The loss of a good and intelligent campaigner

[downfader]

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/9733967.Tributes_paid_to_cyclist_killed_in_Forest_accident/

This sad and tragic story says to me that we all need to join in and share the load when it comes to cycle safety campaigning. It appears he was a dab-hand at repairing and fixing bikes too.

RIP.

 

[Davidc]

The driver's been arrested for a serious offence, lets hope he's charged and goes down for a long time as an example to others.

Fortunately this is rare, unfortunately not rare enough. We need a change of culture on our roads.

 

[downfader]

The driver's been arrested for a serious offence, lets hope he's charged and goes down for a long time as an example to others.

Fortunately this is rare, unfortunately not rare enough. We need a change of culture on our roads.

From what I understand (from reading others' comment on the junction) you can supposedly see if it is clear as you approach and many drivers dont slow down... others have said there have been a few crashes there, not just cyclists.

 

[will golden]

My first reaction is hatred!

Not all motorists are killers but they are all potentially so. Too fast, get ouy of my way, on the mobile phone, thinking of last night in bed, penis extension, playing at gladiators, financial one-upmanship...... all terms that spring to mind and all symptomatic of a society suffering en masse with OCD. We have all become "Lawnmower Man", not just the motorists.

Mark wasn't a boy racer. Mark was a model biker, a cyclo-technician. He won't have made a mistake unless his wheel came off.... and even that, not a chance with his mechanical record. If you can't ride safely in the New Forest, where can you ride? Or even walk?

Ride Promotion edited out by Mods

We have to tell the motoring world they are not in a video game where the same characters come back to life on replay! If they keep hitting cyclists, how long before that cyclist becomes a bus? This is real life!

Act now!

Hugz Will

 

[Dave Davenport]

I was hit at the same junction 10 years ago and was lucky to escape without any serious injuries. It's an open cross roads with clear visibility from all directions but the bloke who should have stopped still didn't notice me untill I was on his bonnet, despite it being a clear day and me wearing a bright red jersey (he pleaded guilty to careless driving). On another occasion in the same place I had to swerve off the road into a ditch to avoid the same thing happening.
As for the driver in this tragic case, I'd be surprised if he gets more than a fine & short ban.

 

[will golden]

.......As for the driver in this tragic case, I'd be surprised if he gets more than a fine & short ban.

Not if we make a public issue of it!!!!!

 

[downfader]

Not if we make a public issue of it!!!!!

I want to write a letter to the Echo over this. I didnt know the man, but know 2 others in the cycle campaign (one is a neighbour).. its hard to know where to start. Just before christmas a family friend was nearly killed in Southampton city centre - again: clear visibility, the guy was lit up like a christmas tree as it was night, and he always wears reflective colours. The driver just shot through the junction and threw my friend into the air.

He's still undergoing physio therapy.

I really would feel uncomfortable on a naked ride, myself. I'll wear the lycra, but being around so much nudity I wouldnt know where to look, LOL! On a more serious note: if we in Southampton and the adjoining areas could organise a protest ride like the LCC/Bikesalive that would be a start.

 

[400bhp]

My first reaction is hatred!


Mark wasn't a boy racer. Mark was a model biker, a cyclo-technician. He won't have made a mistake unless his wheel came off.... and even that, not a chance with his mechanical record. If you can't ride safely in the New Forest, where can you ride? Or even walk?
ll

Did you know him them and do you know what happened?

 

[dellzeqq]

My first reaction is hatred!
.............This is real life!

Act now!

Hugz Will

this is grotesque opportunism

 

[ttcycle]

Mark wasn't a boy racer. Mark was a model biker, a cyclo-technician. He won't have made a mistake unless his wheel came off.... and even that, not a chance with his mechanical record. If you can't ride safely in the New Forest, where can you ride? Or even walk?

I know very few of you guys would dream of cycling naked. But most riders in the World Naked Bike Ride are NOT naked, just dressed minimally.

Act now!

Hugz Will

Please don't use this thread to promote your ride. It's highly insensitive and makes you look a bit of an idiot- have some consideration.

 

[Dave Davenport]

My first reaction is hatred!

Not all motorists are killers but they are all potentially so.

Look mate, you obviously knew the guy and are understandibly upset but you're not doing yourself any favours posting stuff like the above.

 

[kalaika]

I was taught by Mark Brummell when he was a lecturer at Southampton Uni a few years back. He was a bit of an oddball but was very intelligent and a nice man and by all accounts he was an experienced cyclist, both riding and maintenance.

Such a shame that he will now become a road statistic. It will be interesting to see if the driver gets convicted of anything. The cynic in me reckons that, if there weren't witnesses, very little will be done.

 

[PpPete]

I rode through that junction yesterday evening (before I heard of this accident). As Dave D says - wide open, clear visibility all around. AND none of the kind of urban distractions that might explain, but not excuse, some SMIDSYs. Utterly baffling how such a terrible accident could have occured.

That said, the general standard of driving, and respect for cyclists in particular, seems to me to be lower in the Waterside area (to the east of the New Forest) than elsewhere in Hampshire.

If that Naked Bike RIde was just about road safety I'd consider participation despite will's intemperate comments. As it is, their confused and diluted "save the planet" agenda is just going to mean the motoring majority writing them off as a bunch of loonies.

 

[Scoosh]

The Ride Promotion part has been edited out, so this thread can return to posts relating to the OP.

Carry on ....

 

[400bhp]

Look mate, you obviously knew the guy and are understandibly upset but you're not doing yourself any favours posting stuff like the above.

I'm not convinced he does.