Mark said:spindrift said:Mark said:Andrew Templeman wrote:
> This morning, shortly after 9am, three cyclists were very close to the
> Eureka cafe at Two Mills planning to meet their clubmates for a Sunday
> morning run.
>
> <http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=53.262&lon=-2.9784&scale=200
> 000&icon=x>
>
> They were riding in a south-easterly direction into the low morning sun,
> when two of the riders were hit from behind by a Renault Clio.
>
> One of the cyclists, Mel Vasey, was hit directly from behind and thrown
> over the car. He was unconscious and suffered cardiac arrest. Due to the
> attention of a passing Aldi lorry driver, he was still alive when the
> ambulance arrived. Due to the severity of his injuries, Mel later died
> in hospital. He will be a great loss to the local cycling community. He
> was a proprietor of Quins Cycles in Liverpool, and well known and liked
> in the area.
>
> The other rider involved in the collision, Danny McDonough, sustained a
> broken hip and was undergoing x-rays to determine the extent of further
> injuries.
>
> A sad day for my club.
>
> Andy Templeman, Birkenhead North End Cycling Club
> <http://www.bnecc.co.uk>
>
>
> --
> Andy Templeman <http://www.templeman.org.uk/>
Terribly terribly sorry to hear that.
It's so sad such a wonderful sport can be so dangerous.
15 January 2007
GET TOUGH ON KILLER MOTORISTS
By Rosa Prince
MINISTERS were urged yesterday to stop killer drivers getting away with
a slap on the wrists.
Robert Gifford, of campaign group Parliamentary Advisory Council for
Transport Safety, said it was a scandal that they could get away with a
fine.
The maximum is two years for dangerous driving or five years for death
by dangerous driving.
Mr Gifford said prosecutors are often reluctant to bring the most
serious charges and those jailed get an average 18 months.
http://tinyurl.com/tyqtv
Couldn't agree more - the punishment should fit the crime, which at the
moment it clearly doesn't, not be a long chalk!
I'm sure (would hope) that the driver in question spends the rest of
their life feeling like [censored], but that doesn't help the poor cyclist or
their family 🙁
Personally, I wear a helmet, have multiple lights, hi-viz jacket and
take great care, but I can't help other people's stupidity, much as I'd
love to. I sometimes find myself wondering if life is too precious to
risk on the road... I have to keep reminding myself it's still
relatively safe and a life of being wrapped in cotton wool would not be
much of a life.
Well, I would hope any decent human would feel like absolute filth for
hitting a cyclist because of a mistake they had made.
I drive too, and know that there are times when I am not as aware as
others - I don't drive drunk or drugged, but I do drive after a long
days work, or a big meal or maybe not such a good sleep, or with a lot
on my mind. There are times when I cannot be said to be 100% focussed
on the road ahead, and it's definately the case that cyclists require
more thought from drivers - this makes them more vulnerable.
I would consider myself to be a good driver (in no small part owing to
the fact that I cycle a lot, and have a highened awareness of the
dangers), not wanting to be boastful, but if I knew all drivers where
as good as I am, I would be very happy to risk cycling at all times and
conditions and on all roads. Unfortunately, I don't believe this is the
case - there is no black and white, only shades of grey - people vary
enormously, and depending on the situation, this makes me feel more or
less like I am doing a dangerous thing.
