Commuting accident

[pricejo]

Hi i just wanted to let you know about my recent accident commuting home.
I have been riding to work a couple of times a week its a good distance at 37km one way but its nearly all on bike path.
I join the peninsula link bike path at mt eliza and follpw the path all the way through patterson lake's to dandenong south where i work.
Last Friday night i was riding home from work st about about 1am (i work nights)
I was on a straight section near the bp service station and going at a good speed when i hit something.
One of the access gates to the peninsula link had been left swung open accross the bike path and i hit it full on.
Resulting in a arm broken in 3 places and months off work.
So just a warning to anyone using that path to watch out for those gates as they really hurt!

[brumby33]

Jeez mate, what a cropper of an accident

Didn't your front lights pick it up before you hit it....presuming you had lights on your bike.

Bike paths can be a death trap at night for the unwary, especially if some clowns set up traps for cyclists like fishing lines strung between trees, thumb tacks or glass. Never seen a bike path with entrance gates but usually those steel bollards to keep cars and motorcycles off them.

Hope you mend well pricejo and back on bike soon....might have to invest in a better light set up to avoid other traps.

cheers

brumby33

[bychosis]

This might be worth mentioning to the council. Not in terms of getting compensation, but to prevent future recurrence. They might be able to redesign the hazard out of it.

[pricejo]

Thanks mate yes i do have pretty good lights on but they are so bright i have them focused down about 6 meters in front.
I have blinded other bikers in the past.
Probably should of spotted it but was very dark and misty so understandable.
I wish i took some photos but was provably in shock.
The gate alowed acces to the peninsula link i believe and had been left swung out blocking the path.
Though now i come to think of it a gate should only be able to swing away from the bike path poor design.
Thanks john

[trailgumby]

Definitely report that gate. Time and date too. Being able to swing over and obstruct the path is a major implementation flaw with foreseeable consequences.

It could have been far worse. Long-time forum member and valued contributor Alex Simmons had to have his lower leg amputated following a similar act of complete stupidity from a Sydney council and their delegated operators. The compensation amount was quite significant, but not as much as the impact to Alex personally.

If you are losing income as a result of this act of negligence then I'd look to have a chat with a compensation lawyer. If you choose to go down this path I'd also get in touch with admin and get this thread removed.

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Not only report it but get written acknowledgement from council about the issue and follow up to see what action they are taking/have taken to rectify it - this should not be onerous for council - i.e. it just requires ensuring a gate does not block a cycleway such that it can no longer present a significant risk of harm to a normal class of users, being cyclists. This puts them on notice in case it happens to someone else.

Stuff like this sucks, sorry to hear about the injuries. As to going down the legal path - it's pretty darn hard to demonstrate negligence against a Council. Nevertheless, Councils really should be on notice for these sorts of issues following my case.

Hope you heal well.

[SteveTheTiger]

Im not from Melbourne, but if it was a maintenance gate to access a motorway, then it wouldn't be the responsibility of a local Council.

I would start with VicRoads, but more than likely it is the operator of the road. According to the PeninsulaLink website, it is LendLease.

All the best with the recovery.