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Seems to me that inexperience with the pedals is to blame rather than the pedals themselves. What a shame, RIP Mate.

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A CYCLIST was crushed by a van after getting his foot stuck in a clip-in pedal – just days after his father urged him not to use them.

Holidaymaker Neil Blood died from chest injuries after falling from his bike and being run over by a Ford transit van in Jersey, an inquest found yesterday.

The 42-year-old, the managing director of Etruria-based Olympus Engineering who was visiting Jersey with his family from Stoke-On-Trent, lost his balance and was unable to release himself from the cleated pedals before he fell to the side and under the passing van.

He was cycling with his cousin in the island’s capital St Helier when the accident happened.

The father-of-three, from Endon, was treated at the scene but died shortly afterwards in hospital.

Deputy Viscount Advocate Mark Harris described the incident as ‘a tragic accident’ and said that he would write to cycling company Shimano, which manufactures the pedals, to ‘bring this verdict to their attention’.

During the inquest Mr Blood’s father, Geoff Blood, described cleated pedals as ‘dangerous’ and said he asked his son not to use them before he left for Jersey.

He said: “What happens with those cleats is you can’t pull your foot in and out.

“You have to do a motion and when Neil or anybody is involved in an accident you don’t think logically.

“Your brain becomes a bit scrambled and to get your foot out of cleats you have got to think clearly.”

Mr Blood had only bought his bicycle the week before his holiday and had not used cleated pedals before his trip.

He was not wearing a cycle helmet at the time of the accident, which happened on July 31 last year.

However, Home Office pathologist Dr Amanda Jeffrey said that she did not believe this played a role in Mr Blood’s death because the injuries to his chest were ‘extremely severe’.

There was also no evidence to suggest that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

And the inquest heard that

the van driver could not have done anything to prevent the accident.

Mr Blood arrived in Jersey on July 25 and was staying at Rozel Campsite with his family.

In a statement, Wendy Blood said that she met Mr Blood when she was 16 and that it was love at first sight.

She described her husband as ‘an amazing man’ who was very family orientated, clever and was extremely giving.

the van driver could not have done anything to prevent the accident.

Except perhaps pass giving the cyclist more space.

Tragic though non the less.

If the van driver was unable to either swerve or stop in time then he was too close and driving dangerously and should therefore be convicted.

tragic accident, understandable to see bereaved looking for someone/thing to blame (I’ve given evidence at a few coroners inquests). Sh1tty things can happen to good people.

If the van driver was unable to either swerve or stop in time then he was too close and driving dangerously and should therefore be convicted.

the usual STW armchair-experts making predictable comments with sod-all information to go on 🙄 Bet it never occurred to the attending police or the coroner (or grandly titled Jersey equivalent) to consider if the driver was at fault.

Except perhaps pass giving the cyclist more space.

If the van driver was unable to either swerve or stop in time then he was too close and driving dangerously and should therefore be convicted.

You gather all that from the report above?!

Edit, read more…

RIP

a couple of typical knobbish comments already, no wonder some motorists despise cyclists with attitudes and jumping to conclusions as shown above

I seem to recall that there was a reasonable amount of coverage of this tragic accident at the time in both the press in stoke and jersey, which gave more detail as to what happened which I suggest you read.

Neil was a couple of years above me at school and was a great lad.

Failing to see why some people are getting their knickers in a twist, the highway code states that a car overtaking a cyclist should give them at least as much space as they would a car and here they even give an example photo, if the rider in that photo fell for what ever reason the passing car would be in absolutely no danger of running them over what so ever.

Of course my opinion is based on reading what the op linked to and my own personal experiences of riding a couple of hundred miles on the road a week, i.e. generally motorists don’t follow the highway code and pass to close.

Any independent witnesses?

He was not wearing a cycle helmet at the time of the accident, which happened on July 31 last year.
However, Home Office pathologist Dr Amanda Jeffrey said that she did not believe this played a role in Mr Blood’s death because the injuries to his chest were ‘extremely severe’.

Bazz – Member

Failing to see why some people are getting their knickers in a twist, the highway code states that a car overtaking a cyclist should give them at least as much space as they would a car and here they even give an example photo, if the rider in that photo fell for what ever reason the passing car would be in absolutely no danger of running them over what so ever.

Assuming the rider just fell over, without veering at all, which could be perhaps caused by trying to haul your offside foot off a clipped in pedal which you weren’t used to. 💡

I don’t know, and neither do you.

Chris H – Member

I seem to recall that there was a reasonable amount of coverage of this tragic accident at the time in both the press in stoke and jersey, which gave more detail as to what happened which I suggest you read.

From BBC article back in August:

“A cyclist who died after being hit by a van in Jersey had collided with a lamp post moments earlier, an inquest heard.

Neil Andrew Blood, 42, from Stoke-on-Trent, was on holiday in the island when he was run over and later died in hospital on 31 July.

The inquest heard he struck a lamp post, lost his balance and fell between the vehicle’s front and rear wheels.

His body was released for burial and the hearing adjourned while police investigations continue.

Sgt Leo Sheridan told relief coroner Margaret Bayes MBE, that Mr Blood was cycling with his cousin in the direction of South Pier from La Collette.

He turned to look at his cousin and struck a lamp post, which caused him to lose his balance and fall off his bike into the road under the wheels of a passing van.”

RIP, sad news.

people need to think before they post.

How wide was the road, how far over was the cyclist, which way did he fall? A cyclist in the middle of his lane, or right of centre, could fall under the wheels of a vehicle that had gone fully across the centre line to pass him. It’s pure speculation based on the limited info in the linked article.

He turned to look at his cousin and struck a lamp post, which caused him to lose his balance and fall off his bike into the road under the wheels of a passing van.”

stupid question, how does riding along minding your own business end up hitting a lamp-post? was he on the pavement, cycle path,etc?

Sometimes a succession of wee/unfortunate/random things conspire to cause accidents. Sometimes the result is a skinned knee,sometimes something terrible like this. RIP

A tragic accident for all involved, let’s not start the petty bickering…

Seems to me that inexperience with the pedals is to blame rather than the pedals themselves. What a shame, RIP Mate.

I agree with the OP. I stopped using SPD’s because I was worried I would fall off and get stuck upside down in one of the many ponds round here. I don’t think SPD’s are dangerous, but you have to practice before you go out on the road with them. Same as I wouldn’t let a child go on a road before they could ride a bike properly.
Sad news for both the chap who died and the van driver who will never forget the experience.

I love the fact that the journo has to point out he wasn’t wearing a helmet, even though he was crushed and died from chest injuries, therefore the comment about the helmet is completely irrelevant.

As someone who recently swapped to SPDs, and fell over, it’s easily done. A tragic accident.

A tragic accident for all involved, let’s not start the petty bickering…

Remember where you are…

Many years ago a cyclist in front of fell sideways against a bus as he couldnt unclip, the bus moverd off, he slid alongside of bus and hit the road,luckily the bus behind me stopped in time.

Practice makes perfect they say.Brake and twist easy.

My first set of clipless pedals (Looks original MTB jobbies), I didnt even make it out my drive on my first ride before falling off sideways.
Then again later the same day I discovered my cleats weren’t tight enough.
Everyone does it until they get used to them.

I’m familiar with the spot where he was killed. The lamp post in question is on a pavement, which I believe he was cycling on, so the van wasn’t overtaking him just passing him. Unfortunately for this chap there were no cars parked along the side of the road at that spot (which there often are) so he fell into the road.

A tragic accident for all involved, let’s not start the petty bickering…

+1. only on stw…