http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-11507749
Will be interesting to see how this one is dealt with by the courts (if indeed the driver was at fault)
hopefully exactly the same as it would be for anyone else.
Never good reading about a cyclist death no matter who it is 🙁
That's really terrible! Condolences!
I ride that road all the time, and cars buzz you at daft speeds...
but unlikelyhopefully exactly the same as it would be for anyone else.
I think at this point in time, what the guy did for a living is immaterial. Condolences.
That road is a death trap for cyclists. The "improvements" they made for cyclists have actually made it far worse. It was bad before and the current layout beggars belief
anyone know which section of the moor road it happended on ?
mikewsmith - Member
hopefully exactly the same as it would be for anyone else.
but unlikely
Or maybe this time they will really focus and if the driver is at fault then someone at least will face justice.
The group bowled over in Wales not so long ago still rankles. The driver had bald tyres then FFS.
Here's a perfect example of the road in question
It's a two way road that formerly had two marked lanes. Now they've put a single lane down the middle with cars still coming in both directions and there are now two cycle lanes on either side. Given that this is a windy country road with many blind corners, dips and summits, it's a recipe for disaster with cars meeting head on at blind points who are then forced to swerve into the cycle lanes
I commute by bike on the a77 cycle path and when I passed last night the road was closed - only found out today that a cyclist had been killed.
As above the road is a nightmare for cycling now, I sometimes commute that way as it's a lovely ride to work but most drivers still treat it as a two lane road and drive in the cycle path. Maybe the authorities will look at changing it now.
Accident happened half a mile east of the the wind farm entrance which is a steep section of the road but with good visibility. Dry, bright day so hard to understand what could have happened, I have my thoughts but don't want to speculate.
Was supposed to be riding over the moor tomorrow morning but think we'll go a different route, just doesn't seem right.
Oh and it scares the shit out of me when it's so close to home. Mondays commute will be difficult. Thankfully my wife understands thats I need to ride and won't be on my case to give it up over winter.
Round the corner from my brother's house. I used to drive that road a fair bit as a kid as I had friends in Waterfoot - even 20 years ago it wasn't a good road for cyclists and with the way traffic has increased it can't be nice now.
Well there's a lot less traffic on it now with the m77 motorway, but the way it's marked off was an accident waiting to happen. Before I moved offices I used to commute that road on the bike in winter.
The muppets who ordered the white lines to be painted on that road need shooting or getting sacked, from google streetview there seems no semblence of any sort of order in how theyve painted them, cycle lanes both sides starting a nd stopping along with random arrows painted down the middle.
So sad for the family and freinds,
Just back from a road ride and we came back over the moor. There are a bunch of fresh roses just near the lay-by at the newish fishery - on the right hand side as you head into eaglesham. Again hard to understand what could have happened, very strong headwind heading east today as there was on Friday so if they were heading back to Jackton then it's unlikely they would have been hammering downhill. There is a blind summit and bend at that point in the road though.
As usual most cars were driving in the cycle path today but to be honest it's not drivers faults, its the road lay out that's to blame.
Very sad for all those involved.
He was a colleague of my neighbours - the guy rode every day from Kirkintilloch to Jackton (on a fixie) and had done for yrs - he wwas about to retire too. Very sad.
Who cares what he did for a job. To me, hes served his community probably for years, worked long hours, faced abuse, violence etc and ends up being knocked over probably by someone who stupidly tried overtaking in the wrong place then swung back over to save their own neck(s).
BoardinBob - MemberHere's a perfect example of the road in question
It's a two way road that formerly had two marked lanes. Now they've put a single lane down the middle with cars still coming in both directions and there are now two cycle lanes on either side. Given that this is a windy country road with many blind corners, dips and summits, it's a recipe for disaster with cars meeting head on at blind points who are then forced to swerve into the cycle lanes
Or they could drive as they are supposed to - treat it as as single track road! Slow down and drive carefully.
[i]ends up being knocked over probably by someone who stupidly tried overtaking in the wrong place then swung back over to save their own neck(s).[/i]
Did you bother looking at the road before coming to that conclusion of laying blame on the driver?
The problem is tj that if you enjoy driving then it's an interesting road to drive and there are no 40mph speed limits. To give you some idea of the road there is a very long downhill straight section heading towards Kilmarnock that even on a bike it's hard to keep your speed below 40.
Plenty of those throughout Yorkshire/Peaks etc. Doesn't mean you bowl over cyclists (who also enjoy such roads) and have an excuse for it.
I also exceed the NSL limit where safe but where there is a brow/crest or blind corner I ease off. The driver(s) on the stretch you mention have no defence.
No one makes you press your right foot down just like no one makes anyone tackle that technical singletrack section. Take some responsibility and don't apportion most of the blame on the road and road planners? FFS common sense should over-ride 'fun' and 'pinning it'
The road markings sound like a complete nightmare.
I do feel that the op's initial post appears to suggest that the first thought to enter his head when posting was "let's see if this is dealt with any differently by the law because the deceased was a police officer"
poor taste imho
It's not poor taste at all. I hope that it gets a hell of a lot of publicity and highlights the way in which a proportion of drivers act towards cyclists.
Hora you're just not getting this are you? You don't know what/who caused the accident, knowing the road I have my thoughts but I'm not going to lay the blame at anyone's door until I know the facts.
Guys. Nobody is blaming anyone. Yes the road markings look a but poorly designed, but I doubt that the people that designed them set out to cause more problems than they solved.
Double Post.
Road markings are secondary- common sense first. Gary are you suggesting they were riding tandem/in a gaggle? I bloody hope they weren't.
Gary_M - Member
The problem is tj that if you enjoy driving then it's an interesting road to drive and there are no 40mph speed limits. To give you some idea of the road there is a very long downhill straight section heading towards Kilmarnock that even on a bike it's hard to keep your speed below 40.
I know the road I think But if its marked out like that ( even tho its crap layout) its time to slow down.
Driving for fun? I have done loads but its really game over for it nowadays. Too much traffic, to many restrictions
As usual this accident will have multiple factors behind it I guess. NO one person or action to blame in entirety
[i]Gary are you suggesting they were riding tandem/in a gaggle?[/i]
Hora I'm not suggesting anything, I wasn't there so I don't know what happened.
I agree tj, and I do slow down on it and I don't see any fun in driving on public roads, others do though.
Suggesting is the wrong word. Hypothesising. RIP though.
Doesn't really matter who was actually to blame, but if you knock off a Super riding with his colleagues on their lunch hour - don't expect a nice chat over tea and biscuits down the station...
Some more info on this. He suffered a heart attack when he was riding, fell off the bike and was then hit by the car. 🙁
it ****ing terrible but the sad fact is the courts will just say "oh well, it was an accident with a car....can't be helped" and the driver will get a slap on the wrists.
if a just a fraction of the people that die on our roads each year died in industry (mining/fishk packing/whatever) then there would be a bloody uproar. as it happens we seem to 'accept' it when its on the road. its the spell the car has on us.
RIP
gad, what a horrible tale.
R.I.P.