most of us have learnt how to deal with road traffic and the assorted vagaries of sharing the road with cagers. But for everyone of *us* there's a vast number of other potential cyclists who would dearly love to get out there and enjoy cycling.

These stories don't help one iota, but neither does the current fragmented approach than governments & revalent authorities have towards cycling. Cycling is viewed either as a reactional activity on the weekend to be enjoyed on the bikepath, on the singletrack or in a early morning bunch ride.

Cycling as a valid form of road transport is something our *leaders* clearly haven't got their heads around. Yet. So until that faithful day arrives, it's up to experienced cyclists & those who give a stuff to show a positive example to the rest of the community. Get out there and tell your pollies/media/family/workmates what is required. Get out there and ride.

cfsmtb said:

Cycling is, by comparison to driving, a relatively "safer" activity. We can get down to the hard data analysis of incidents vs distances travelled later if you wish..

Precluding the obvious need of the media to sensationalise cycling crashes, other possible reasons why the cyclist 'community' reacts differently to road incidents maybe due to not widely held, yet positive overall attitudes. We’re not as desensitised as most of the road using public. We refuse to believe dying on the road is a “normalised” activity.

Recall this speech from Brendan O’Connor about Reconciliation?
"...To see one’s history, warts and all, is not, as some would have it, to wear a black armband but to be true to oneself. We have more to fear from a blindfold than a black armband, as ignorance will impede our progress to becoming a greater nation and a better society..."

i.e: I’d sooner prefer to discuss the issues over pretending all is fine & dandy.

there will no doubt be a coronial inquiry and some findings may contribute to improving the lot for older cyclists...

but, and this is a BIG BUT...

what gets me is that all cyclists are still vulnerable, no matter how old

all drivers, must keep a proper lookout and expect to take evasive action, like brake, slow down or steer to avoid...but do they, certainly not...they plough on regardless of the consequences.

and too many incidents occur when drivers consider the alternative between hitting a cyclists and steering off the road to hit maybe a tree or object as the better option and so the cyclist comes off second best and often dead.

This occurred in Frankston to friends of mine, a bunch was riding legally in a line in their own lane, when a local bus decided that to avoid a car and damaging it ( max cost about $500) was more desirable than hitting it, thus he considered he had to steer into the bunch of cyclists beside him instead.

so he steered into the bunch, knocked them all down, put three in hospital, caused over $10,000 in damage to bikes, caused permanent disability to one rider, and admitted to police at the time he decided the bikes were a better choice to hit than slightly damaging a car, and was fined $200 bucks...disgraceful you say...well it is the way it is...very indicative of the attitude of motorists and many people in officialdom (many Police, many judges and magistrates, many politicians, too many lawyers, too many bus drivers, too many truckies, errant drivers, arrogant cusses and other bloody minded selfish so and so's with little respect for life and the sanctity of it...and people ask why we as cyclists are bitter and cycnical of motorists?..

this sorry state of affairs exists...it is so clear in Latin...English just doesnt do it...but it is res ipsa loquitur..."the thing speaks for itself". & like a mathematic formula Q.E.D. (quod errat demonstrandum) "which was to be demonstrated"..

Attitude and behaviour...we have to advocate for change, we have to keep the pressure on and and we have to maintain rage every time someone comes down, is harrassed, injured or killed...because those who should be doing this are not, and will not and will continue to turn a blind eye as long as we allow them to!

So I am with cfsmtb, we have to discuss it, widely, and keep doing so , plus keep this advocacy top of mind..

keep the pressure on and the rage strong.

I don't agree that the car driver should be charged with "something"
whatever the cause. The excerpt from the article I read didn't say what the
cause of the "incident" was.

If the cyclist behaved erratically , it may have been unavoidable that the
car hit him.

Being more vulnerable doesn't make you more "right" too.
I think that driver may even be more of a victim even if he isn't more dead
or injured.

Take the example of train drivers hitting cars on level crossings. The car
driver is more vulnerable, but stopping on a level crossing is pretty
stupid, so it makes me think of the train driver as a victim too. They still
have to deal with the trauma of injuring, or even killing, someone they
never had any will to.
Most car drivers are the same, the hostility towards cyclists and the desire
to claim the roads for cars only is borne of a fear of injuring someone.

WIlfred

Wilfred Kazoks said:

...snip.....

the hostility towards cyclists and the desire
to claim the roads for cars only is borne of a fear of injuring someone.

