Cyclist Down (serious injuries) on Tram Tracks (possibly hit by trailer), Sheffield

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Fingers crossed that the cyclist pulls through....
http://www.thestar.co.uk/headlines/Sheffield-crash-cyclist-suffers-serious.6517090.jp


A CYCLIST was taken to hospital with serious injuries this morning after coming off his bike on the tram tracks on Ridgeway Road, Sheffield.The man, aged in his 30s, was riding along the road at around 8.15am when he lost control of his bike.

A Land Rover had been following the cyclist and it is believed the trailer the 4X4 was pulling collided with the man.

Paramedics rushed the cyclist to hospital with potentially life threatening injuries.

The incident was blocking the road, causing traffic chaos for motorists caught up in the queue and commuters waiting to catch buses and trams.
Based on the above:
1) Tram Tracks2) Overtaking too close

 

[gaz]

eeeeek that sounds nasty. i hope he is ok.

 

[ianrauk]

had a couple of 'wobbly' moments myself in Croydon going over the tram tracks. Very easy to miss-judge the damn things.

 

[HLaB]

I hope he turns out to be OK! Not saying its the case but some idiots with trailers just aren't use to them and forget they are pulling them :-(

Why do most stories, end up summarising the traffic conditions ?

The incident was blocking the road, causing traffic chaos for motorists caught up in the queue and commuters waiting to catch buses and trams.

 

[Wobblers]

Nasty.

Struck by the trailer??

Hmmm. That doesn't sound right, does it? Now, if he really "lost control of his bike", and with tram tracks that's quite plausible you'd expect the land rover to have hit him directly (too close, in other words!), or swerve round him. In which case, the trailer would follow the land rover's track, and miss. Unless it was wider than the car. Again, too close!

Call me Mr Cynical, but it seems far more likely that the motorist blithely overtook him and pulled back in too soon, forgetting that he had a trailer.

Hope he pulls through.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Could make all kinds of speculations but it's not inconcievable that the cyclist fell whilst being overtaken too closely

Why do most stories, end up summarising the traffic conditions ?

To be fair, I thought this report was better than most from local rags. Usually they start out something like

"Drivers were subjected to the most horrific and awful wait in their enclosed easy-chairs with built-in entertainment systems, the poor dears, whilst a pest of a road-tax dodger caused havoc by sustaining injuries at rush hour"

 

[2Loose]

Nasty.

Struck by the trailer??
...

Call me Mr Cynical, but it seems far more likely that the motorist blithely overtook him and pulled back in too soon, forgetting that he had a trailer.

Indeed. The article makes a point about the motorist was following him, but then the trailer he was towing hit the cyclist, but not the cab of the vehicle, so he must have gone past..or at least tried to. Badly by the sound of it.

I hope he pulls through too. Tram tracks are bad enough to negotiate without impatient trailer towers to complicate matters.

 

[Norm]

Struck by the trailer??

Hmmm. That doesn't sound right, does it? Now, if he really "lost control of his bike", and with tram tracks that's quite plausible you'd expect the land rover to have hit him directly (too close, in other words!), or swerve round him. In which case, the trailer would follow the land rover's track, and miss. Unless it was wider than the car. Again, too close!

Call me Mr Cynical, but it seems far more likely that the motorist blithely overtook him and pulled back in too soon, forgetting that he had a trailer.

If we are speculating, my guess is that the cyclist felt intimidated by an overtaking Land Rover and trailer and was more worried about what was to his right than what was heading under his wheels.

Tram / train crossings are bad enough on a motorbike, I've never tried when cycling but I can't imagine they'd be much fun.

 

[marinyork]

I really hope he gets better. It's hard to say. The trailer could have swerved then again it may not have. Car wheels have problems sliding/drifting on the tracks and there's a concrete surface and tarmac outside of this. It's been known in the past for vehicles to slide and even spin off the road on turns of direction, especially in the wet due to the differentials. It rained very heavily last night and there could still have been some residual water knocking around in the tram tracks and concrete and tarmac (as happens). Or it may have been dry and just a crap overtake. Very little way of knowing.

 

[StuartG]

Bit pointless speculating.

What disappoints me is that after these incidents the relevant police unit conduct an expensive and careful forensic analysis as the basis of a prosecution or for a coroner. However they don't seem to be freely published for us all to read and understand what happens in these accidents. I'm sure there are lots of lessons to be learnt by cyclists and motorists but instead we are condemned to repeat the carnage - none the wiser.

Indeed there could be a whole TV series potential in 'reconstructions' which would be a lot more useful at educating the public than the normal Police Camera Action dash about town ...

 

[Davidc]

I've had a couple of run-ins with tram tracks in the past, most recently on a velib in Brussels. How you come off and where you end up depends on a number of factors, and without a description of events it isn't sensible to speculate as to how the cyclist and trailer came into contact.

One of those factors is the weather, and since marinyork lives in Sheffield he knows better than the rest of us what it was like there!

It's just to be hoped and wished that the cyclist survives and recovers well.

 

[andrew-the-tortoise]

Hope the cyclist pulls through ok .

Cycle around that area myself, but usually an hour earlier to when the incident happened.

Have had issues with wet tramlines in the past; as well as trailers getting too close - I think sometimes van/4x4 drivers forget they are towing - pulling in too soon. A utility company's trailer came the closest a few months ago - nearly sending me into the kerb [but to his credit he did stop and apologise after viewing my gesticulations, think he had a bad day].

 

[amaferanga]

I really hate tramlines and try to avoid ever crossing them if I can. There are many crossings in Sheffield where you simply can't cross at or even close to right angles. I can see a couple of crossings on Ridgeway Rd where a cyclist would have to cross at a shallow angle. I don't think it was raining at that time yesterday morning, but I guess the tramlines could still have been wet from rain through the night.


Tramlines are basically accidents waiting to happen for cyclists unfortunately unless they are designed in such a way that you can cross at or near to right angles.

The good news is that its mostly easy to avoid any dangerous tramline crossings in Sheffield once you know your way around.


Fingers crossed that the fellow makes a full recovery.

EDIT: Just found this thread from andrew-the-tortoise about the same stretch of road and the dodgy crossing I was referring to above.

 

[marinyork]

Minor update in the star http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Cyclist-hurt-in-collision-on.6519066.jp

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

Phew - glad to hear the driver encased in the metal frame was not hurt, could have been nasty hitting a cyclist...