2019 Cycling Fatalities

[LateStarter]

Death in SA this morning too

https://7news.com.au/news/sa/cyclist-di ... d-c-613644

Construction truck & trailer combination again! Is it the type of vehicle or the typical driver of these?

4 in one day is 4 too much especially as many of us have ridden frequently on that part of Kurrajong Rd.

[AdelaidePeter]

4 in one day is 4 too much especially as many of us have ridden frequently on that part of Kurrajong Rd.

Sh*t I've only just realised there were 3 others. Condolences to @Queequeg and any others who knew any of the riders.

Summarising this horrible morning:
* Rider killed by truck in Port Adelaide, driver arrested.
* Rider killed in hit-run in Horsham
* 2 riders killed in Richmond NSW. No charges yet but the position of the car, and position of its damage, look pretty damning.

Hard to avoid the conclusion that all of these were riders doing the right thing and killed by drivers who were inattentive or worse

Too early to say if it's the case in any of these, but along with mandatory blood testing it's time for mandatory seizing of phone and phone records.

[MichaelB]

Condolences to all those impacted, directly or otherwise.

Sad day indeed.

[Thoglette]

More on the Taylors Lakes tragedy...

Witnesses have told police the man appeared to run a red light before striking the cyclist.
...
“The driver on this occasion will be facing very serious criminal offences.”

https://www.9news.com.au/national/fatal ... 11790789dd

ABC reports on sentencing

A driver who fell asleep at the wheel moments before he struck and killed a cyclist in Melbourne's north-west in July has been ordered to serve 10 months' jail in a youth facility.

[AUbicycles]

A tragedy, there is a terrible feeling of helplessness and knowing how family and friends now have a permanent burden of pain and sorrow. Very upsetting.

[brumby33]

Thanks for the messages. I have been on the phone to a few people. It's pretty upsetting as the riders have not been named yet. I am at home working, as the kids finished school yesterday.

My Condolences for losing two of your riding buddies queequeg, Condolences to the families who will be extremely devastated this Christmas and beyond......and the driver...I wonder what sentence he'll get if any.....can't believe what I read this today about the guy who hit and killed the 49 yr old father only got 10 Months....FFS!! is that all a cyclist is worth? Nothing but a slap on the wrist and that he can stay here in Australia.....a total insult to his family who have lost their dad and husband long before his time.......

I don't give a bugger about his excuse...a micro sleep.....well if he was fatigued he shouldn't have driven...no different than an intoxicated driver or one using a phone in my books....it's about time drivers need to face up to their responsibilities on the road and stop getting these light sentences and about time the judicial system gets a major shake up.....but we know that won't happen.

I also feel that anyone involved in a collision where it has been their fault, after any Gaol term should be without a licence for a minimum of 5 years after parole release and have to do the entire licence from scratch...L/ red P's & green P's inclusive. Maybe then they can ride a bicycle and understand how vulnerable we are........

brumby33

[g-boaf]

I don't give a bugger about his excuse...a micro sleep.....well if he was fatigued he shouldn't have driven...no different than an intoxicated driver or one using a phone in my books....it's about time drivers need to face up to their responsibilities on the road and stop getting these light sentences and about time the judicial system gets a major shake up.....but we know that won't happen.

I also feel that anyone involved in a collision where it has been their fault, after any Gaol term should be without a licence for a minimum of 5 years after parole release and have to do the entire licence from scratch...L/ red P's & green P's inclusive. Maybe then they can ride a bicycle and understand how vulnerable we are........

brumby33

I agree with that totally. Drivers have to be more careful and have more patience. You see overseas they are generally much more careful around riders. I have seen one bad accident overseas involving a car and a rider, the car driver tried to overtake another rider on a blind corner and hit an innocent rider head on, but in general there isn't the worry of what the next car coming along will do.

It's a better driving culture/behaviour. Even in the bigger cities.

[brumby33]

What angers me the most is that if you had a gun and shot someone dead, you will be charged with Murder and get 15-25 years or even life......hit a cyclist with a car and you don't even get 12 Months behind bars.....released and allowed to live your life as before......there's got to be consequences whether it's an accident or otherwise.

Like too when the accused says I was under the influence of illicit drugs like Ice, Meth and all that other crap they take and they have no recollection of the events they are accused of...yeah right!! They generally get some charge for the event but bugger all for the drugs they took even if those drugs were highly illegal and in some other countries would see you get the death penalty.....but here.....bugger all!!

brumby33

[Bunged Knee]

Richmond in NSW - one rider dead, another critical after a car hit them:

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/one ... 53lci.html

This is a dreadful incident. they were riding at before 5am, and still this happens.

