Cyclists rode at 'excessive speeds'

[p858snake]

Cyclists rode at 'excessive speeds'

James Gould, 77, was struck while trying to cross Beach Road in Melbourne's south-east.

Cyclists rode at 'excessive speeds'

Dan Harrison

March 28, 2007 - 2:05PM

********************

A witness to a fatal collision between a cyclist and a pedestrian has told of the "sickening noise'' of the man's head hitting the road.

Pedestrian James Gould, 77, died in August last year after he was involved in a collision with a cyclist as he tried to cross Beach Road in Mentone.

The cyclist was one of a large group participating in a so-called 'Hell Ride', a weekly 75-kilometre high speed ride through Melbourne's bayside suburbs.

Apprentice carpenter Daniel Keely told the coronial inquest into Mr Gould's death today that he witnessed the incident from his car while he waited for the traffic lights to change at the pedestrian crossing where the incident occurred.

He told the court that as he faced south he saw a group of about 100 cyclists ride four abreast down the hill towards him at an estimated speed of 50 km/h.

Mr Keely told the court Mr Gould, who was waiting to cross the road, muttered something to about 20 riders who rode through the red light without slowing down.

Three or four riders behind them braked as the cyclists behind them swerved around them "at excessive speed."

He described seeing one cyclist collide with Mr Gould, who was thrown back about five metres as another rider collided with the rider that had struck him.

"The sickening noise of his head crashing with the ground was horrific," Mr Keely said.

Another witness, Delwyn Rackham, who was on her way to work in Port Melbourne, told the court she saw the riders appear behind her in her rear view mirror as she faced north at the crossing.

"They were racing, they were going fast," she told the court.

She said Mr Gould paused in front of her car as he waited for the cyclists to clear the intersection.

"The thought crossed my mind, 'don't walk','' Ms Rackham said.

Public relations consultant Hugh Martin, who was in the group of riders, described the sound of bicycle tyres squealing as cyclists tried to avoid a collision.

Mr Martin told of finding Mr Gould lying on his back and checking to see if he was breathing.

Earlier, the court viewed footage of another Hell Ride in February 2005 which showed a group of cyclists run a red light.

William Raisin-Shaw, 30, of St Kilda, who has been charged with failing to stop at pedestrian lights on the day of the incident, was in court this morning but has not given evidence.

The inquest continues.

Source:The Age

[redeemed]

Poor guy... :|

[qdave]

50km/h is not excessive! anyway the old man shouldn't have walked if he saw cyclists riding fast.

[Ferret]

I saw the article in the paper - And I also wouldn't say that 25Mph is excessive either.

[spenser.d]

@qdave - on a bike, that's pretty fast. Also, they were running a red light and it didn't appear from the article as if the race was sanctioned such that the riders could just ignore traffic laws. The old man had the right of way, not the riders.

-Spenser

[Budious]

As a cyclist, my opinion is that if you are not obeying traffic laws than you are at fault. If this group was running traffic lights and exceeding posted speed limits in urban and residential areas than they are at fault. On the other hand, far too often it is the cyclist that gets the short end of the liability stick when drivers fail to assess the speed of a cyclist and pull out their car in front of someone going at 50kph on a road that permits that speed. Unfortunately, courts and judges and juries and even prosecutors do not fine irresponsible drivers for injuries to cyclists.

Note: On the speed that 50kph (35mph) is not excessive for a performance road bike or well conditioned rider. I regularily exceed 45mph on solo rides on flat or downhill terrian and when riding in a group, the areodynamics are greatly reduced allowing speeds in excess of 55mph.

[Brodel]

50km/h is not excessive! anyway the old man shouldn't have walked if he saw cyclists riding fast.

Agreed, but the argument stops after they jumped the red light. I ride my bike at least every other day through built up areas too so I'm not a driver who thinks that all cyclists should be assassinated either.

[Mouldy Punk]

@qdave - on a bike, that's pretty fast. Also, they were running a red light and it didn't appear from the article as if the race was sanctioned such that the riders could just ignore traffic laws. The old man had the right of way, not the riders.

-Spenser

The old man might have had right of way, but common sense really should have kicked in.

I mean, who would, after seeing a car do, say, 100mph in a 30 zone, step out in front of it and say "I have right of way"? Even if there is a red light and there shouldn't be a car there, most people would still look anyway, just to make sure. If this old guy didn't look or looked and ignored the bikes then he's as much to blame as the bikers.

[Allan]

About March 1999, I was on my bike going home from school. My school was on a hill. Hill on the north, and hill on the west. The hill on the north, met wi th the hill on the west. By the time I hit the bottom of the 2nd hill, I was doing 72kph (I had a speedomoter on the bike). Well, I passed a cop, who was doing speed checks, and he chased me down, and gave me a $10 ticket, for speeding. (72 in a 50kph zone). He was laughing at the same time, saying he'd never had to "chase a bike".

Anyway, that aside, in Ontario, the Ministry of Transportation, classified all 2 wheel bicycles as a motor vehicle. If the person riding is 6 or 96, they are legally a car, and have to follow the Highway Traffic Act, which includes the speed limits, Right of ways, and all signals / signs.

I'm not sure about Down Under, but I'm sure they have similar laws / regulations. The cyclists should all be charged with manslaughter or abbetting manslaughter, as well as speeding, and be fined the maximum amount.

[DrunkenMaster]

Anyway, that aside, in Ontario, the Ministry of Transportation, classified all 2 wheel bicycles as a motor vehicle. If the person riding is 6 or 96, they are legally a car, and have to follow the Highway Traffic Act, which includes the speed limits, Right of ways, and all signals / signs.

Riding in Ontario, and I know that, I do break the law on occassion on my bike. Do I follow the speed limit. Yep. Do I stop at stop signs and stop lights, yes. Do I ride on the side walk *instead of* major roads. Hell YES!!!! Its a helluva lot safer. Morons in all kinds of cars, the worst now are hummers ... the sound of them scares the crap out of me when riding my bike. So because there's a lot of unsafe drivers, and it only takes one, I stay off the major roads and always use sidewalks.

@Budious ... you a roadie or a mountain biker? I'm an MTBer but I think I might get into more road biking now. I'm going to start aiminig to train for triathlons. Just don't want to shave my legs. They're nice an' hairy right now.

[Budious]

@Budious ... you a roadie or a mountain biker? I'm an MTBer but I think I might get into more road biking now. I'm going to start aiminig to train for triathlons. Just don't want to shave my legs. They're nice an' hairy right now.

Originally I was just in bmx, then I started doing the wrenching at a local shop after high school and worked there through college and got into road cycling and mountain. I find the two utilize different sets of muscles and the benefit is in switching between the two. Four rides a week, two on road and two on mountain do me the best. I get too bored staring at the road and dodging dogs and cars... some mud and woods are a nice change of pace.