Five cyclists die in five days

[rebel]

I recall hearing at the time, she was trapped under those back wheels ... the truck cant have been going that fast for that to occur. I would say the truckie saw what was going to happen ... and slowed ... just not enough ... in the time he had ...

blame the easy target. Why didn't the deceased see the driver in the parked car and anticipate her actions earlier? Or why wasn't she riding in the designated cycle lanes?
I've got nothing against cyclists (except for arrogant do no wrong lycra clad tossers) but I was driving a truck up to Kerikeri and back today and after all the media hype over the last week these clowns still insist on riding to the right of the fog/shoulder line, even on that goat track stretch of road. Makes it pretty hard to steer 20 tonnes around one on the open road while they are in the same lane (when there is ample room in the shoulder), they do themselves no favours, darwin awards in the making.

[marty]

I recall hearing at the time, she was trapped under those back wheels ... the truck cant have been going that fast for that to occur. I would say the truckie saw what was going to happen ... and slowed ... just not enough ... in the time he had ...

Maybe Skiddie was driving it?

[FJRider]

blame the easy target. Why didn't the deceased see the driver in the parked car and anticipate her actions earlier? Or why wasn't she riding in the designated cycle lanes?
I've got nothing against cyclists (except for arrogant do no wrong lycra clad tossers) but I was driving a truck up to Kerikeri and back today and after all the media hype over the last week these clowns still insist on riding to the right of the fog/shoulder line, even on that goat track stretch of road. Makes it pretty hard to steer 20 tonnes around one on the open road while they are in the same lane (when there is ample room in the shoulder), they do themselves no favours, darwin awards in the making.

I was not blaming the truckie ... and its not usually the driver of the parked car you worry about ... its the passenger in the back seat (with no mirror to check so they open the door and look) you worry about ..

[duckonin]

Because she swerved out into it you muppet, reading and comprehension obviously aren't your strong points

Time for you to your up meds

Really many would say you are quite wrong, as you live in the cold South I can understand that you would lack those very skills..

She swerved out into it, really !! now how far did she swerve 1m 2m 3m, how wide is the road there? where was the truck in relation to her at the time she swerved ? was he passing her? was he behind her ? Narrow road poor buggar would of been wedged in like a sandwich, between a rock and hard,place....Geezz I would love to see some of you 'clowns in lycra' without a motor between your legs..

[Latte]

I think thats the point. You don't know how far the rider swerved. No one here commenting does. To blame the Truck driver automatically is a bigger indication of your mentallity than theirs.

[MSTRS:Me]

Narrow road poor buggar would of been wedged in like a sandwich, between a rock and hard,place...

You have now shot down your own assertion as to who's fault.
The 'poor bugger' had the option of using a cycle path, but didn't. So, by your (twisted) reasoning, it was all her fault.

[Swoop]

HE DID NOT GIVE HER ROOM,IF HE DID WHY DID SHE END UP UNDER THE BACK WHEELS OF HIS FUCKEN TRUCK?

Do you know how wide the road is in that area?

She swerved out into it, really !! now how far did she swerve 1m 2m 3m, how wide is the road there?

Apparently not.


This is a seriously busy piece of road with parking, median strips and pedestrian safety areas all in the same area of road. A truck has very little option but to drive in one very constrained straight line.

[duckonin]

You have now shot down your own assertion as to who's fault.
The 'poor bugger' had the option of using a cycle path, but didn't. So, by your (twisted) reasoning, it was all her fault.

Not at all she is allowed to use the road same as any other...

[duckonin]

Do you know how wide the road is in that area?

Apparently not.


This is a seriously busy piece of road with parking, median strips and pedestrian safety areas all in the same area of road. A truck has very little option but to drive in one very constrained straight line.

No the truck has an option that is to yeild to all in front of him, and be patient something truck drivers are not...

