Cyclist killed - Port Melbourne

Heard on ABC Radio on the 4pm news, a cyclist in their 30's was kille
today in Port Melbourne. No further details available as of yet.

That brings to four cyclists killed in Victoria since Jan 1, 2005.

I've checked the 'TAC Crash Database
(http://www.tacsafety.com.au/jsp/stat...ortingtool.do?) , th
stats for the years 2003 and 2004 were four cyclists fatalities in eac
year.

Is this just a seasonal spike in the stats or a awful prelude to th
new year?

Also I really don't wish to end with the words 'please take care'
because I really don't believe this complex problem exists solely wit
cyclists

--
cfsmtb

news.com.au:
A CYCLIST was killed when his bicycle and a truck collided in inner-city
Melbourne today.

The 30-year-old man was cycling along Todd Road in Port Melbourne about
2.45pm (AEDT) when the accident happened.
Police said they believed the cyclist and the semi-trailer were travelling
in the same direction when the collision occurred.

The death brings the Victorian road toll for 2005 to 35 compared to 32 at
the same time last year

Obviously he was hooning and rearended the truck

Three "serious" cyclist deaths in a month in Vic. It's beginning to freak me
out.

"dave" wrote in message
...
Bob Mc Corkle wrote:
Obviously he was hooning and rearended the truck


Three "serious" cyclist deaths in a month in Vic. It's beginning to freak
me out.

A 'serious ' death. Sorry I,m not taking the mikey.. But that goes
nicely with the channel 7 news last night.. "Seven people were killed by a
xuicide bomber in Bagdad. The bomber was among those killed" Thats as
opposed to an attempted suicide bombing I guess where you survive. Or a
minor case of death.

Being realistic yeah 3 deaths is a worry. Not sure its more than a
statistical glitch tho. Amazingly their helmets didnt save em. Go
figure.

Dave

yeah, woops

apologies to family of the other one (the four year old hit by a truck).
Just as serious and just as sad.

should've said death of three serious cyclists - meaning people like many of
us

cfsmtb Wrote:
Heard on ABC Radio on the 4pm news, a cyclist in their 30's was kille
today in Port Melbourne. No further details available as of yet.

That brings to four cyclists killed in Victoria since Jan 1, 2005.

I've checked the 'TAC Crash Database
(http://www.tacsafety.com.au/jsp/stat...ortingtool.do?) , th
stats for the years 2003 and 2004 were four cyclists fatalities in eac
year.

Is this just a seasonal spike in the stats or a awful prelude to th
new year?

Also I really don't wish to end with the words 'please take care'
because I really don't believe this complex problem exists solely wit
cyclists.
aw crap!

i think its about time TAC did a bike-specific ad..

--
flyingdutc

dave Wrote:

Obviously he was hooning and rearended the truck

not funny. OTOH people do pull in front of trucks, if they are in a ca
its often just expensive and embarrassing.
How about we wait to find out what happened

--
aeek

dave Wrote:

Yeah Well none of its good. I disaprove of death on principle. THo
for some people I make an exeption.

Ahh well what can you do? THe new regime of lower speed limits.
safer
cars and dumber drivers is inevitably going to up the rates of
vulnerable road users killed. Can;t be helped I am afraid. And
possibly not a subject to start me on.

Dave

Well, I'LL start you on it!

Lower speed limits = good thing

'Safer' cars - safer for whom? Cars have never been 'safe'. The risk
have just been controllable, up to now. As selfishness and '****in
someone over in traffic' becomes an outlet for all the petty an
increasing frustrations that cars and the individualistic consume
lifestyle engender, then we're all going to pay the price for rampagin
egos (and rank carelessness) with a tonne and a half (increasingly more
of metal and 70 hp at their disposal.

It's actually a satanic plot, or as good a facsimilie of one as make
no difference: a piece of technology where you are only responsible i
the most perfunctory and legalistic way for the welfare of those aroun
you (whom you will never get to know, and can, if the fancy takes you
demonise them to your heart's content). You can't hear them screa
through the bodywork and stereo, and can ruin their lives in a
instant.

