Cyclist causes death..

[ufkacbln]

It does seem by the comments to this article and any other similar story be it in the Mail, Evening Standard or whatever, it would seem that 100% of people in the UK, have either been hit, knocked over, had to jump for their lives or have an elderly relative who is constantly terrorised by cyclists.

Its about acceptance...

I would bet that when asked they have all had equally scary experiences with cars.

I sometimes think it is because it is "territorial" and these cyclists are in pedestrian territory - hence the animosity.

On the other hand there is a tacit acceptance of vehicles parking and driving on the same pavements. One of our neighbours is heavily anti pavement cycling yet parks his car on the footpath every night!

On average a pedestrian is killed by a cyclist every 5 years, but deaths caused by vehicles are 236 times more frequent. Hansard

When a cyclist kills a pedestrian it is national news, yet when two people were killed in Ashford whilst on the pavement it hardly got out of the local paper. When a Bus mounted the pavement in February this year (London) it again didn't make it outside London.

Perhaps it is because it is such a rarity, but why do we accept pavement deaths when caused by vehicles, but are appalled if a cyclist is involved.


That would be an interseting piece of research

 

[Fab Foodie]

Cyclists are the minority, we're the weirdos, the outsiders, the scary ones....
Car drivers are the majority, the regular everyday people, the normal people, the 'good'people... they have a great tolerance or acceptance of their failings.

God forbid however if one of the outsiders impacts apon the lives of the normal people. That's news, big news.
It's really no different to racism in some respects.

 

[on the road]

I don't think the cyclist did anything wrong.

He made a mistake yes, he was careless yes, but it seems like the media, the police and the family are blaming him for the woman's death while not looking at the bus driver's standard of driving. I imagine he think he's going to have the book thrown at him so is refusing to come forward, he's more likely to come forward if the family or the police say they don't hold him responsible.

 

[Mark_Robson]

I don't think the cyclist did anything wrong.

He made a mistake yes, he was careless yes,

Don't you realise that your contradicting yourself?
If it had been a car that had pulled out and caused the bus driver to brake would you be defending the car driver and trying to shift responsibility for the ladies death onto the bus driver?

 

[summerdays]

I guess most of us stand before the bus stops because we don't want to hold up the bus while we walk from our seat to the exit.

When I used to use the bus to get to work ... if you didn't start moving to the front before the bus stopped, it would have started to move off before you got there because of the number of people in the aisle. That habit is now deeply ingrained. Same when I then had young children to get to the front.. except it was much harder to move forward - and so would move part way along the bus if possible.

I would give up my seat for those I consider more in need of it than myself, and still thank the driver as I get off too - which is another thing I see less of now.

 

[ufkacbln]

Don't you realise that your contradicting yourself?
If it had been a car that had pulled out and caused the bus driver to brake would you be defending the car driver and trying to shift responsibility for the ladies death onto the bus driver?

Again it is the difference in the way it is reported....if it had been a car we would not even have been looking for the driver in the same way

There are 23,000 hit and run incidents each year involving vehicles

Here is the report of a death caused by a hit and run in Manchester - why is there no plea for witnesses, no family plea for the driver to come forward, no ANPR or video footage of the driver in the paper?


However back to the point.... the dsitinction needs to be made here that suggesting the bus driver had some responsibility is not unreasonable, equaly the argument could be made that the passenger has some responsibility in that they were not seated safely.

It is quite possible to have a number of factors in the accident and suggesting these is not "shifting the responsibility" but simply showing that it is not entirely the "fault" of the cyclist.... if it was a motor vehicle it would be the failure to stop at a junction or at best careless driving - the death is not allowed to be factored in. It is the act and not its consequences that are dealt with in law. So if we are to compare motorist and cyclist fairly then the death should not be a factor here either.

Did the passenger have a responsibility to remain seated and safe until the bus stops thus protecting herself from injury - a bit like cyclists having a "responsibility" to wear helmets to protect themselves from vehicles?

 

[on the road]

Don't you realise that your contradicting yourself?

Ahh yes , but it was late at night and I couldn't be bothered correcting my self, no harm done anyway

By the way, it's "you're" meaning "you are", not "your".

 

[on the road]

If it had been a car that had pulled out and caused the bus driver to brake would you be defending the car driver and trying to shift responsibility for the ladies death onto the bus driver?

What if the bus had to do an emergency stop for a pedestrian instead, would you be blaming the pedestrian or the bus driver?

 

[2Loose]

Very sad incident indeed.

Woman stands up on moving bus, vehicle pulls out in front of bus, bus driver unable to stop gently in time, woman falls and unfortunately dies of her injuries.

All three have some part to play in this tragic incident tbh.

 

[mangaman]

Firstly i can't believe that nobody on the bus gave their seat over to this elderly woman, it's basic manors.

I agree with your sentiments (and Waffly's) about giving up your seat, but this lady had a seat - she was getting off the bus when she fell

quote from original article

"Louie Palmer was thrown down the aisle as she stood up to get off the bus on Oxford Road near the city centre"

 

[numbnuts]

pinched off the net
On the bus

• Do not stand or walk around while the bus is moving

• The young guy was a "contribution" to the said accident and not the main cause

 

[on the road]

On busses round here there are notices on the buses saying something like "please remain seated until the bus stops"

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Terrible.

But, let's not assume the cyclist is guilty either. Reading the story I would presume so; but here are the actual quotes:

A pensioner died after falling over on a double-decker bus that was forced to brake sharply to avoid a cyclist.
Police believe the driver had to slam on the brakes after a cyclist pulled out in front of the bus near the junction with Dover Street.
"The bus driver had to take evasive action to avoid a cyclist who was in the road. We now want to speak to this cyclist as they could help us piece together exactly what happened. "

So (leaving out entirely standing on a bus!) - either the cyclist was being stupid, or the bus driver wasn't paying attention, or both. That junction is a pain in any case, it always stays red far longer than it needs to and gives two side roads separate green lights even if no one is waiting, and then also gives pedestrians a green light. Most cyclists jump that light (I am not one of them). The road surface in the bus lane is also not good.

Of course seeing the picture of the type of bike being ridden prejudices us against it (just last week three guys on bikes like that were cycling like lunatics southbound on Oxford Road).

 

[e-rider]

cyclist - more like lad on a bike

 

[Over The Hill]

Just an observation. From the pic the bike is stationary and the rider has both feet on the ground. We do not know if this is taken after the event so cannot be sure but posters seem to be happy to go along with the assumption that the bike blindly pulled out in front of the bus and it was not the bus hammering along and suddenly had to stop when he could not push his way past.

Sad matter but even worse if it wrongly leads to some action against cyclists or more road rage and abuse than we presently get.

It seems we get equal amounts of abuse for riding on the pavement as we do for riding in the road.