another cyclist killed in traffic collision

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Permalink Reply by Belinda Hoare on March 5, 2010 at 6:38pm

The cyclist was Chris Hudson, a VLCC member who lived in Minlaton. The driver was allegedly disqualified from driving, and a friend of Chris. 'Aggravated' does not mean deliberate. Chris was one of a number of local riders from that area that paricipated in the annual Tour of Minlaton, held in April each year. I come from that area too, and I know how (a) treacherous the roads are, and (b) how rare cyclists are, and therefore how little the locals expect to see them on the road. This is a tragedy beyond words.

Permalink Reply by Rob Dobson on March 5, 2010 at 7:22pm

sad day indeed

Permalink Reply by jeff Lock on March 6, 2010 at 8:06am

My sympathies to his family and friends. As a country cyclist who rides on 110kph country roads every day I see car drivers who think cyclists are invisible. If governments in Australia are serious about increasing the safety of cyclists they need to implement some legislation to bring "strict liability" to Australia like they have through most of Europe. Only when motorists are made accountable for driving their tons of steel and glass around without proper care are cyclists going to be a little safer. "Strict Liability" in Europe is that a car driver is responsible for any accident with a cyclist or pedestrian regardless of the circumstances. It is their responsibility to be aware of cyclists and pedestrians when they are driving around in their climate controlled cages. I would love to see Bike SA concentrate on some serious advocacy like this instead of becoming a commercial tour operator which seems to be their focus recently.

Permalink Reply by heather on March 6, 2010 at 8:35am

I switched membership from Bicycle SA to BISA some years back when it did not incorporate cycling advocacy.
Totally agree with you, but unfortunately I do not think governments are politically ready for this.
I have been injured three times by negligent drivers - cannot predict all of the time what a driver will do and avoid them. Not one of the drivers was fined, that would remind them to follow Australian Road Rules. I found this unsatisfactory, as well as the verbal and written replies I received from authorities when I questioned this.
Recently three cyclists were hospitalised after a vehicle collision in Prospect. I understand (correct me if media reporting inaccurate) the reason the driver gave was unable to see the group of cyclists due to sun glare. If 'Strict Liability', or licence suspension, or fines, would a driver think twice about driving when unable to clearly view the road and its users?

Permalink Reply by jeff Lock on March 6, 2010 at 8:45am

I understand. Our club is affiliated with Bike SA however we are joining BISA as they are more advocacy orientated. I have a friend in Port Lincoln that used to live in Karlgoolie. They had really bad drivers there. The police would not do anything and several cyclists had been knocked off. One day a couple of cycling coppers transferred in and joined their cycling group. All of a sudden cycling/ car incidents started to be followed up. The cycling coppers would act on reports from their fellow cyclists. These cycling coppers when out for a ride would take numbers for follow up. My mate said within six months there was a complete attitude change by Karlgoolie motorists towards cyclists. Now all I am waiting for is a couple of cycling coppers to move to Port Lincoln:-))

Permalink Reply by simon cook on March 7, 2010 at 9:05pm

Hi i was agreat friend of chris and have many great memories from our association.He was an inspirational and guiding influence in many of his friends and families lives. Regarding the argument bikes V traffic. we are never going to resolve this as there are so many variables ie visibility ,drivers attention ,oncoming traffic,daylight saving .Whatever Chris chose to be a cyclist in these conditions and wear the consequensces although he would never believed this could happen. He will go on influencing us who knew him through his endevour and tenacity Vale Chris hudson an exceptional man. Simon Cook

Permalink Reply by G. Borja on March 9, 2010 at 4:07pm

Motorist need to Yield to Life:

www.yieldtolife.com ( Non profit founded by Dave Zabriskie, who has been hit by a car 3 times while cycling)

Permalink Reply by Wombat on March 9, 2010 at 5:21pm

I like this. Very good message... now, can we adapt it to Australia?

Permalink Reply by Denise Hudson on April 18, 2010 at 11:33am

The driver of the vehicle was not a friend of Chris's but was know as most people in country towns are. I agree aggravated does not mean deliberate, but disqualified does mean disqualified.