Dumber drivers - the whole of society is autistically turning in on it
individual selves, cocooned in little bubbles of technology. For man
people (most dangerously, those prone to psychopathology anyway), thi
offers a perfect excuse to hype up and amplify the perceived danger
curl up into a little echidna-like ball, pointing the spines, denyin
and fearing all outside. The collective, spontaneous, HUMAN reaction t
someone elses distress or danger (tsunami appeals notwithstanding
maybe this is a displaced generosity we should be giving to thos
around us?) is starting to atrophy, as our social sense is blunted b
(bureaucratic) process, media propaganda and the possession of materia
objects. We can't share anyone else's joy, either, and so gulp Prozac
violate children and spouses (and strangers on bikes), anything t
displace the anomie of this Russian doll nest of concrete and stee
cages we've built for ourselves. 'Dumb' in the sense of the huma
wisdom necessary to live harmoniously with our neighbors (th
'precautionary principle' - if in doubt of damage able to be caused
don't do it)? You bet! Not dumb in the sense of reaction to stimuli. W
all think we're fighter pilots: better behind the wheel than we actuall
are.


FUUUUCCCCKKK!!!!!! Ride a bike! Breathe some clean air! Get out of th
fluorescent-light battery cage and TALK TO PEOPLE!

M "just come back from tall forests where even the BIRDS talk to you"

--
mfhor

mfhor wrote:
'Safer' cars - safer for whom? Cars have never been 'safe'. The risks
have just been controllable, up to now. As selfishness and '****ing
someone over in traffic' becomes an outlet for all the petty and
increasing frustrations that cars and the individualistic consumer
lifestyle engender, then we're all going to pay the price for rampaging
egos (and rank carelessness) with a tonne and a half (increasingly more)
of metal and 70 hp at their disposal.

Did anyone see the SBS Cutting Edge(?) doco last night, perhaps called
'The Pusuaders'? The was a snippet about some marketing guru who could
'read' consumers. He told auto manufacturers to "make their SUV's
bigger" and "tint their windows" because driving them is all about
_dominance_.

I guess we already knew that, but I cringed when I heard that snippet.

M "just come back from tall forests where even the BIRDS talk to you" H

It doesn't show..

not so hippy hippy

dave Wrote:

Obviously he was hooning and rearended the truck

Hey, Dave, ever cycled alongside a truck and experienced th
slipstream?
I used to commute down to Port Melbourne and rode with trucks
B-doubles alongside, the slipstream was another road hazard I had t
deal with virtually everyday. See here for an 'online discussion
(http://tinyurl.com/4s3wz)

Now we don't know what really occured in this accident in Por
Melbourne but what is a real worry is if the cyclist road toll start
to grow expedentially during the year.

In 2003 and 2004 the numbers for each year was 4. Victoria has seen
deaths SINCE Jan 1 2005, today is only the 2nd of February. If thi
issue concerns fellow cyclists, then it's time we better start thinkin
about what may be contributing factors, then contact Bicycle Victoria
VicRoads, Local Councils or any other revalent peak organisations wit
your concerns

--
cfsmtb

4 cyclists deaths since Jan 1 2005, and it's only Feb 2nd!

I'm bracing myself for that knee-jerk reaction from the powers that be
Hopefully we'll see out the winter (less cyclists on the road
generally) before it flares up towards next spring/summer & those typ
of 'safety measures' that we all love so much (sic) are rolled out.
Shudder to think might they might be: register all cyclists? compulsor
health insurance or 'cyclist' insurance (through some sort of bik
registration set-up)? bike lanes on roads to be separated from othe
traffic by raised concrete strips? Cyclists disallowed from majo
vehicular routes (i.e.: Ballarat Rd, Nepean Hway), reflective vests al
round? An adult on foot to precede the cyclist while holding a red fla
to alert other motorists of his approach?
Maybe a media campain to alert motorists to cyclists, most likle
showing a cyclist riding on a marked bike lane in full fluro gear
reflectors, lights going, signaling left right & centre, walking thei
bike through a pedstrian crossing to cross a road etc. Obviously an
cyclist who does not match this model would be just asking for it
“but officer that cyclists didn’t have any wheel reflectors, I can’
possibly be held responcible for not seeing him”.

Nothing constructive here sorry, maybe on the individual level, if w
try to place less faith in motorists when we sharing the road, so the
would have a lesser chance to disappoint us. I’ve seen heaps of time
acyclist run right out into the traffic flow (turning, merging
negotciating atheir route) on the expectation that motorists understan
that when it comes to right of way: cyclist = motorist

--
Marx SS