From Police news.

A second man has died after a car struck two cyclists in Sydney’s north-west yesterday.

About 4.55am (Thursday 19 December 2019), two cyclists were travelling west along Kurrajong Road, Richmond, when they were struck by a Hyundai i30 Hatch.

Emergency services attended, and one man, aged 49, was confirmed deceased at the scene.

A second man, aged 40, was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics. He was airlifted to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition and passed away from his injuries last night.

The driver of the Hyundai, a man aged 19, was taken to hospital for mandatory blood and urine testing.

Shortly after, the 19-year-old was arrested and conveyed to Windsor Police Station before he was released pending further investigations.

Officers from Hawkesbury Police Area Command established a crime scene, and the Metropolitan Crash Investigation Unit commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.

Inquiries continue.

So it was a 19yo driver, there's something fishy going on as he might be using mobile phone while driving.

Conspiracy theories going on with cover up of what happened????

[AUbicycles]

No... we need to let the law run its due course and be mindful about speculating because family and friends are hurting.

In the cycling community we can hope that the Police are diligent in their investigations.

[ColinOldnCranky]

10 months. F me.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-19/ ... s/11813126

Moreover the judge purposely sentenced the killer to less than 12 months so he couldn't be deported while the victim's family could be deported since his visa was tied to his employment. Killer stays in Australia while victim's family doesn't.

The judge's job is to give a sentence appropriate to the crime. It is the job of the Immigration department to decide whether the crime is worthy of deportation. The judge has stepped outside of his area and decided to pre-empt the Immigration decision - very disappointing.

Alternatively it can be argued that immigration department sanctions on top of what the courts mete out are fundamentally unjust. Why should I be penalized less than is someone else committing the same act just because he/she happens to not be a citizen.

I agree with your fundamental point though. It is NOT the judges place to usurp policy, whether fair or not. His action IS disappointing.

[Bennoz]

Good article that explains the legal process and why some punishments seem so lenient. I don't agree with some of it but it does explain the process.

https://cyclingtips.com/2019/12/explain ... a-cyclist/

At the end of the day a cyclist is dead, family shattered and the perpetrator home for xmas.... Doesn't seem right. Nothing will change unroll the law does.

[trailgumby]

Construction truck & trailer combination again! Is it the type of vehicle or the typical driver of these?

It's both, plus the way their remuneration is structured, which encourages them to take risks to keep to a schedule. There was a woman killed in Newcastle exactly the same way a few months ago - run over from behind by a left-turning truck-and-dog trailer.

The crap I've seen pulled by truck-and-dog trailer drivers around Barangaroo here in Sydney is frightening. I narrowly avoided being a victim on one occasion myself. Glad I don't have to go past that site any more with a change in job.

[queequeg]

The 19-yr old driver has now been charged

https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/news ... w9MQ%3D%3D

Man charged following double fatal collision - Richmond
Saturday, 21 December 2019 09:57:35 PM

A man has been charged following the deaths of two cyclists in Sydney’s north-west this week.

About 4.55am on Thursday 19 December 2019, two cyclists were travelling west along Kurrajong Road, Richmond, when they were struck by a Hyundai i30 Hatch.

Emergency services attended, and one man, aged 49, was confirmed deceased at the scene.

A second man, aged 40, was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics. He was airlifted to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition but passed away later that evening.

The driver of the Hyundai was taken to hospital for mandatory blood and urine testing.

Following inquiries, today (Saturday 21 December 2019), a 19-year-old man from Gross Vale was charged with two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, negligent driving occasioning death and not keep left of dividing line.

He was issued with a Future Court Attendance Notice to appear at Windsor Local Court on Thursday 6 February 2020.

The man’s licence has been suspended.

[g-boaf]

So it was a head on crash?

I hope the law deals with him appropriately and not this slap on the wrist stuff. Two innocent people are dead, leaving behind families and friends.

And what is worse, there will be some people out there who think this driver is a hero for getting rid of two more riders. The media is equally guilty for stirring up some of these people.

[hunch]

The coverage on the news on the day of the incident, had the white car in the "bike lane" on the wrong side of the road. I've always considered a rear ender or side swipe there more likely on that stretch to Nth Richmond as they go nuts between built-up sections.

