Cycling Death in SA



HughMann

New Member
Jun 22, 2004
285
0
0
From todays Australian page 6.

Cyclist dragged for 50m.

A 32 year old cyclist was killed on Saturday after being hit from behind in the dark by a semi trailer and dragged 50m along the Dukes Highway near Bordertown in South Australia.
The cyclist from the nearby town of Naracorte, was not wearing a helmet and had no lights on the bike.

Snip......

the man was riding east in the middle of the road

Snip

( among other things) Superintendent McFarlane said
" all road users , particularly cyclists need to be careful of other road users"

............................................

Apparently the mans injuries were horrific. The description of these may have affected the thought processes of the police officer when he made the above incongruous statement, or maybe its just poor reporting or out of context. Or perhaps I am over reacting by thinking that he said that cyclist need to be careful of damaging semis.

Sympathies to the mans family, friends and to the rescue workers who have had to deal with the aftermath.

Not going near other recent media stories. Not appropriate here.

Hugh
 
HughMann said:
From todays Australian page 6.

Cyclist dragged for 50m.

A 32 year old cyclist was killed on Saturday after being hit from behind in the dark by a semi trailer and dragged 50m along the Dukes Highway near Bordertown in South Australia.
The cyclist from the nearby town of Naracorte, was not wearing a helmet and had no lights on the bike.

Snip......

the man was riding east in the middle of the road

Snip

( among other things) Superintendent McFarlane said
" all road users , particularly cyclists need to be careful of other road users"

............................................

Apparently the mans injuries were horrific. The description of these may have affected the thought processes of the police officer when he made the above incongruous statement, or maybe its just poor reporting or out of context. Or perhaps I am over reacting by thinking that he said that cyclist need to be careful of damaging semis.

Sympathies to the mans family, friends and to the rescue workers who have had to deal with the aftermath.

Not going near other recent media stories. Not appropriate here.

Hugh

any idea what time of day/night this happened?

im not sure the Oz helmet safety standards include the allowance to repel a semi-trailer at speed.
 
HughMann wrote:

> The cyclist from the nearby town of Naracorte, was not wearing a
> helmet and had no lights on the bike.
> the man was riding east in the middle of the road


> ( among other things) Superintendent McFarlane said
> " all road users , particularly cyclists need to be careful of other
> road users"


> Apparently the mans injuries were horrific. The description of these
> may have affected the thought processes of the police officer when he
> made the above incongruous statement, or maybe its just poor reporting
> or out of context. Or perhaps I am over reacting by thinking that he
> said that cyclist need to be careful of damaging semis.
>
> Sympathies to the mans family, friends and to the rescue workers who
> have had to deal with the aftermath.


Agree with the sympathies but really, riding down the middle of the Duke
highway at night with no lights? I feel sympathy for the semi driver.

Theo
 
flyingdutch said:
any idea what time of day/night this happened?

im not sure the Oz helmet safety standards include the allowance to repel a semi-trailer at speed.


Article doesnt say time just that it was "in the dark" and that he had borrowed the bike to go and visit a relative.
 
HughMann said:
Article doesnt say time just that it was "in the dark" and that he had borrowed the bike to go and visit a relative.

yeah, sympathies for his rellies but as Theo said, pretty irresponsible/naive...
 
HughMann said:
From todays Australian page 6.

Cyclist dragged for 50m.

A 32 year old cyclist was killed on Saturday after being hit from behind in the dark by a semi trailer and dragged 50m along the Dukes Highway near Bordertown in South Australia.
The cyclist from the nearby town of Naracorte, was not wearing a helmet and had no lights on the bike.

Snip......

the man was riding east in the middle of the road

Snip

( among other things) Superintendent McFarlane said
" all road users , particularly cyclists need to be careful of other road users"

............................................

Apparently the mans injuries were horrific. The description of these may have affected the thought processes of the police officer when he made the above incongruous statement, or maybe its just poor reporting or out of context. Or perhaps I am over reacting by thinking that he said that cyclist need to be careful of damaging semis.

Sympathies to the mans family, friends and to the rescue workers who have had to deal with the aftermath.

Not going near other recent media stories. Not appropriate here.

