Bridgend cyclist dies

[pwa]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-63278772
Yesterday, a Sunday, a friend of mine told me he had been driving down a dual carriageway we both know and had passed the shocking scene of a cyclist being given CPR. He knew nothing more. You expect the worst when you hear that, and this is the news we had later on. Very sad. I don't intend pre-judging it, but I hope any wrongdoing on anyone's part comes to light, and that justice is done.

The road in question isn't one of my favourites for cycling. In fact I avoid it. But it ought not to be dangerous, no matter which way you look at it. Even at peak times traffic density tends to be low on it, and there are two wide lanes to play with. Lines of vision are good. But deaths have happened on this road before. A motorcyclist I knew died on that road about a year ago after colliding with an HGV doing an illegal U-turn.

It sounds like yesterday's fatality happened on the westbound stretch of the A48 not far after this roundabout area:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.50490 ... 384!8i8192

35 is a terribly young age to go. I dread to think of the family she is likely to have left behind, and their great loss. For them there will now be a pain that will go with them, wherever they go, for the rest of their lives.

[Tiggertoo]

As you say, this is sad news. Possibly caused by careless behaviour by one party or the other, but none of us expect to end out lives doing what should be a pleasant day out. Why people don't pay attention and be sure to care for others is beyond reason.

[hemo]

Quite shocking realy that any cyclist can be killed enjoying a ride, this appears to the reporting to be a hit and run.
More shocking for some may be that the victim was a female and could possibly be mother.
R.I.P and thoughts go out to family and freinds.

[foxyrider]

'A 35-year-old cyclist has died following a crash with a car.'

sloppy reporting again

Always sad when someone is killed on the roads

[pwa]

'A 35-year-old cyclist has died following a crash with a car.'

sloppy reporting again

Always sad when someone is killed on the roads

I think that wording is an attempt at neutrality until someone is tried, but anyone reading about this will think that the car probably hit the cyclist.

[Pebble]

A triathlete, so a lot of experience on a bike.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wale ... h-25287107
very sad.

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dual carriageways are not good places for cyclists, and dual carriageway roundabouts even worse. Too many impatient, aggressive and poorly skilled drivers.

[pwa]

A triathlete, so a lot of experience on a bike.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wale ... h-25287107
very sad.

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dual carriageways are not good places for cyclists, and dual carriageway roundabouts even worse. Too many impatient, aggressive and poorly skilled drivers.

That's right. That bit of road is not far from me, but I rarely use it because it feels hostile, if you know what I mean. I'd use it for cycling if I had to, but not for pleasure. It is in need of a dedicated cycle lane, in my opinion. But if it did have one it would probably be a shared use path on one side only, and groups of club cyclists wouldn't find it useful.

It is nice and wide road and tends to have low to medium traffic volume, probably low on Sunday morning, so there is ample room for everybody to give each other the room they need for safety, if only folk would display some care for each other. I have my fingers crossed that somebody has some dashcam type footage to prove what happened. I have never been a big fan of carrying a camera, but this sort of thing makes me think...

The young woman we have lost is called Lucy John.

[mumbojumbo]

A triathlete friend died on a dual carriageway after being hit by a car. He chose roads he felt were fast .My choice is safety.

[horizon]

dual carriageways are not good places for cyclists,

I used to have a policy of not giving up on any road but slowly reconciled myself to the conclusion that dual carriageways are inherently unsafe, whatever the skill or concentration of the driver. A lot of dual carriageways (such as the Great West Road in west London) were originally built with cycle tracks alongside them. I presume this was dropped once it was decided by the highway authorities sometime in the 1960s that cycling had now come to an end and the safety of cyclists was no longer an issue.

What happens on a dual carriageway is that the vehicle in front obscures the cyclist. They then move out to overtake at high speed leaving the following car little or no time to react even if they are concentrating. Their room for manoeuvre might be restricted by a car in the outer lane and thus hard braking (from say 60 mph to 10 mph) is their only option.

The police will no doubt be looking for the driver who hit the cyclist when in fact the real culprit is the driver who failed to slow down, use their hazard lights and warn the next driver that a cyclist was in their lane.