WIlfred

maybe for some drivers, and that would be a positive finding if it could be validated...as the behavioural and attitude adjustment is almost complete.....but pretty sure this doesnt apply to many who have actually hit cyclists, pedestrians and little kids...more likley they didnt look, didnt care or considered themselves way "above " that vulnerable cretin on the bike and decided to show the rider a thing about power and size...!!

the analogy with a train crossing is invalid...trains cannot swerve or deviate to avoid a collision and operate at set speeds for set locations, they can only slow down and in most cases that is not an option that would avoid the collision anyway!

cfsmtb said:

Cycling is, by comparison to driving, a relatively "safer" activity. We
can get down to the hard data analysis of incidents vs distances
travelled later if you wish..

<snip>

Quoted message said:

i.e: I’d sooner prefer to discuss the issues over pretending all is fine
& dandy.

This is something that causes me no small measure of angst. By most any objective measure, cycling isn't appreciably more dangerous than driving, or walking.

However, over the last couple of years, I've seen a growing "we're the victims on the road" movement among cycling activists. I guess much of it stemmed from justifiable outrage over the McGee case, but the continuing message that's coming out of the campaign is that cyclists are terribly vulnerable, and we're getting killed left, right, and centre.

The problem that stems from this is that if you scare people away from riding, you make it more dangerous for those who remain (the opposite of the safety in numbers principle).

My own feeling is that a more positive campaign is called for. This will get more people riding bikes, and improve conditions (and safety) for all of us. Being positive isn't necessarily being blindfolded, especially when the evidence says that cycling isn't particularly dangerous anyway.

Regards,

Suzy

suzyj said:

This is something that causes me no small measure of angst. By most any objective measure, cycling isn't appreciably more dangerous than driving, or walking.

However, over the last couple of years, I've seen a growing "we're the victims on the road" movement among cycling activists. I guess much of it stemmed from justifiable outrage over the McGee case, but the continuing message that's coming out of the campaign is that cyclists are terribly vulnerable, and we're getting killed left, right, and centre.

The problem that stems from this is that if you scare people away from riding, you make it more dangerous for those who remain (the opposite of the safety in numbers principle).

My own feeling is that a more positive campaign is called for. This will get more people riding bikes, and improve conditions (and safety) for all of us. Being positive isn't necessarily being blindfolded, especially when the evidence says that cycling isn't particularly dangerous anyway.

Again, you're experienced cyclist who doesn't mind riding longer distances than most. Some things you brush off probably put off some potential cyclists after only a few trips out on the road.

What is a major problem is the inconsistant approach by road authorities towards cycling - now how do we approach that? From a advocates perspective, we're gradually chipping away at some pretty ingrained negative attitudes. You only have to look at the recent [censored] generated in Sydney by the removal of the William St bikelanes - and the media distraction 'article' by one Miranda Devine.

When a issue arises, be it child rights, domestic violence, kids eating junk food, the list goes on... invariably that's going to be a process where these topics hit the media and talkback. Opinions get thrown around. People commence planning action and/or strategies. After a while, either the situation normalises, legal action takes place, governments pull their collective fingers out, the general public slowly learns there's different way to to the perceived problem. Or compassion fatigue sets in.

This recent topic of cyclist and motorist interactions is simply another variation on that process I've attempted to describe.

cfsmtb said:

Again, you're experienced cyclist who doesn't mind riding longer distances than most. Some things you brush off probably put off some potential cyclists after only a few trips out on the road.

What is a major problem is the inconsistant approach by road authorities towards cycling - now how do we approach that? From a advocates perspective, we're gradually chipping away at some pretty ingrained negative attitudes. You only have to look at the recent [censored] generated in Sydney by the removal of the William St bikelanes - and the media distraction 'article' by one Miranda Devine.

When a issue arises, be it child rights, domestic violence, kids eating junk food, the list goes on... invariably that's going to be a process where these topics hit the media and talkback. Opinions get thrown around. People commence planning action and/or strategies. After a while, either the situation normalises, legal action takes place, governments pull their collective fingers out, the general public slowly learns there's different way to to the perceived problem. Or compassion fatigue sets in.

This recent topic of cyclist and motorist interactions is simply another variation on that process I've attempted to describe.

Yep...consistent pro-active steps by cyclists, engage interest in a positive way and encourage more riders.

Build a BikeBUS route, start your own, join up with others ...that is one thing every commuting cyclist can consider as a positive pro-active step that directly impacts on their own safety, enjoyment and health plan...with the flow on that authorities, media , and peak transport bodies will surely notice the effect and have to act to support and encourage more...