Hugh
riding in the middle of the road, in the dark, with no lights ?? I know we need to share the roads, but that is kind of courting danger isn't it ??

maybe that is what the officer was referring to, just not worded appropriately......

guess we dont know if it was someone training or someone trying to get home from a big night out at the local pub ?
 
flyingdutch said:
yeah, sympathies for his rellies but as Theo said, pretty irresponsible/naive...

Most definately agree, and of course, the semi driver didnt need this intrusion into his life.

Reminds me of the line from the now cult movie " The Last Picture Show" when one of the boys who is intelectually challenged gets run over while sweeping the main road in the middle of a dust storm. Truck Driver: " what was that darn kid doing in the middle of the road anyhow?" Other kid: " he was sweeping mister, just sweeping"
 
On Mon, 8 Aug 2005 10:21:06 +1000, HughMann
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>From todays Australian page 6.
>
>Cyclist dragged for 50m.
>
>A 32 year old cyclist was killed on Saturday after being hit from
>behind in the dark by a semi trailer and dragged 50m along the Dukes
>Highway near Bordertown in South Australia.
>The cyclist from the nearby town of Naracorte, was not wearing a helmet
>and had no lights on the bike.
>
>Snip......
>
>the man was riding east in the middle of the road


At night, no lights, middle of highway?

Did they do a blood-alcohol test on the deceased rider?
 
On Mon, 8 Aug 2005 10:21:06 +1000, HughMann
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>From todays Australian page 6.
>
>Cyclist dragged for 50m.
>
>A 32 year old cyclist was killed on Saturday after being hit from
>behind in the dark by a semi trailer and dragged 50m along the Dukes
>Highway near Bordertown in South Australia.
>The cyclist from the nearby town of Naracorte, was not wearing a helmet
>and had no lights on the bike.
>
>Snip......
>
>the man was riding east in the middle of the road


At night, no lights, middle of highway?

Did they do a blood-alcohol test on the deceased rider?
 
HughMann wrote:

> flyingdutch Wrote:
>
>>any idea what time of day/night this happened?
>>
>>im not sure the Oz helmet safety standards include the allowance to
>>repel a semi-trailer at speed.

>
>
>
> Article doesnt say time just that it was "in the dark" and that he had
> borrowed the bike to go and visit a relative.
>
>

News.com.au says it was around 6am
 
It's exactly this sort of accident that leads drivers to believe we are all
idiots. Unfortunate and extremely sad, but one more point for drivers to
harp on about.

--
Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replying
"HughMann" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> From todays Australian page 6.
>
> Cyclist dragged for 50m.
>
> A 32 year old cyclist was killed on Saturday after being hit from
> behind in the dark by a semi trailer and dragged 50m along the Dukes
> Highway near Bordertown in South Australia.
> The cyclist from the nearby town of Naracorte, was not wearing a helmet
> and had no lights on the bike.
>
> Snip......
>
> the man was riding east in the middle of the road
>
> Snip
>
> ( among other things) Superintendent McFarlane said
> " all road users , particularly cyclists need to be careful of other
> road users"
>
> ...........................................
>
> Apparently the mans injuries were horrific. The description of these
> may have affected the thought processes of the police officer when he
> made the above incongruous statement, or maybe its just poor reporting
> or out of context. Or perhaps I am over reacting by thinking that he
> said that cyclist need to be careful of damaging semis.
>
> Sympathies to the mans family, friends and to the rescue workers who
> have had to deal with the aftermath.
>
> Not going near other recent media stories. Not appropriate here.
>
> Hugh
>
>
> --
> HughMann
>
 
Bean Long wrote:
> It's exactly this sort of accident that leads drivers to believe we are all
> idiots. Unfortunate and extremely sad, but one more point for drivers to
> harp on about.


Ja, and this is a bit of a cultural problem with a.b too. There's an
implicit belief here that anyone who rides is on the side of the
"good".
George Bush rides a bicycle sometimes!

Fact is, there's idiots who ride bikes too. Sometimes they end
up dead. It's not always the car/truck/train/side of mountain's fault.
I'm not saying that the poor sod who got trashed by the truck is an
idiot
or deserves to be dead, but it sounds like it wasn't the fault of
the trucky. Still ... if the only witness is the truckdriver, who
knows what really happened?
 