I don't care how busy the road is, someone made a wrong move, all the lass was doing was riding her bike legally on a road, busy or not wide or narrow, there is a reason she ended up 'under' in the back wheels of a truck..Go on say it again 'she swerved' Yes so as to avoid being part of a door, So on this busy road in relation to her Where was the truck at that point ? She did end up under his back wheels did she not ? I was not there so I can only speculate same as the rest of you are doing..

[Katman]

I was not there so I can only speculate same as the rest of you are doing..

So what the fuck was she doing filling her head with ipod noise instead of being aware of her surroundings?

[steve_t]

So what the fuck was she doing filling her head with ipod noise instead of being aware of her surroundings?

Are you really insinuating that this tragedy occurred because she was wearing an iPod? I missed the reporting that confirmed that she actually was wearing one. Was that reported somewhere?

[duckonin]

So what the fuck was she doing filling her head with ipod noise instead of being aware of her surroundings?

Trying to enjoy life and escape the shit we put up with from one an other in every day life....Must of been 'slightly aware' she seemed to of missed the door as those that 'witnessed' the event have stated..Then ran into more trouble that was too close it would seem to her bubble !!...

[Owl]

Arrogant truck driver like most of the pricks that drive fucken TRUCKS....

They can be dangerous bastards alright!

Wasn't a Mr Whippy truck was it?

[Pascal]

how wide is the road there? where was the truck in relation to her at the time she swerved ? was he passing her? was he behind her ? Narrow road poor buggar would of been wedged in like a sandwich, between a rock and hard,place

I was driving down the same road this weekend. Have you ever been down there?
I'm not 100% sure where the accident was, but we travelled down the length of it and I was checking the behavior of cyclists there.

First off - there is a cycle lane that is separated from traffic. A white line demarcates the section of the footpath that is for cyclists. Pedestrians go on the other side.

Trying to enjoy life and escape the shit we put up with from one an other in every day life.... Must of been 'slightly aware' she seemed to of missed the door as those that 'witnessed' the event have stated..

Secondly. I would have expected her to see the car door in front of her. After all, she hadn't wrapped a blindfold around her head.

However, with no mirrors on a bicycle she had blocked her ears and thus lost a large portion of perception around her. She'd cut off her ability to hear the world around her. That certainly impaired her ability to make a decision.

When we were going down this road, the majority of cyclists were using the designated cycling lane. There were however two of the lycra jocks that were riding two abreast in the road, instead of on the cycling lane. (That was mostly empty) They kept traffic bottled up for quite a bit.

Which was okay, as there was a good bit of eye candy jogging past.

Point being however, blaming the truck for it is dumb. While it is a tragic accident, the cyclist had ignored one option that would have entirely avoided this and hindered her chances to react to the situation rather severely. Same with motorcyclists - we're a lot squishier than trucks, cars and other large moving objects. It is important that the softer road users take appropriate care of themselves.

[Grubber]

I was driving down the same road this weekend. Have you ever been down there?
I'm not 100% sure where the accident was, but we travelled down the length of it and I was checking the behavior of cyclists there.

First off - there is a cycle lane that is separated from traffic. A white line demarcates the section of the footpath that is for cyclists. Pedestrians go on the other side.



Secondly. I would have expected her to see the car door in front of her. After all, she hadn't wrapped a blindfold around her head.

However, with no mirrors on a bicycle she had blocked her ears and thus lost a large portion of perception around her. She'd cut off her ability to hear the world around her. That certainly impaired her ability to make a decision.

When we were going down this road, the majority of cyclists were using the designated cycling lane. There were however two of the lycra jocks that were riding two abreast in the road, instead of on the cycling lane. (That was mostly empty) They kept traffic bottled up for quite a bit.

Which was okay, as there was a good bit of eye candy jogging past.

Point being however, blaming the truck for it is dumb. While it is a tragic accident, the cyclist had ignored one option that would have entirely avoided this and hindered her chances to react to the situation rather severely. Same with motorcyclists - we're a lot squishier than trucks, cars and other large moving objects. It is important that the softer road users take appropriate care of themselves.

Ahhhh! A breath of fresh air. Well said.