Reading the Hawkesbury Gazette site, had to laugh at this idiot woman with the usual victim blaming, 5 abreast blocking traffic BS. Mentioned Freeman's Reach Rd specifically, which I've travelled on thousands of times over the last couple of decades, I've seen the odd training ride and recreational tour group ride, but never as she described.

[queequeg]

So it was a head on crash?

I hope the law deals with him appropriately and not this slap on the wrist stuff. Two innocent people are dead, leaving behind families and friends.

And what is worse, there will be some people out there who think this driver is a hero for getting rid of two more riders. The media is equally guilty for stirring up some of these people.

Yep, they were hit head-on when the driver suddenly veered into them from the other side of the road.

The same media release above was posted on the NSW Police Force Facebook Page, and they deleted it because of the comments. I never understand why they even need to enable comments at all for a media release. So many people on there need to take a hard look at themselves in a mirror. There were some pretty horrid comments on there. I hope the police captured them all before deleting the post.

[g-boaf]

So it was a head on crash?

I hope the law deals with him appropriately and not this slap on the wrist stuff. Two innocent people are dead, leaving behind families and friends.

And what is worse, there will be some people out there who think this driver is a hero for getting rid of two more riders. The media is equally guilty for stirring up some of these people.

Yep, they were hit head-on when the driver suddenly veered into them from the other side of the road.

The same media release above was posted on the NSW Police Force Facebook Page, and they deleted it because of the comments. I never understand why they even need to enable comments at all for a media release. So many people on there need to take a hard look at themselves in a mirror. There were some pretty horrid comments on there. I hope the police captured them all before deleting the post.

They are all heroes on Facebook, but if it was a member of their family then they'd be up in arms. It's utterly disgraceful behaviour. The media and our government are guilty in encouraging this.

[familyguy]

The image in the news was very damning. A lot of drivers side damage. If this is proven to be intentional, there needs to be a huge search of the drivers social media interactions.

That said, I've noticed (personally only) that there appears to be a softening on the commentary. The NSW police FB page still has an item on this incident, and muxh of the commentary is positive. Calling out morons and general comments. The most replied to comments are the callous morons being called out and doubling down with further comments, digging their own hole deeper.

Jim

[queequeg]

The image in the news was very damning. A lot of drivers side damage. If this is proven to be intentional, there needs to be a huge search of the drivers social media interactions.

That said, I've noticed (personally only) that there appears to be a softening on the commentary. The NSW police FB page still has an item on this incident, and muxh of the commentary is positive. Calling out morons and general comments. The most replied to comments are the callous morons being called out and doubling down with further comments, digging their own hole deeper.

Jim

There was a second post on their page which was posted late at night with the second media release. It had hundreds of comments on it, many of them abhorent. Sure, people were getting called out, but most of the posts were totally irrelevant.

In terms of what actually happened, it appears the eastbound car has crossed the road, slammed into the armco rail on the opposite side of the road and basically catapulted the car into the riders who were in the road shoulder lane heading west. Early reports are that the driver fell asleep. That's all we know at this time.

[AUbicycles]

Just heard the sad news that I knew the Adelaide rider.

[g-boaf]

Just heard the sad news that I knew the Adelaide rider.

Extremely sorry. This is just awful.

[redsonic]

This one may or may not be a fatality. Police are not yet saying, but sounds very bad. Eyre Highway closed in both directions near Nullarbor after truck/cyclist collision. Major crash investigators from Adelaide are coming out, and the highway will be closed for several hours.

ABC News

Stay safe out there guys; it sounds crazy on the roads

Edited to add this site (firewalled) says the cyclist was killed:
Adelaide Now

[g-boaf]

This one may or may not be a fatality. Police are not yet saying, but sounds very bad. Eyre Highway closed in both directions near Nullarbor after truck/cyclist collision. Major crash investigators from Adelaide are coming out, and the highway will be closed for several hours.

ABC News

Stay safe out there guys; it sounds crazy on the roads

Yes, I'm taking quiet back roads and staying well away from my usual on-road routes. It's depressing how many of these fatalities and major incidents are happening at the moment.

[MichaelB]

Yes, I'm taking quiet back roads and staying well away from my usual on-road routes. It's depressing how many of these fatalities and major incidents are happening at the moment.

I’m doing the same and removing some roads from my ride list.

It’s scary sometimes how often it’s happening.