On Mon, 08 Aug 2005 13:21:48 +1000, Tamyka Bell wrote:

> It's tragic to have people die so stupidly. I think it's called Natural
> Selection...


Well, at least there's no shortage of people on the planet. It'd be
more tragic if the last female cheetah was run over by a semi :)

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw
 
The statement in the article in the Australian that concerns me the most (bearing in mind the first paragraph that said the cyclist was hit from behind) is from the local Supt of Police who is quoted as saying, "How can you miss seeing a truck - they are lit up so well."

I guess you miss seeing it when it comes up behind you at speed.

I hope the polisman made the statement before he knew all the circumstances.

Tragedy for all concerned.

SteveA
 
On Mon, 8 Aug 2005 15:26:19 +1000, SteveA wrote:

> The statement in the article in the Australian that concerns me the most
> (bearing in mind the first paragraph that said the cyclist was hit from
> behind) is from the local Supt of Police who is quoted as saying, "How
> can you miss seeing a truck - they are lit up so well."
>
> I guess you miss seeing it when it comes up behind you at speed.


Indeed. I find that that size of a vehicle doesn't necessarily indicate how
audible it will be, either, especially in an already noisy environment.

Modern buses are extremely quiet when coasting, and so are many
trucks; I often notice that a bus is right behind me only when
the driver plants his foot or brakes, or I see its shadow.

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw
 
Michael Warner wrote:
>
> On Mon, 8 Aug 2005 15:26:19 +1000, SteveA wrote:
>
> > The statement in the article in the Australian that concerns me the most
> > (bearing in mind the first paragraph that said the cyclist was hit from
> > behind) is from the local Supt of Police who is quoted as saying, "How
> > can you miss seeing a truck - they are lit up so well."
> >
> > I guess you miss seeing it when it comes up behind you at speed.

>
> Indeed. I find that that size of a vehicle doesn't necessarily indicate how
> audible it will be, either, especially in an already noisy environment.
>
> Modern buses are extremely quiet when coasting, and so are many
> trucks; I often notice that a bus is right behind me only when
> the driver plants his foot or brakes, or I see its shadow.


And while I'd like to say something along the lines of "if you're riding
without lights, it's kind of up to you to make sure nothing's coming
that isn't going to see you" (like when I run and get caught in the
dark)... we're really missing a lot of info, aren't we? I mean, if the
guy got dragged and his body was such a mess, how do we know there's not
a few small flashers lying out there, or in a driver's pocket? Back to
the other side... "How can a person driving a truck with it's headlights
on, miss seeing a dude on a bike in front?" As for the media harping on
the no helmet thing... um, I don't think a helmet would've helped him
much.

Tam
 
Michael Warner wrote:
>
> On Mon, 8 Aug 2005 15:26:19 +1000, SteveA wrote:
>
> > The statement in the article in the Australian that concerns me the most
> > (bearing in mind the first paragraph that said the cyclist was hit from
> > behind) is from the local Supt of Police who is quoted as saying, "How
> > can you miss seeing a truck - they are lit up so well."
> >
> > I guess you miss seeing it when it comes up behind you at speed.

>
> Indeed. I find that that size of a vehicle doesn't necessarily indicate how
> audible it will be, either, especially in an already noisy environment.
>
> Modern buses are extremely quiet when coasting, and so are many
> trucks; I often notice that a bus is right behind me only when
> the driver plants his foot or brakes, or I see its shadow.


And while I'd like to say something along the lines of "if you're riding
without lights, it's kind of up to you to make sure nothing's coming
that isn't going to see you" (like when I run and get caught in the
dark)... we're really missing a lot of info, aren't we? I mean, if the
guy got dragged and his body was such a mess, how do we know there's not
a few small flashers lying out there, or in a driver's pocket? Back to
the other side... "How can a person driving a truck with it's headlights
on, miss seeing a dude on a bike in front?" As for the media harping on
the no helmet thing... um, I don't think a helmet would've helped him
much.