I would normally use primary position to slow all drivers down in my lane but on a road that isn't busy, this is a big ask for any cyclist to do. Unlike on a single carriageway road, drivers can also simply overtake without slowing down thus rendering this strategy useless.

So I no longer cycle on a fast dual carriageway and IMV nor should other cyclists. And it isn't therefore just the drivers: I still nurture a resentment against the short-sightedness, ignorance and culpability of road engineers everywhere (I hope one or two might be reading this but I doubt it) and wonder how they would be able to go home at the end of their working day (in their cars) to their families knowing that they were at least restricting the lives of cyclists but at worst causing the deaths of many innocent people. I hope they can sleep at night.

[pwa]

I drive on the dual carriageway where this happened and I have never had any problem giving cyclists enough room when I pass them. And cyclists are a common sight there because the A48 at that point is the most direct route for some journeys. Alternative routes are longer, slower and require good navigation. I hate cycling on that road but if everyone driving on it were competent there wouldn't be a problem.

[horizon]

I drive on the dual carriageway where this happened and I have never had any problem giving cyclists enough room when I pass them.

Provided you see them in time. All you have to do is slow down and wait for the outer lane to clear. There may or may not be room to overtake on the same (inner) lane as the cyclist is on but my reckoning is that usually you will have to occupy part at least of the outer lane.

The important thing is to slow down (possibly to the speed of the cyclist) and give the cyclist plenty of room. I've no doubt that you (and many or indeed most motorists) will attempt to do that. The problem arises when the vehicle in front of you obscures the cyclist, doesn't give you any warning and then pulls out at the last moment. In that moment, you will have to brake from say 50 or 60 mph, check your mirror to see if you can pull out and then manoeuvre past the cyclist. This is even without any suggestion of drivers not concentrating or looking away or being distracted.

This of course can happen on other roads but it is more likely that the car in front will be slowed down by the cyclist while waiting for an opportunity to overtake.

I hate cycling on that road but if everyone driving on it were competent there wouldn't be a problem.

Even if all the drivers were competent, sober and concentrating, the problem is baked in to the road IMV. It won't always happen that the cyclist is killed but it has happened often enough to suspect that the road is at fault. Most drivers IME won't warn other drivers of the potential hazard or indeed slow down so even that mitigating action is lost (in this sense BTW I do blame the drivers). I don't doubt that there will be drivers who are indeed distracted, going too fast and giving insufficient clearance (and indeed cause an accident which may otherwise have been avoided) but not all will be in that category.

The safest dual carriageways IMV are those where the inside lane has indeed become a cycle lane - there are a couple at least of these in Plymouth and there may be others.

[fastpedaller]

The problem arises when the vehicle in front of you obscures the cyclist, doesn't give you any warning and then pulls out at the last moment. In that moment, you will have to brake from say 50 or 60 mph, check your mirror to see if you can pull out and then manoeuvre past the cyclist.

Perhaps the following driver is at fault for driving too close to the vehicle in front?

[horizon]

The problem arises when the vehicle in front of you obscures the cyclist, doesn't give you any warning and then pulls out at the last moment. In that moment, you will have to brake from say 50 or 60 mph, check your mirror to see if you can pull out and then manoeuvre past the cyclist.

Perhaps the following driver is at fault for driving too close to the vehicle in front?

Yes, that's a fair point. I'm wondering though whether most drivers factor in a stopping distance for the car in front (even in an emergency stop). This then evaporates when the car in front moves over and the driver is confronted (if he is looking, that is) by an almost stationary object. If the car in front had to stop, then the stopping distance might be OK and the car behind was therefore not too close. But it didn't, it could move over. Of course, all drivers should allow for this eventuality but IMV the design of the road conspires with the reluctance of drivers to do this.

[pwa]

If the driver in front pulls out suddenly and you find you are bearing down on a cyclist you hadn't anticpated, you were driving too close for the speed. Your proximity to the vehicle in front has left you effectively blind to the cyclist. This is basic stuff that drivers are meant to learn when they are having lessons. Driving too close to the vehicle in front makes you a danger to anyone that vehicle pulls out to pass.

This is why I don't like road like that: the dangerous habits of some of the drivers who use them.

But we don't know that this is what happened in this case. We don't know much at all yet.