Tam
 
Tamyka Bell wrote:
> Michael Warner wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 8 Aug 2005 15:26:19 +1000, SteveA wrote:
>>
>>
>>>The statement in the article in the Australian that concerns me the most
>>>(bearing in mind the first paragraph that said the cyclist was hit from
>>>behind) is from the local Supt of Police who is quoted as saying, "How
>>>can you miss seeing a truck - they are lit up so well."
>>>
>>>I guess you miss seeing it when it comes up behind you at speed.

>>
>>Indeed. I find that that size of a vehicle doesn't necessarily indicate how
>>audible it will be, either, especially in an already noisy environment.
>>
>>Modern buses are extremely quiet when coasting, and so are many
>>trucks; I often notice that a bus is right behind me only when
>>the driver plants his foot or brakes, or I see its shadow.

>
>
> And while I'd like to say something along the lines of "if you're riding
> without lights, it's kind of up to you to make sure nothing's coming
> that isn't going to see you" (like when I run and get caught in the
> dark)... we're really missing a lot of info, aren't we? I mean, if the
> guy got dragged and his body was such a mess, how do we know there's not
> a few small flashers lying out there, or in a driver's pocket? Back to
> the other side... "How can a person driving a truck with it's headlights
> on, miss seeing a dude on a bike in front?" As for the media harping on
> the no helmet thing... um, I don't think a helmet would've helped him
> much.
>
> Tam


Slightly off topic. I met a guy once who had been run over by a leopard
Main Battle Tank. It had backed over him. YOu cannot fault the driver
he could not possibly have seen anything although the TC clearly had
screwed up. THe bloke I met hadnt heard it coming.. they are far queter
than most would believe, like a big and well muffled tractor (which
essentially is what they are)

It was soft soil and the track passed over his head. The leopard has a
very low pressure footprint and maybe his head was in a particulary soft
bit of ground. Anyway he survived looking ok but blinded. He had only
been in for a few weeks.. didnt even know enough to look for tanks.

WHat impressed me was that I met him cos some army mates were going in
to visit him. THey had only known him for that few weeks but years
later visited regulary.
 
Tamyka Bell wrote:
> Michael Warner wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 8 Aug 2005 15:26:19 +1000, SteveA wrote:
>>
>>
>>>The statement in the article in the Australian that concerns me the most
>>>(bearing in mind the first paragraph that said the cyclist was hit from
>>>behind) is from the local Supt of Police who is quoted as saying, "How
>>>can you miss seeing a truck - they are lit up so well."
>>>
>>>I guess you miss seeing it when it comes up behind you at speed.

>>
>>Indeed. I find that that size of a vehicle doesn't necessarily indicate how
>>audible it will be, either, especially in an already noisy environment.
>>
>>Modern buses are extremely quiet when coasting, and so are many
>>trucks; I often notice that a bus is right behind me only when
>>the driver plants his foot or brakes, or I see its shadow.

>
>
> And while I'd like to say something along the lines of "if you're riding
> without lights, it's kind of up to you to make sure nothing's coming
> that isn't going to see you" (like when I run and get caught in the
> dark)... we're really missing a lot of info, aren't we? I mean, if the
> guy got dragged and his body was such a mess, how do we know there's not
> a few small flashers lying out there, or in a driver's pocket? Back to
> the other side... "How can a person driving a truck with it's headlights
> on, miss seeing a dude on a bike in front?" As for the media harping on
> the no helmet thing... um, I don't think a helmet would've helped him
> much.
>
> Tam


Slightly off topic. I met a guy once who had been run over by a leopard
Main Battle Tank. It had backed over him. YOu cannot fault the driver
he could not possibly have seen anything although the TC clearly had
screwed up. THe bloke I met hadnt heard it coming.. they are far queter
than most would believe, like a big and well muffled tractor (which
essentially is what they are)

It was soft soil and the track passed over his head. The leopard has a
very low pressure footprint and maybe his head was in a particulary soft
bit of ground. Anyway he survived looking ok but blinded. He had only
been in for a few weeks.. didnt even know enough to look for tanks.

WHat impressed me was that I met him cos some army mates were going in
to visit him. THey had only known him for that few weeks but years
later visited regulary.
 

Similar threads

K
Replies
0
Views
323
Road Cycling
Kurgan Gringioni
K